Perseverance-Character-Hope: 2025 Annual Board Report (full)

perseverance character  hope

2025 Annual Board Report

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

— Romans 5:1-5 (NIV)

President’s Report

Newt Crenshaw

On the pages of this board report, you will read stories of how God is working through the ministry of Young Life to reach the next generation with the good news of Jesus Christ. We have the joy of walking alongside four million young people — in 119 countries across the globe — who are moving from death to life, with many joining us to reach the next kid with God’s love. That the Holy Spirit partners with us to inspire a volunteer movement is nothing short of astounding, and we are grateful for the part we are invited to play as God brings his Kingdom here on earth.

While we may rightfully boast in all that God is doing through our mission, we consistently face challenges that bring a measure of suffering. Ministry — in a post-COVID and increasingly polarized and violent world — to a global generation that is more anxious and lonelier than ever is the daily reality of our teams. Our staff carry the burdens of the kids they walk alongside in friendship, while facing their own personal trials even as we navigate changes within and around our mission. Amid these challenges, we continue to find ourselves in the good and sovereign hands of our loving God.

In this way, as Paul admonishes us, we not only “boast in the hope of the glory of our God … but we also glory in our sufferings.” Paul’s repetition of the word “glory” may provide insight into the connection between God’s glory and our sufferings.

God’s glory signifies his weightiness, his inherent worth and importance as our Creator. His glory also displays the fullness of his attributes — his holiness, goodness, power, and love. As we face various difficulties, these sufferings point us to a God who does not just stand above our hard circumstances but who suffers alongside us in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ.

Indeed, we belong to and serve a God who saves us by entering our suffering world and then dying in our place on the cross. We then come to see that through suffering our lives begin to bear a greater weight, and our souls expand to more fully identify with our Lord Jesus and with those he places near us.

When we pause long enough to see the Holy Spirit’s transformational work in our lives through every circumstance, we give God the glory! We notice how he has been with us through suffering, enabling us to persevere. We notice the godly character that is being formed in us by the Spirit as we walk in Jesus’ footsteps. Our hope is therefore strengthened in the promises of God who will not disappoint us.

The greatest of these promises is that “God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given us.”

Paul puts an exclamation point on this truth a few chapters later in Romans 8:35-39:

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Hallelujah! To him be the glory!

FIELD MINISTRY

Group Senior Vice President

WILEY SCOTT III

PAUL COTY III

Vice President

Young Life College

PETE HARDESTY

Vice President WyldLife JULIE CLAPP

Vice President YoungLives Global Ministries

KARIL CONNOR

Vice President Capernaum Global Ministries SUZANNE WILLIAMS

Midwestern

Senior Vice President BRETT HERSMA

eastern

Senior Vice President JOSH GRIFFIN

Southeastern

Senior Vice President JAMES ROCKWELL

U.S.

Wiley Scott III, Group Senior Vice President

In this season of opportunity in the U.S., I’ve heard the Lord say to hold on to these two scriptures: Psalm 46:10 – “Be still and know that I am God,” and Psalm 34:8 – “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” It’s amazing God has placed such responsibility in our hands, and we can trust him in all else. As a result, I see leaders across the field leaning on God in the most important matters. Here you’ll see snapshots of what he's accomplishing through his faithful people, all for his glory.

SouthwestERN Division

Kristy

Fox, Senior Vice President

Two metro areas in our division are reimagining how to support staff, saturate communities, and carry out their mission with fresh vision and energy.

The Phoenix Metro Neighborhoods project offers a creative way to structure metro ministry. Regional-level fundraising has allowed for a collaborative model to serve a high-need metro area. They’ve introduced “community directors” while shifting some traditional area director responsibilities to the regional level. This frees community directors to go deep in one neighborhood, serving in a more focused and holistic way.

In San Diego, Luma Haddad has stepped into the associate regional director role and is guiding the metro with vision, partnership, supervision, and shared leadership. Her team

combines seriousness of mission with joy in Christ, anchoring their work in weekly staff meetings, prayer chains, monthly campus prayer walks, and laughter together. This culminates into a drive for them to realize Young Life’s mission with young people in their areas. Their structure prioritizes collaboration: Luma provides excellent supervision while other staff share responsibilities so that no single area director carries the full load. Fundraising, committee development, camp planning, leadership recruitment, training, administration, and church relations are all divided strategically. This allows staff to focus on their strengths and, most importantly, to spend more time WITH students and leaders.

