Shaping Young Lives
And transforming the high school experience
Words by Erin McWilliams
High school holds many difficult transitions and new experiences that can be overwhelming and nerve-racking, but East Austin Young Life offers a community where high schoolers can be free from their responsibilities for a little while.
On any given Monday night, Radiant Church in East Austin is filled with the the loud laughing, yelling, and singing voices of high school students. These are the voices of students from Lanier, LBJ, LASA, and Reagan High Schools in the area. On Mondays, you can find them playing sports and eating dinner in the parking lot, dancing as they scream the words to their favorite Beyoncé songs in the sanctuary, participating in crazy, messy games, and settling down to listen to one of their college mentors talk about life, in particular a life following Jesus. If this experience doesn’t sound familiar, it’s probably because you’ve never been to a Young Life club.
Young Life’s mission, like many other faith-based organizations, is to introduce students to Jesus Christ. What makes Young Life (YL for short) different than most, however, is its approach to this process. Instead of organizing a time and place for kids to come to church, YL leaders leave the comfort of organization and order, and meet students where they are, in their own walk of life. Practically, this means bringing them lunch at school, cheering for them in the stands of their sports games, meeting them at their favorite places to study the Bible, and inviting them to YL club every week. In essence, being a Young Life leader is being there and being a friend to the kids who need nothing more than a consistent mentor and listening-ear.
Northeast Austin Young Life serves high school students who live in the area in the hopes of building authentic relationships with them. Each winter, leaders take the kids to a local camp or retreat center for the annual Polar Bear Weekend Camp, which is a small glimpse into what YL Summer Camp is like. This year, Northeast Austin YL took 50 students to Polar Bear and raised $600, with the help of Strangeland Brewery, to help them get there and an additional $10,000 from donors. Camp is a place where kids go to disconnect from the demands of high school and engage: in activities, in friendships, in Bible Studies, and club, without the pressure of needing to keep up with their phones or social media, and basically, be a kid. Adhering to the increasingly high standards that high schools are asking of their students, coupled with the worries of home life can cause undue amounts of stress, whether emotional, physical, or mental, making it more and more important for these students to be able to release this stress in some way. Enter Young Life Camp: five days, no phones, incredible family-style meals, and no responsibilities. What results is a judgment-free place to experience a life centered on a relationship with Jesus.
Young Life Leaders in East Austin are UT college students that are willing to serve around 15 hours per week spending time with kids at and outside of club, meeting with other leaders and staff members, and preparing Bible studies. They go through a semester of training and end the semester with an interview before being placed in one of over 40 schools in the Austin area. Leaders help fundraise for their students to go to Polar Bear and Summer Camp with the help of the area’s committee, a group of local adult volunteers.
How You Can You Help:
One of the biggest needs of Northeast Austin YL right now is fundraising for Summer Camp at Crooked Creek Ranch in 2018. If you would like to donate, visit:
https://northeastaustin.younglife.org/Pages/donors.aspx
If you would like to volunteer with Northeast Austin Young Life, contact:
Chris Fisher
512-591-8982
cfisher@austin.younglife.org
Other Austin Young Life Ministries:
YoungLives – Teen moms
Capernaum – Students with intellectual and developmental disabilities
Wyldlife – Middle School students
College Life – UT students
