The 19th century saw the rise of ministries targeting young people, including England’s Young Men’s Christian Association, founded in 1844. In the 1930s, Christian groups in Britain and North America organized energetic, entertaining evangelistic rallies designed to attract and evangelize young people.

These youth outreaches gave birth to modern youth ministry and to enduring nonprofits, including Colorado Springs-based Young Life (founded in 1941) and Youth For Christ, which was founded in the Chicago area 1944 and became well-known through the work of its first employee: a then little-known evangelist named Billy Graham, who would reach millions around the world.

Both YFC USA and YFC International, which work in more than 100 countries, relocated to Denver in 1990. The ministries, which have a combined annual revenue of $30 million, are celebrating their 80th anniversary this year.

Youth culture continually evolves, and today fewer young people attend church. But YFC sees the decline in churchgoing as a fresh chance to apply its timeless approach: going to where young people are and building “authentic Christ-sharing relationships” with them.

“We are dealing with Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who are growing up without church being an integral part of their lives,” said Allison Johnson, YFC’s vice president of ministry advancement, who serves YFC’s 112 local chapters across the country, including one in Colorado Springs.

Johnson says one young man attending a YFC club asked if churches required guests to pay cover charges similar to those paid in some bars.

“They live in a post-Christian world,” she says. “But they are spiritually hungry and spiritually open, and that creates opportunities.”

One mission, many ministries

YFC’s mission is “to raise up lifelong followers of Jesus who 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.”

Johnson says the ministry “does ministry in different ways to fit the needs of kids.”

YFC’s most popular program is weekly Campus Life club meetings in middle and high schools that include fun and a faith talk.

Other programs include City Life ministries that reach urban youth; YFC Military, which serves young people whose their parents serve in the military; a ministry to deaf youth; and YFC Core, which teaches Christian students how to share their faith with other young people.

The various YFC methods have a common goal:

• Get young people into faith conversations with YFC leaders.

• Invite them to accept Christ as their savior, something YFC says 9,240 young people did in the past year.

• Teach and disciple them in Christian living.

• Plug them into fellowship at a local church.

YFC’s Springs-based work is part of its Juvenile Justice Ministry for delinquent and pre-delinquent teens. Local Executive Director Randy LaValley and a team of volunteers work with youth held at Zebulon Pike Youth Services Center and with youth in Pueblo and Cañon City. LaValley and volunteers run weekly programs inside Zebulon and other facilities and meet with juveniles one-on-one for weekly mentoring. YFC also provides aftercare, continuing to reach out to youth after they complete their detention.

YFC’s other Colorado chapters in Denver, Greeley and the Glenwood Springs area employ 79 people and have 2,451 volunteers.

Legacy of training

Johnson has been connected with YFC for a quarter century, beginning when she was a new believer and incoming freshman at the University of Nebraska, where she majored in education.

She was intent on becoming a schoolteacher, but as her desire to share her faith with others grew, she asked a YFC staff member how she could do so effectively. Before long, she was volunteering with the YFC local and receiving training that equipped her to do youth evangelism and discipleship.

“I had leaders who poured into me and discipled me as I was leading others,” she says.

Her current role in ministry advancement has brought her full circle: She’s now in charge of the training and resources YFC provides to its staff and volunteers across the country.