If you’ve never heard of it, I’m so glad you stumbled upon this article. Younglife is a worldwide organization that is basically the best thing ever since Beyonce released the news of the twins. It can pretty much be summed up like this: Imagine a bunch of college kids going to a local high school, standing outside the doors handing out donuts asking students to come to someone’s house on a particular night of the week. Sounds a little creepy, right? We know. We’ve heard that before.
Younglife is all about 3 things: fun, relationships and, most importantly, Jesus. Let me explain.
That “someone’s house on a particular part of the week” comes in here. As YoungLife leaders, we host this event every week called “Club.” It’s basically a party with a purpose, as we like to say. We get a bunch of high schoolers together, we play games, we sing ridiculous songs, and we bust dance moves we would never show in public because they are that embarrassing. At the end of all that, someone stands up in front of the crowd and gives a small devotion about Jesus. Sounds fun, right? You’d be surprised how much kids genuinely love coming to YoungLife Club. It gives them an outlet once a week to put all the walls down and to dance as if no one is watching. Club is a way for kids to let loose and not stress over that upcoming math test in homeroom. It is a place of 100% freedom, and we will accept you in whatever fabulous way you come. Your true self is welcome here.
Next, Younglife deals with relationships. We build relationships with high school kids. We want to be their friends! We want to take them out to Sonic and just talk about the day. We want to plan events like bowling, movie nights or sleepovers because that’s what friends do. We do all of this so that high school kids have someone to trust or someone to lean on in times of hardship. You may think that sounds a little weird but think back to when you were in high school. Would not you have wanted a college kid taking you out to dinner, making picnics in the park and being a mentor and friend while having you as the top of their priority list? Sometimes kids don’t want to run with our crowd; that’s fine. We love them anyway. Sometimes they don’t want to come to Club that week. We invite them, regardless. Other times, kids just don’t want to accept the message we preach. We are still going to be their friend. As Younglife leaders, we want kids to know that they matter and that they are loved by the Creator of the Universe who died to know them.
Last, Younglife is about Jesus. It always has been and always will be. Everything we do revolves around the Gospel. Why we do what we do, go where we go and say what we say is to let high school kids know that first and foremost, Jesus loves them no matter who they are and what mistakes they may have made. I am a YoungLife leader because of that statement. I have made it my mission to let as many people, not just high school kids, know that. We host Club every week, we take kids to a 5-star summer camp every year, and we live this life because we are passionate about that message.
We have a saying in YL: “You were made for this.” I believe you, you reading this article right now, wherever you are in this walk of life, were made for this. I encourage to search this out. Go to younglife.org and see what we are all about! Read the articles, explore the camps and find out what on earth is happening within this organization. I truly believe that if you do decide to become a YoungLife leader like me and others on this UTM Campus, it will be a decision that could totally rock your world.
Photo source: Me