Young Life is a parachurch ministry that is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The ministry was started in Dallas, Texas in 1941 by Presbyterian minister Jim Rayburn. Young Life operates globally as several different organizations with different focuses.
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History
In 1933 Clara Frasher recruited a group of her friends to pray for the teenagers attending Gainesville High School in Texas. Six years later in 1939, Presbyterian minister Jim Rayburn started the Gainesville, Texas chapter of the Miracle Book Club for high school students. Like Clara Frasher and her prayer circle, Kennedy wanted to get the town's teenagers, who showed no interest in engaging with traditional church programs, involved with Christianity. Realizing something must be done, Kennedy hired Rayburn to fill a part-time position within the church in order to accomplish something vital beyond its walls. The book club became Young Life on October 16, 1941. The headquarters moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1946. Young Life volunteer leadership began in the 1940s at Wheaton College, Illinois. At the beginning of Young Life's ministry its focus was directed almost completely to suburban high school students. By the early 1950s, it had begun ministries in approximately 25 urban areas. Young Life now has over 700 ministries located in 324 cities, reporting about 18,000 members.
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Camps and clubs
Young Life maintains summer camps in 17 American states as well as camps in British Columbia, Canada, the Dominican Republic, The United Kingdom, Armenia, and France. These camps incorporate Christian messages presented in a camp setting along with typical camp activities.
The largest of Young Life's camps is the Washington Family Ranch (and accompanying Big Muddy Ranch Airport) in Antelope, Oregon. The ranch was formerly the site of the Rajneeshpuram, an intentional living community centered on the Rajneesh movement.
Young Life also runs local Young Life clubs for high school students, held weekly and typically in homes, which include singing, skits, and where the Christian gospel is explained in short talks. There are around 700 Young Life Club chapters worldwide, and usually one Club is associated with one high school. Each club is composed of volunteers who contribute their time to mentor and assist high school students based on Christian values and principles These meetings typically take place on Mondays between seven and eight o'clock in the evening.
Camp properties
The following is a list of properties operated by Young Life.
Young Life International
Young Life began an international program in the 1940s focusing on teens living on military bases. Shortly after that, Young Life expanded from military bases to ministry with local adolescent kids. Young Life International reports divisions in more than 100 countries.
Criticism and controversy
In November 2007, Jeff McSwain, the Area Director of Durham and Chapel Hill, along with others, was fired after taking issue with the organization's "sin talks." McSwain's theology emphasizes that "God has a covenant, marriage-like relationship with the world he has created, not a contract relationship that demands obedience prior to acceptance [as in that of Young Life]." Tony Jones describes Young Life's Statement of "non-negotiables" as telling staffers that "they must not introduce the concept of Jesus and his grace until the students have been sufficiently convinced of their own depravity and been allowed to stew in that depravity". Eight members of Young Life's teaching staff based in Durham, North Carolina resigned their positions after these "non-negotiables" were announced.
References
Further reading
- Cailliet, Emile; Young Life (1963)
- Meridith, Char; It's a Sin to Bore a Kid: The Story of Young Life (1977) ISBN 0-8499-0043-3
- Miller, John; Back to the Basics about the early years of Young Life including a lot of Rayburn's life.
- Rayburn, Jim III; From Bondage To Liberty - Dance, Children, Dance a biography by his son (2000) ISBN 0-9673897-4-7
- Rayburn, Jim: The Diaries of Jim Rayburn (2008, Morningstar Press and Whitecaps Media) Rayburn's personal journals, edited and annotated by Kit Sublett ISBN 978-0-9758577-7-9
External links
- Official website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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