Young life gains popularity

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Photo courtesy Holly Ringsak. Rondeau, Ringsak and Coltvet fly above Castaway camp and reflect on all they have learned through Young Life. " The purposes and beliefs of Young Life have greatly impacted me. Through each experience with Young Life, I have met more people and changed my perspective in a positive way." Coltvet says, "It's great to have a place to talk to and get to know people you normally wouldn't have!"

Teenagers often find themselves forced to attend church by their parents, where they listen to pastors preach and have to sit still for an hour. Some may enjoy this type of worship, but for others, this  style of church is too boring. This can be especially true for teenagers, who are too old to go to Sunday school, but are too young to fully grasp the sermons, which are often tailored to the needs of adults. These teenagers yearn for a different way to build on their faith, and Young Life has made it its goal to reach out to these teens and give them the opportunity to learn about Jesus and interact with others in a welcoming environment.

“Young Life is geared towards providing a fun experience for high school students to go to. It’s kind of organized chaos, a party with a purpose basically,” Matt McCann, staff associate of Stillwater’s Young Life group said. “We’re reaching high schoolers that typically would never go to church. It’s a place to go for the social aspect and to have fun, but ultimately to learn about Jesus too.”

Young Life has groups all over the world, and consists of everyone from teenagers in wealthy environments to others in places struck with poverty. The club attempts to bring different groups of kids together and give them an opportunity to meet new people along with growing their faith.

“It’s just a youth group focused on religion, but I’d say it’s not all about religion, it’s about community and friendship too.” junior Grace Luloff said.

The reason the group has so many members is because of its unique approach to teaching teenagers religion. The group urges teens to play various games that get them out of their comfort zones and allow them to have fun at the same time. The games are then connected to a religious message given by a Young Life leader whose job is to be able to connect with teenagers. This method leads to the teens learning about religion, but also gaining friends and overall, having a  great time.

“Club can take many forms,” McCann said. “Typically, we want to reach a critical mass and  have enough people there so we can do a lot of big games.”

Even though Young Life is a faith-based organization, people looking to join do not need to be religious. Many members simply go to hangout with friends and connect with different groups of people.

“There is absolutely no pressure. We are not expecting anyone that comes to be a Christian, and that’s the point because we’re not a church, we’re a non-profit organization,”  McCann said. “We want any kid to come just to hang out, connect with peers, to have a safe place to just be a high schooler.”

Stillwater’s Young Life group has club on Monday nights, usually from 7-8 p.m., and also meets for bagels on Wednesday mornings at 7:20 a.m. in math teacher Pete Hamilton’s classroom. Students who are interested in joining should feel free to stop by at either time and ask for more details involving the club, since the group is always looking for new members.