MidwestERN Division

Brett Hersma, Senior Vice President

Through a blend of tragedy, vision, and generosity, the Eastern Great Lakes Region Campership

Foundation account opened in 2017 following the passing of the 17-year-old son of one of our longtime area directors. We deployed the “Luke Legacy Fund” for its first seven years by targeting specific applicants in spiritual and financial need, and over 1,000 kids received campership gifts to attend camp during that time. But this year we completely transformed the way we utilize these funds. Our entire region called it "Camp Revolution" and the aim was simple: to greatly increase the number of kids who attend summer camp from our region, particularly in under-resourced communities.

We implemented a standardized reduced-cost price structure for summer outreach camp across the entire region, created a formula to share this burden in an equitable manner, and invited areas to opt in and commit to a series of camp “best practices” to receive the funds. (The formula sorted areas into tiers using fundability data, with areas receiving 40% to 100% of their underwriting needs from the Luke Legacy Fund.)

The results were amazing! Summer camp attendance increased across the entire region by 35.3% this summer! The growth in outreach camp attendance for our four most difficult-to-fund areas [Flint (urban), Detroit (urban), Ypsilanti (suburban low income), and Gladwin (rural)] was actually 93%, far exceeding the region-wide growth rate!

Beyond those numbers, we saw committee engagement in fundraising and camp promotion, staff excitement about camp, and excellent habits formed with timely area investments in prayer strategies, leader registrations, and early deposits. The Lord blessed this effort as we saw great fruit in the response of kids to Jesus all summer long.

SoutheastERN Division

James Rockwell, Senior Vice President

"Hope and Purpose" is our theme for ministry this year. Last year, Mark Springfield, senior Southeastern regional director, retired after 45 years of service to Young Life. There was a regional realignment for both Georgia and Alabama. Now, Allen Dixon leads the newly established Georgia Region, and Frank Brown

leads the expanded Gulf South Region. These changes have already generated growth. Last year the partnership between the South Central Division and Southeastern Division was also reestablished. Staff from Texas to Georgia served together pointing thousands of teenagers toward Christ at summer camps.

We’re also excited about improvements to our camping properties in the Southeast. The final phase of upgrades is underway at Windy Gap as the former dining hall is repurposed into our new game room, leader’s lounge, and camp store. Construction at Southwind has begun on a new work crew/summer staff dorm and club room for summer 2026. And the kickoff to the Restore Frontier Ranch Campaign has many staff hopeful for the future possibility of increased camper beds in Colorado.

The new school year is underway and soon school-season camping will be in full swing. Staff are recruiting, training, and deploying new volunteer leaders. Pray with us as we encourage staff and volunteers to keep their hope in Christ and remember his calling on their lives.

NorthwestERN Division

Kenny Nollan, Senior Vice President

We’ve experienced a vibrant summer camping season and are encouraged by the staff and volunteers who’ve said "yes" to beginning and continuing their work with thousands of kids in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado!

Front Range Region (Colorado):

In 2022 we hired Narcys Boddyn in Lafayette, Colorado. Narcys had previously been on staff in Nicaragua and moved to the U.S. where he's done incredible work specifically with the Latino community (all while still learning English!). Because of his powerful presence at Centarus High School, he was invited to coach and run various clubs in the school. For the first time ever, because of Narcys’ work, we had Spanish-only speaking kids at weekend camps last fall. He is a man of vision and perseverance, and I’m grateful for the ministry happening because Narcys’ big dreams!

Mountain West Region (Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho):

The Developing Future Leaders initiative is a result of providing $500 a month to areas that cannot afford a part-time staff and has accepted scarcity as the norm. Our 50 Developing Future Leaders over the past five years has been a breakthrough past scarcity and missing out on gifted, called young leaders who otherwise would not be stepping into ministry.

Did

South Central Division

Lindsey Patchell, Senior Vice President

Did you know Young Life’s founder, Jim Rayburn, spent his childhood in Newton, Kansas? It’s a small detail with a big reminder: God can do great things through kids from even the most unlikely towns.

Newton, an old railroad town about 25 miles north of Wichita, is now seeing that promise come to life. Five years ago, a group of concerned adults began praying about the possibility of Young Life in their community. Over the next two years, those prayers laid the foundation for ministry: a start-up committee formed, financial support grew, and a vision began to take shape. As the group prayed for a staff person, one member felt God calling him to step into that role himself — Loren Kurtz.

