Serving on Staff with Young Life is a calling. Working in our mission isn’t a job but a way of life. The typical Young Life Staff is equal parts coach, pastor, fundraiser, event planner, cheerleader, visionary, and entrepreneur. In an age of distraction and complexity, the strongest results tend to come from radical focus. This is a challenge because our paid Staff are pulled in too many directions under our current model. Young Life is a grassroots movement and always will be. We have a culture of doing and getting things done. Still, as we lean toward our desired future, we must invest in training, supporting, and budgeting in ways that allow Staff to focus more consistently on direct, relational ministry — serving students, volunteers, and Committee members. When we do this, we will see increased Staff health, longevity, and a growing number of kids reached because our people are free to focus on the responsibilities that matter most.

Young Life ministry is high touch and centered on relationships. Fulfilling our mission is people intensive. Success depends on growing our ability to attract, train, support, and retain volunteer Leaders. This is a challenge because modern life places heavy demands on the free time of adults. Additionally, in a social climate of conflict or tension, increasing numbers of people choose to simply withdraw. And finally, because the landscape of faith in our communities has changed, there are fewer devoted followers of Jesus who’ve been discipled and are ready to disciple others. The solution to this challenge is to invest in recruitment, overhaul Regional and Area communications to drive stronger engagement, and deliberately train our volunteers to enhance their relationship building skills. When we do this, we will see our leadership pipeline filled. We’ll have the people resources necessary to grow our work.  

Ministry needs context. For Young Life, the context is friendship. Building authentic relationships with kids requires proximity. We have to go where they are and find ways to share space that are encouraging, not intrusive. This is a challenge because the next generation’s interests are diffused. There isn’t one universal location or activity they have in common other than school. And connecting on school grounds can be a sensitive matter. In addition, some attractional or event driven strategies that were successful in Young Life’s history are growing less effective today. Kids don’t want to be wowed as much as they want to be welcomed. This means we need to double down on our commitment to creating a strong sense of community in each Area and each ministry. We must invest by adding depth in existing areas and launching new YL Areas in cities that are underserved, underrepresented, and urging us to come. When we do this, we will secure a level of nearness through which Young Life can more deeply influence the next generation.

Young Life’s historical funding model has featured Staff raising money as they go, typically with a dashboard that can look only a few months ahead. In the past, we’ve raised money and we’ve spent it in quick succession. In a more stable world, this hand-to-mouth type of existence was tiring but worked well enough. However, in a dynamic world, where the factors affecting our mission can change from season to season, we must preserve the energy of our Staff through greater financial stability that removes near term risks. This will keep Area Staff focused on building direct ministry rather than funding it. Further, many of the new Areas we are called to develop are unable to launch in a self-sustaining manner. Closing the funding gap with investment from outside the community is a key way Young Life will fulfill its commitment to every kid. Finally, camp remains one of the most powerful resources we have for reaching kids but the cost to attend is much higher than most of our unreached students can afford. We will solve this challenge by growing the scholarship funds that are available to send hundreds more kids to camp each summer. When we do all of these things, we’ll grow into a new level of financial stability that allows us to remain consistent — even when circumstances change in unexpected directions.