Learning Through Faith: Young Life

Written by Mary Grace Poskin

Wendy Franco, Area Director of Young Life, puts her arms in the air signaling to the basement filled with East students to quiet down. It’s Wednesday night and the high school club meeting for Young Life has just adjusted their fake mustaches and gathered in one of the student’s basements to play some games. Junior Mitch Sauls awaits his prize for winning the “whose mustache does this belong to” contest.

“So tonight…” Franco belts out, “Yes tonight,” the students chant out.

“I was going to give out money but then I thought, I have something better than money,” Franco smiles.
“What’s better than money?” all the kids chant out in unison.

“An egg picker!” The basement explodes into laughter as Sauls receives his award.

Young Life is a school specific organization whose purpose is to introduce teenagers to Christ and help them grow in their faith.

“We do that through club each week, and leaders go and hang out with kids, and then we have campaigners which is small group bible studies and obviously camps. These are kind of the methods or basics we want to teach people about Jesus in a nonthreatening way and then help them grow in that faith if they have that,” Franco said.

In Kansas City, Young Life is run by 14 area directors who are in charge of finances, run the office, train the leaders, recruit all the leaders, train and meet with the committees, meet with all the parents and host the events.

“Young Life is school specific which means that it’s not in the school, but it’s centered around the school, so East kids all go to the same club, West kids go to the same club, North kids go to the same club, etc.” Franco said.

In Shawnee Mission there are four clubs; one at East, West, Northwest, and North. Currently, Young Life is in the process of beginning a club at South, but all the schools have had Young Life off and on over the years.

“I went to Young Life when I was in high school so I’ve been involved in Young Life since 1988 and that’s how I became a Christian. I had grown up in a Catholic Church and went to Catholic school and was confirmed and I still just didn’t get it. I never thought there was a personal relationship that you have with Jesus,” Franco said.

Young Life meetings are usually at different students houses once a week, although some areas have meetings in a dedicated room such as a barn or coffee shop.

“I like having [Young Life] at kids’ houses because it brings ownership to the kids to invite friends. It’s not a school and it’s not a church so there is kids that would come to Young Life that maybe would never go to church and that’s kinda the point is we want to make it a place where even if you have no background in church or knowing who Jesus is, you still have people coming,” Franco said.
Although location is important, the students’ religion perspective is key at Young Life.

“I would say Young Life in our area for the last 15 years has at least 30 kids a year who have decided to follow Christ and totally changed their lives,” Franco said.

Recently, a good friend of Franco’s graduated high school from South and had a younger sister. Franco’s friend was Christian, her parents were Christian, and they grew up going to church. Both of them went to Young Life and the younger sister pushed it away up until this last month. Her older sister, Sarah, has been praying for 15 years for her younger sister to see Christ. Last March, the younger sister met this guy who was a recovering drug addict and they had a conversation for an hour and a half about Jesus and she decided to follow Jesus.

“The thing about Young Life is we’re about planning this time, we won’t know what’s going to happen to a kid 10, 15 years later and our hope is that we love them and tell them the truth and that they will be able to look back on that and go ‘Oh gosh, that’s what they were talking about, That’s why they loved me that way,” Franco said.

Another example of how Young Life effects lives happened when Franco met this freshman girl who had an older sister who participated in Young Life. They were a Catholic family but not until the girl went to Young Life Camp the summer after her freshman year did her faith really become her own. Franco met with her once a week for the next three years, the girl helped teach religion to younger girls and then went to college and taught in college. After she got married, she went to India for four months and did mission work there with her husband. She came back from India last April and is now the area director for Young Life in Olathe.

“My life is markedly different because in 1989 I went to Young Life Camp. My life is so different from people my age. I have kids over to my house all the time, I’m spending maybe two nights at home because the rest of it is Young Life. I’m always, we’re just always going and not just to be busy but because we have people to administer to and go and see and be with, and love and care for. That’s really fun for us,” Franco said.

Upcoming events for Young Life include a spring picnic scheduled for May 2 at Antioch Park with games, a cook-out and an ice cream truck. Young Life has over 20 properties that they have built specifically for high school students and high school camping including a resort in Minnesota. Young Life Camp will be in Minnesota from July 14-22 and 14 kids from East have signed up.

“It’s pretty much the best week of your life,” junior Sarah Colburn said after Franco had brought up Castaway or the summer Young Life Camp and the students chanted out, “Castaway-uh-huh, uh-huh, I like it, uh-huh-uh -huh.”

Although most of Castaway is kept as a surprise to new campers, Franco reveals there will be parasailing, a giant zip line, tubing, rock climbing and water skiing.

“Taking kids to camp is the most fun, young life leaders aren’t chaperones they’re actually there to hang out and know the kids that they’re with. And so we run around and do all the activities, and do everything with them, you to get to really know kids like you can’t get to know them anywhere else. It’s a building block for that friendship forever,” Franco said.

Some East students who have participated in Young Life include juniors Abigail Heying, Mackenzie Bridges, Mary Grace Diehl, Michael Mansfield, Will Short, Mitch Sauls and sophomores Anne Foster, Laurie Doerflinger, Lizzie Wrablica, Taylor Anderson, Andrew McKittrick, Drew Harding, Jack Fisher, Christian Blessen and Emily Tilden.

Tilden has been going to Young Life since freshman year and thoroughly enjoys the experience.

“I think in middle school and high school you actually make it your own faith and it’s not your parents anymore and it’s kind of a hard transition sometimes. Being able to share your faith with other people that you see at school that don’t go to your church has helped make my faith stronger,” Tilden said. “I would recommend Young Life to others because it’s fun and you get to meet new people.”