Loren, who had been serving as a youth pastor and already carried a heart for ecumenical ministry, became area director. Under his care, Young Life in Newton is flourishing. Newton is a hard-scrabble town, and funding an area director with a family has been a challenge. Yet Loren and the team have been creative. Two years ago, they launched “Pizza Nights” at a local restaurant — a mini banquet model where committee members invite friends to their table. Around 30 to 40 people attend each event, most new to Young Life. Guests enjoy food and fellowship, hear a story of ministry, and are invited to give.

Through perseverance, 80% of Newton’s budget is now funded by monthly donors, built little by little, family by family. Loren and his team have steadily grown Young Life and WyldLife, hosting after-school clubs, partnering with teachers and churches, and providing safe spaces like post-game gatherings. Loren’s vision is simple yet profound: that every youth pastor in Newton would know kids by name — until every kid is known. His leadership may not be flashy, but it is faithful, consistent, and effective.

you know Young Life’s founder, Jim Rayburn, spent his childhood in Newton, Kansas? It’s a small detail with a big reminder: God can do great things through kids from even the most unlikely towns.

Africa, Middle East , Asia/Pacific

Group Senior Vice President CHAD

EDWARDS

Senior Vice President

Asia South

STEVE LARMEY

Senior Vice President

Africa West

Senior Vice President

Africa South ALEXIS KWAMY

Senior Vice President

Africa East MARTIN WAMALWA

Middle East Africa West

Senior Vice President Asia/Pacific

MIKE GAFFNEY

Asia/ pacific

Asia South

Africa East

Africa South

global cities

North America East: Launched in early 2021

Chicago, NYC, Philadelphia, Toronto, Washington D.C.

Europe: Launched in early 2021

Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Moscow, Prague

Africa: Launched in late 2021

Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Harare, Kinshasa, Nairobi

Asia: Launched in early 2022

Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo

Latin America: Launched in fall 2022

Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Lima, Mexico City

Senior Vice President Global Cities Initiative JOHN WAGNER

Africa, Middle East, Asia/Pacific

Chad Edwards, Group Senior Vice President

As the work of God through Young Life continues to grow in historic ways, we’re reminded every good thing we have comes from him. In every hard thing we experience, he’s with us. We’re finding hope, his hope in all circumstances:

• Answered prayer to provide workers for the harvest by the thousands.

• The beginnings of new partnership models in India and fresh ministry starts in places like Australia.

• New strategic hires in HR, Learning and Leadership, and Development helping create a dream team of international support.

• The Holy Spirit's passion to meet more kids and bolder invitations for their involvement in the ministry.

• Unprecedented growth in Capernaum, YoungLives, University, and Global City work.

• Miraculous ministry growth in challenging places: Sudan, Palestine, Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, India, and others.

• His presence in personal tragedy, sickness, and emotional trials.

• After serving West Africa with excellence for more than four years, Mungai Kamau is listening to the Lord’s call to move to Africa South to lead the South Central Geography as vice president. With Tanzania, DRC, Burundi, and Congo Brazzaville in this geography, it’s one of the most strategically important in the mission, with over 800,000 teens involved in ministry.

• Africa continues to be an anchor of hope in the growth of the mission. The number of kids known by name in Africa increased by 47% to over three million, Campaigners grew by 80%, and the numbers of volunteer leaders increased by 24% to almost 42,000. We see no sign of it slowing down.

Our greatest experience of the hope of Jesus is the unity he’s giving us at every level of leadership. This unity started with Newt’s team, extending through the international lead team, divisional and regional teams. The Holy Spirit has birthed in us a renewed focus on prayer and the desire for creating space to hear from him. He’s become more, and with that, there’s been increased hope.

The Holy Spirit has birthed in us a renewed focus on prayer and the desire for creating space to hear from him. He’s become more, and with that, there’s been increased hope.

Asia South

Steve Larmey, Senior Vice President

The sign in front of Hills Tabernacle Primitive Baptist Church down the road from our house in Nashville reads, “Jesus Saves.”

Two words. The message has not changed in the six years I’ve been walking past.

“Jesus Saves.”

This sums up where the India team and I have been finding hope:

Not “Jesus Saved.”

Not “Jesus Will Save.”

But Jesus Saves — Now. Present tense. Continuously.

We’re hard pressed in India — danger, opposition, limited access to resources. In all these situations, time and again: Jesus Saves.

When two volunteers were beaten and questioned by police in central India and they needed confidence and favor — Jesus Saves.

