For 80 years, Youth For Christ has been dedicated to continually revising and refining its approach to ministry in order to reach the next generation.
This year, YFC is launching the Kingdom Innovation Lab, inspired by a visit to HATCH, Chick-fil-A’s learning and innovation center in Atlanta, GA. HATCH provides a collaborative space for fostering ideation, iteration and innovation. This visit sparked the creation of YFC’s new incubator for ideas.
“As part of our prayer and strategic planning, we’re preparing to make some bold, multi-year investments to better serve the rising and courageously faithful Generation Alpha,” said YFC President and CEO, Jake Bland. “And who better to help shape this future than the generation just before them? This is a hope-filled generation — emerging on the other side of the ‘deconstruction’ of faith. And now? They’re constructing something new, fresh, faithful and beautiful. Why build it ‘for’ them when you can build it ‘with’ them?
“One of YFC’s oldest taglines, ‘Geared to the Times; Anchored to the Rock,’ is ringing louder than ever. Rooted in the unchanging truth of Jesus, these young leaders are innovating ways to engage the challenges young people face today with bold faith and Kingdom vision.
“In the spirit of living with ‘more dreams than memories,’ I’m convinced that God is doing something extraordinary — and this generation is ready to lead the charge.”
Kingdom Innovation Lab utilizes the best of what YFC is learning in the design-thinking approach, combined with prayer and Spirit-led discernment throughout each stage. All leaders engaged in the Kingdom Innovation Lab (especially young leaders) will also be discipled while being taught the innovation methodology.
According to YFC’s Ministry Impact Report for 2024, the lab has already launched two specialized design teams, the first of which is Young Leaders. Now in its second year, the group is directly involved in the reimagining of YFC’s ministries for Generation Alpha.
The second design team is focused on Rebalance, a program aimed at helping young people who are struggling with traumatic mental health issues, such as stress, anxiety, behavioral problems and general distress.
According to Jeff Neel, Executive Director of YFC Northern Colorado, “Rebalance is designed for young individuals who have encountered notable challenges in their lives. We developed the program to simulate real-life emotional reactions to higher-stress activities. This provides a safe environment for young people to react, and coaches can then intervene and correct negative behavior.”
Neel noted, “There are many strategies that can be successful when working with kids. But in our experience, whether we are working with kids who have felt rejected in some way, or they just need help navigating the typical teen stresses of life, or they have gone through trauma in their past — addressing the whole child is essential. If we want to get to a place where we can share on a deep heart level, we will only get there if we use tools that bring healing and belonging to a young person, so they have a better chance to hear and believe.”
Early results of a pilot program are promising. In 2023 alone, YFC Northern Colorado saw 489 students participate in the Rebalance program on school campuses, and over half of those students (53%) became involved in an off-campus YFC program. The young people attending Rebalance started attending YFC Northern Colorado’s Bible studies. They began to bring their friends, growing the number of youth hearing the Word of God in the community. For instance, the Friday night Bible study went from 75 kids to 212 kids in three weeks after Rebalance was launched in the school district.
Neel said, “YFC does not exist to raise up emotionally healthy people; it exists to raise lifelong followers of Jesus. But emotionally healthy young people are better able to participate in authentic, Christ-sharing relationships and follow Jesus. With Rebalance, we want to prepare a student’s heart to hear the Gospel in such a way that their heart is more open for it than it was before the program.”
Youth For Christ has been a leader in missional youth outreach for 80 years and is dedicated to uncovering God’s story of hope in the next generation that desperately needs it. YFC reaches young people everywhere, working together with the local church and other like-minded partners to raise up lifelong followers of Jesus who then lead by their godliness in lifestyle, devotion to the Word of God and prayer, passion for sharing the love of Christ, and commitment to social involvement.
YFC chapters impact thousands of communities across the nation, seeking out and serving youth from all walks of life. Young people are silently struggling through a wide variety of challenging issues — and through the YFC ministry God empowers them and they see the living power of a loving God. YFC trains its leaders in a proven, relational ministry model called 3Story®, which encourages staff and volunteers to be good news while also sharing the stories of the Good News of Jesus. It involves building relationships through the ups and downs of everyday life to lead people to Christ.
YFC has been a pillar of missional ministry since 1944, when Dr. Billy Graham served as YFC’s first full-time staff member. Since then, Youth For Christ has continued to be both a rural and urban ministry on mission, and it is always about the message of Jesus. Youth For Christ USA has over 113 chapters that impact communities across America and is one of over 100 nations within Youth For Christ International.
Learn more about Youth For Christ at its website, www.yfc.net, Facebook and Instagram pages or on Vimeo.