Why Young Life

Being a teenager today is like walking a tightrope.
Every step is a challenge.

Since Young Life Australia began in 1972, volunteer leaders have cared enough to leave the comfort of their own adult worlds and enter the arena of high school students. You will find Young Life leaders connecting with young people at their schools, sporting venues or the shops. Young Life leaders model trust, respect and responsibility and they do it within the context of a teenager's world. The primary mission for a Young Life leader is to 'love young people in their world.' Young Life believes in the power of building positive relationships with teenagers in order to have a genuine long lasting impact in their lives.

Reaching the 94.3% of unchurched youth in Australia
As you look around the Australian church we do not see our churches bursting with young people. According to National Church Life Survey (2001) only 5.7% of young people aged 15-19 yrs attend church and by the time they are 21 the drop out rate is about 40%. These figures do not paint a healthy picture for the future of the church.

Organisations like Young Life (and there are many more), exist to help reach the 94.3% of young people who do not attend church youth activities and may never do so.

There is more pressure in the world of teenagers today. The pressure to achieve, make decisions earlier, fit in with peers and choose the right career.

There's also the desperate need to find an identity and be loved and valued for who they are. Traditional safety nets of family and community support are often missing.

Broken relationships, feelings of isolation and emotional burdens are part of many young lives by the time they reach high school.

At school, the choices that are made and the relationships formed will determine what sort of adults our teenagers become.