of Gen Z doesn’t feel worthy of being loved.
of Gen Z around the globe have mental health concerns.
of Gen Z turns to social media when they’re feeling anxious.
This is what keeps me up at night: all these kids are either in a really good spot or a tough spot or somewhere in the middle—and they need an adult other than their parents saying: ‘you matter—and this is why you matter.’”
SOURCE: Young Life, The Relate Study, 2024
Since 1941, Young Life has put caring adults into the lives of kids—walking into their world as friends and mentors to introduce them to Jesus and help them grow in their faith. In the North Star Region, we are passionate about making this true across the Twin Cities and southern Minnesota. Through 54 ministries, we meet over 9,000 young people from middle school to college right where they’re at—and know them each by name. From Rochester to North Minneapolis, and everywhere in between, all young people need and deserve to be loved, accepted, and known—deeply—by caring adults. We have a vision to see this impact grow and deepen.
where Young Life leaders go where kids are to build one-on-one relationships
where kids experience a “party with a purpose” and hear the gospel
where kids will have
the best week of their life and be introduced to Jesus
Bible Studies helping
kids grow in their faith
Jesus meets people where they are and walks with them. He cares deeply about people. During his life, he modeled knowing people by name. At Young Life, we invest in incredible programs, but our clubs and camps only matter because of the relationships. We seek to model Jesus’ ministry by forging genuine relationships and strong connections with kids, building trust in order to earn the right to share the good news of Jesus.
Young Life is healthiest when kids have a sense of ownership.
To that end, we invite young people—and our volunteers and staff—to see the purpose and possibility of their story. Investing in training allows us to retain our best people and raise up the next generation—where kids become leaders, leaders become staff, and staff become area directors.
At Young Life, we can’t do this work without volunteer leaders. Our area directors wrestle with the tension of expanding our reach while being able to build deep relationships with each and every young person they encounter. That will require a massive volunteer movement. We need to expand our reach through our investment in volunteer leaders so more kids can be known by caring adults and come to know Jesus.
We want to proclaim the deep and wide and welcoming gospel. In the North Star Region, that looks like expanding our reach in Minneapolis and gaining traction on the East Side of the Twin Cities.
Going deeper in the North Star Region means expanding our footprint and taking the time to be fully present with each and every young person in ways that say, “I see you, and you matter.” That’s what Jesus does. He meets people where they’re at and walks with them. He leaves the 99 to go after the one. We are seeing the impact of modeling Jesus’ ministry across the Twin Cities and southern Minnesota, and we invite you to be part of it in a deeper way.
Checks may be made out to Young Life,
with “AF25” on the memo line, and sent to:
YL North Star Region
6301 Cecilia CIR.
Minneapolis, MN 55439
