Faithful Observations
By BOB SHILLINGSTAD
Special to The Press
I wanted to cover an organization that has a big footprint in North Idaho and many people may not know that they exist, and that is Young Life. We sat down with Molly Starch, the Area Director for North Idaho Young Life. Young Life began in 1941 in Gainesville, Texas, and has expanded to more than 76,000 volunteers, 5,200 full-time staff, is in all 50 states and is impacting teenagers in 102 countries. We were eager to ask Molly about Young Life in this area.
Molly, how long have you been involved in Young Life and what is your background?
I grew up in Colorado Springs where Young Life is headquartered. My parents were friends of the founders of YL and were involved with YL from the time I was a baby. They served on the YL Adult Committee for 25 years (which backs the ministry of YL in an area). All through my high school years I was involved and started my own YL club during my college years in San Diego. After college, I went straight on YL Staff with my husband, Daniel, and we served in Colorado, Australia and Canada. I have led the North Idaho area for the last three years.
Briefly explain Young Life and what the mission is.
Young Life’s mission is to introduce adolescents and young people to Jesus Christ in a way they can understand and help them to grow in their faith. We go where kids are, build personal relationships with them, all so they can know that they are valued, treasured and loved by the God who created them. We walk alongside them, help them know how to navigate life’s challenges, prepare them for life’s journey and encourage them to get involved in the local church.
You obviously are not doing this alone. Tell us about your volunteers.
We have a local adult committee that oversees the ministry and helps raise the necessary funds. We have over 50 volunteers who work in various capacities and these volunteers come from a variety of churches, but all are committed to the common purpose of introducing young people to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith.
Molly, that sounds easy but I am sure it isn’t quite that simple when you are competing with all of the attractions for the attention of young people. How do you do it?
With the permission of the schools we spend time at lunch, games and school activities interacting with students. Many of our volunteers are teachers or coaches also. We have made contact and know the names of over 2,000 teens in the area and our goal is to know 3,000 by the end of 2019. We invite them to a “club meeting” held each week where there is singing, games, a skit and a short message that presents the gospel. We invite them to attend fall camp or a Young Life summer camp, and from there to a Bible Study we call Campaigners. We believe the first step in all of this is building a relationship of trust.
I have looked at some of the many Young Life camps around the country and frankly these don’t look like the typical church camp but more like an exciting resort!
We have been blessed with some great properties and support! Young Life believes that every aspect of camp can show kids that God thinks they are worth it. Therefore, the grounds are kept with excellence, as they represent that God is willing to go all out for them. We just returned from taking 45 to YL’s Malibu Club camp in British Columbia. It was a life-changing trip for many! We will be taking two groups to YL’s Washington Family Ranch in Oregon. The high school group will attend Canyon and our middle school group will go to Creekside. Camp provides a way for kids to leave their pain and distractions behind, have outrageous fun, and just be kids again. In addition, they are challenged with life-changing decisions as they get to consider God’s great love story that was written just for them. Young Life camps happen all across our country, and worldwide, as well.
You mentioned junior high kids going to camp. What age groups do you represent?
We not only have Young Life clubs for high school students, but also, Wyldlife Club for middle school students in North Idaho. This fall we will be starting a club called YoungLives for the teen moms in our community. In addition, Young Life also has clubs in other areas for college students (YL College) and for kids with special needs (YL’s Capernaum ministry). These are areas we would like to expand into in the future as our volunteer base grows.
Molly, this is a brief overview of Young Life. If people want more information how do they get in touch with you?
My email is molly@northidaho.younglife.org or call 208-819-7226 and our address is North Idaho Young Life, P.O. Box 3087, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83816. Our website is: northidaho.younglife.org