Since Young Life began in 1940, its leaders have cared enough to leave the comfort of their adult worlds and enter the arena of high school and middle school life. You will find Young Life leaders sitting in the stands at football games, walking the streets of inner-city neighborhoods, driving carloads of kids to the shopping malls or tutoring students in study centers after school. In fact, you will find them almost anywhere you can find kids. Young Life leaders model trust, respect, and responsibility to their young friends, and they do it within a meaningful context, within the context of a teenager's world.

Young Life provides healthy, creative fun. From weekly clubs to seasonal camping experiences to daily outings with leaders, Young Life is known around the world as the organization that knows how to have fun.

Club typically meets once a week and has been described as an experience in "controlled chaos." Leaders combine songs, humor and group interaction to create an hour of energetic fun where kids can express that teenage tendency to push the limits - but within the controlled context of a safe environment.

"Young Life" is the name of our organization and it's also what we call our outreach to high school aged kids. We have named our middle school and junior high ministry "Wyldlife" to differentiate between the two age groups and their varying developmental stages and maturity levels. Both ministries stay true to the time-tested practices we've been using for more than 60 years: going where kids are, loving them unconditionally, earning the right to be heard and communicating God's love in terms kids can understand.

The Role of a Young Life Leader

Leaders are committed to being involved with kids' lives -- from supporting them at their events to listening to them talk about what's important to them. Our leaders help kids consider the direction of their lives, and they offer hope for their future.