A GENERATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE CHANGING THE WORLD THROUGH FAITH IN ACTION
Through intentional and thoughtful Coordination, Collaboration, and Connection, the programs of Youth Mission Co are making an impact… in the lives of young people, and in the communities where they serve both in the short term and the long term
Need Mission
Homelessness, poverty, food insecurity, and an ever widening economic disparity are all symptoms of a society that is in deep need of compassion and systemic change. Gen Z (and the emerging Gen Alpha) are longing to make a lasting difference and fashion a better world. But how, when the problems of our society seem so big and so pervasive? What does their faith have to do with how they choose to live in the world around them? Young people feel an urgency to make an impact, but need knowledge and guidance to make moral and lasting changes.
Youth Mission Co is dedicated to engaging, educating, and empowering young people to serve those in need, inspired by the ethics of Jesus. Through intentional coordination, collaboration, and connection, we make a tangible impact in the lives of young people and the communities they serve, both in the short and long term
Lifetime Value
Young people who participate in the programs of Youth Mission Co do more than simply “give back ” They engage in the community to see first hand the experiences and challenges facing our neighbors living in poverty, homelessness, and marginalization Through direct engagement in the community our youth participants learn from our neighbors, build empathy for the difficult situations some of our neighbors are facing, theologically and ethically reflect on their service experiences, and discern their call to live a life that helps fashion a more just and moral world
E N G A G E , E D U C A T E , E M P O
PROGRAMS
Mission Immersion
Youth Mission Co coordinates with groups of young people, often from churches or campus ministries, who come to spend a week or weekend with us at one of our program locations in Asheville, NC, Raleigh, NC, Charleston, SC, Memphis, TN, and Dallas, TX. Our staff collaborates with a variety of agencies and ministries in these communities to arrange for our groups to volunteer, doing both tasks that are both interactive in the community and “behind the scenes.”
Debriefings
In the evenings our staff lead our mission immersion groups in debriefing programs, making connections between what they have seen and experienced at agencies and the larger problems of our society that keep making this work necessary. Our programs are times of theological reflection that include simulations, Bible study, group discussion, and creative expression.
Simulations
In our debriefing programs, participants engage in simulations we design to help youth understand the situations of those living in poverty. For instance, the group might be divided into three “families” of different socioeconomic levels. Then they must make tough decisions about their family’s future based on the limited options available to them. In another simulation they might have to work a job that isn’t paying enough and then watch as the bills rack up and their situation gets more and more tenuous. Our simulations help to bust the myths about why people are poor, and highlight the realities of cycles of poverty.
Bible Studies
Our Bible study time is designed to engage the ethics of Jesus and the prophets into our reflections. Given that Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:31) and that the prophets call us to let justice roll down like water (Amos 5:24), our faith requires that we make changes in our personal lives and in our society when we see that some of our neighbors are struggling to survive.
Group Discussions
Given these difficult realities, and the lens of our theological reflections, what are we then to do? In our debriefing programs young people and their adult leaders are guided in discussions that lead to discernment, both for the individual youth, and for their group. How will they live differently when they return? How might this affect their vocation? What actions do they want their congregations to take in their home communities?
Creativity
Often there are creative elements included in our debriefing programs This includes activities like journaling, dramatic arts, and visual arts In addition to offering ways for youth to process their experiences, we hope these creative elements can result in a means of interpretation of their time with us when they return home
What an incredible week we had! The program was excellent, and the care and concern to each detail and each participant makes the week flow so smoothly. In an environment that could potentially be so frustrating, hot, and exhausting, (their) organization and attention to detail creates instead an environment of hospitality where hearts are opened and lives transformed.
Beth Burton-Williams, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Smithfield, NC
PROGRAMS
Mission Scholars
With every group of youth we host we find there is at least one young person who is particularly interested in what we are doing. They are often the peer leader in the group, the one who is most fully engaged in the volunteer work, and the one most vocal in our debriefing programs. To more fully engage this kind of young person, we created the mission scholar program. Mission Scholars are assembled into cohort groups that meet monthly throughout a year. In our meetings we study the causes of food insecurity, homelessness, and poverty. We study societal issues of history such as racial redlining and gentrification As mission scholars regularly engage in their home communities, they do so with more and more knowledge, reflection, and discernment By the end of their year, they present a project on an issue of their choosing, and share how this issue may impact their future vocation
(quotefromamissionscholar)
Internships
As our programs have grown, so has our need for more staff support. During our busy summer seasons, we engage college aged interns to implement much of our programming. Summer interns take our groups to agencies to volunteer. They are trained in the debriefing program curriculum and take the lead in implementing them in the evenings. Through the course of a summer, these interns grow tremendously, in leadership, in knowledge of societal issues, in their faith, and in vocational discernment.
The pandemic of 2020 caused our programming to stop abruptly. No groups were able to come and visit us or engage in volunteer work in group settings. However, this gave our staff an opportunity to write curricula that will empower youth ministry leaders for years to come. We believe that this work with young people requires more than an annual “mission trip.” We want to help youth engage in this work of action and reflection year round. Therefore we have created over a dozen curriculum units centered around service, justice education, and theological reflection Whether a youth group leader needs an activity to explain gentrification, or a comprehensive year long process to cover a variety of faith and justice issues, we are providing what our colleagues in youth ministry need
(quote from a youth leader who has used our curriculum?
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
In the 16 years of our existence we have done so much and grown tremendously.
Number of participants: over 10,000
Number of agencies: around 60
Number of service hours: 140000*
Number of interns: 50
Number of curricula: 13
*The financial equivalent of those service hours, calculated at a living wage: over $2,500,000
National Reach
Starting in 2008 in Asheville, NC we have expanded into several other locations, including Raleigh NC, Charleston, SC, Memphis, TN, and Dallas, TX. Our visiting groups have come from the following states: Georgia, Idaho, West Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, California, Nebraska, North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, Minnesota,
Ecumenical
Our inclusive, open and affirming, biblically based, and justice centered approach to mission immersion has made us an appealing option for groups of several denominations. Starting from Presbyterian (PCUSA) roots, we have grown to include church groups that are United Methodist, Episcopal, Lutheran, United Church of Christ, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Disciples of Christ, and more.
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Our vision is a generation of young people who have an understanding of the difficult situations facing our most vulnerable neighbors. It is a generation that knows that in addition to hard work, there must be a realistic path available for everyone to succeed. They are a generation who has empathy, morality, and a theology of abundance that is not threatened by the notion of all of us thriving. More than just having a value of “giving back,” they are a generation that understands systems must change in order to permanently alleviate symptoms like poverty, food insecurity, and homelessness. It is a generation that comes of age thinking not just about a vocation that will make them rich and comfortable, but a life calling that will make the world a better place.
Our vision is that this program of engagement, education, and theological reflection is available to youth in churches across the country, regardless of geography and regardless of means. In 8 years we want to expand from 5 locations to 8, across the country, doubling our annual summer participation from 700 to 1400 people.
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Curriculum
75% of our annual budget is based on participant registrations for our programming, resources, and congregational sponsorships.
25% of our annual budget will come from donations made by individuals, groups, and foundations. This allows us to keep our costs as low as possible for participants across the country, and keep scholarship fund for our programming so that no participant is turned away because they cannot pay the registration fee, and no church group is turned away because of lack of resources.
