A Critical Analysis of the Young Life Program: Implications for the Creation of A Leader Manual

The goal of this project was to create a useful and informative manual for current Young Life leaders in Columbia, South Carolina based on research from developmental literature about adolescent needs. Young Life is a nondenominational Christian youth group made up of volunteer leaders and staff people who go into local high schools to build relationships and develop an opportunity for ministry and sharing the Gospel. This project intends to critique what Young Life could be doing better in terms of catering to the needs of adolescents in this critical stage of development while coming from the perspective that the methods of Young Life in its ministry are effective. That being said, the manual should act as a supplement to the current forms of training for leaders and policies that Young Life runs by. It is my hope that Young Life leaders will be able to utilize this consolidation of information specifically created for Young Life leaders in order to better their ministry and assist their high school friends in their developmental progression into successful and capable adults