Photo: Young Life’s first ever event at Cherokee Trail High School, where 30 high school students came and heard (possibly for the first time) that God is for them.

My Story:

I started going to Young Life as a middle schooler and continued all throughout High School. While in Young Life as a high schooler my life was completely changed when I began my walk with the Lord at 16 years old. Both my heart and my life were completely changed by the adults known as Young Life leaders as they relentlessly pursued a friendship with me and over time earned the right to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with me. There has been nothing that that has ever brought me more joy, authenticity, community, and the life to the full that God intended than getting to be a part of Young Life over the past 10 years.      

I have felt a specific calling in ministry within the Cherry Creek school district, and I am now on  full-time staff starting Cherokee Trail Young Life, and with Eastern Hills Community Church’s high school youth group.

What is Young Life?

In Young Life, we believe that every kid has the right to hear about Jesus Christ. We believe in the power of presence, in meeting kids exactly where they are at. We believe that the gospel is presented simply by just showing up for kids. We believe that kids don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care. We believe in adults earning the right to be heard with students. We believe in sharing our lives with students. We believe “that there is no price too high pay to see to it that young people have a chance to know the savior. That's not just what Young Life’s all about, that's all that Young Life’s all about” -Jim Rayburn (Founder of Young Life, 1941). We believe, alongside Eastern Hills, that the Gospel is for everyone.

Young Life Club:

We like to think of club as a party with a purpose. Kids gather for an hour a week for controlled chaos, music, games, laughter, that is almost impossible to describe. It’s a place that every kid should feel welcome, seen, and loved. And before the party ends, we share a simple message, by a leader that kids know and trust, about God's love for them. After all, that's what the celebration is all about.​

Young Life Leaders:

We believe that kids lives are drastically changed when caring adults come alongside them and genuinely take interest in their joys, failures, heartbreaks, doubts, and struggles. A lot of times, all it takes is one adult believing in a student for them to begin to see the meaning, purpose and worth their own life has.

Eastern Hills and Young Life at Cherokee Trail HS Partnership:

Our vision with this partnership is that Young Life will go to students at Cherokee Trail and meet the furthest out kids, or in other words, the students that may never set foot in a church. And as we do life with these students we earn the right to tell them about Jesus, and prayerfully hope that they will become followers of Jesus. Often one of the hardest parts for adolescents that begin a walk with the Lord is getting connected to a Church, and our dream is to bridge that gap. And through this partnership, we not only have a place to plug students into, (The Well, our high school ministry) but the big dream is that this changes whole family systems and brings family after family through our Church doors.