When new believer Krishnamurty fears retribution from his radical Hindu brothers — Jesus Saves.

When more funds are needed to reach new kids in a slum neighborhood — Jesus

Saves.

When we need to be hidden from some eyes and seen by others — Jesus Saves. He provides, delivers, protects, shields, covers … and Saves. Jesus Saves.

This is our hope.

Asia/Pacific

Mike Gaffney, Senior Vice President

Through political turmoil and internal challenges, in recent years Young Life APAC leaders have held fast to the Lord. By his power, our team has persevered, creating new roles and reaching significant milestones. With eyes fixed on Jesus, we remain hopeful.

Two leaders now step into historic roles. Lipton Gain became the first South Asian to serve the mission as a regional director leading South Asia, while Suzanne Sittko became the first female regional director in APAC, leading Northeast Asia. Both have overcome

challenges with resilience and wisdom.

Unexpectedly, Young Life Bangladesh faced a massive upheaval of leadership in 2017 resulting in necessary restructuring. Lipton, a program director at the time, joined a leadership team that guided the ministry into a new season. In 2021 he became the country director, navigating increased political conflict and religious persecution while strengthening ministry. Now as a regional director, Lipton leads in Bangladesh and Nepal with hopes of expansion into Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Bhutan.

Suzanne started her 14-year-long Young Life career in North Asia where persecution and political unrest is prevalent. Growing through adversity, Suzanne became the i100 coordinator and divisional learning coordinator in 2020, building a robust, contextspecific LLD structure. Suzanne will continue to

bless the mission as a regional director beginning December 2025.

Africa East

Martin Wamalwa, Senior Vice President

The team has created a retreat where all leaders and staff strengthen their relationship with Christ, enhance their capacity of making disciples, and go daily to pursue Christ in times of challenges. This is where we find the hope needed to persevere.

Called the SEAL (Spiritual Enhancement to Advance Leadership and disciple making) retreat and inspired by Ephesians 1:13 — “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.”

• S – Spiritual

• E – Enhancement to

• A – Advance

• L – Leadership and disciple making

The retreat encourages staff and volunteers to reflect and persevere in the following areas:

• Setbacks in their family and salvation journey

• Growth in faith and deeper relationship with Christ

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.”

• Development of a habit of living for Christ and leading in spirit

• Identification of trials and inner struggles that lead to spiritual setbacks

The modality of implementation is as follows:

• The senior vice president leads the vice presidents

• The vice presidents lead the regional directors

• The regional directors lead the area directors

• Area directors lead the volunteer team leaders

• Volunteer team leaders lead the volunteer leaders in small cells

Africa West

Mungai Kamau, Senior Vice President

As we step into this new season, I’m reminded that many of our staff, volunteer leaders, and kids are walking through real challenges, whether cultural pressure, financial stress, or personal hardship. But in Christ, we know these struggles are not wasted. As Paul reminds us in Romans 5, suffering produces perseverance, perseverance builds character, and character leads us to a hope that does not disappoint.

Hope is showing up in the small, faithful moments. We see it when a young person says “yes” to Jesus, joins Campaigners, trains to be a leader, and later becomes a leader eager to share the good news with their peers. We see it in leaders who keep showing up to club, not because it’s easy, but because they believe kids are worth it. And we see hope in the unity of our staff and leaders from different church backgrounds, boldly proclaiming the gospel together.

In one area, a key volunteer stepped down, and initially it felt like momentum had stalled. But the team leaned into prayer, community, and consistency. Over time, they found new energy and direction. What once seemed like a setback has become a story of God’s faithfulness as that area now grows from strength to strength. We’re prioritizing spiritual depth — through rhythms of prayer, Scripture, and soul care. Weekly fellowship at club and a monthly day of solitude have become essential practices, helping our leaders stay rooted and refreshed.

Africa South

Alexis Kwamy, Senior Vice President

Suffering is an integral part of our Christian journey. Jesus has called us to carry our cross as we follow him, and it’s through this suffering we’re brought to our knees before the throne of our Lord. Jesus invites us, saying, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” It’s in daily coming to the feet of Jesus we find our true hope.

The African team has learned this journey is difficult to undertake alone. Therefore, each ministry year, we focus on a theme to help us stay centered. This year, we’re embracing THE YEAR OF THE WORD. Daily, the entire team reads and shares insights from Bible passages in our WhatsApp groups. Additionally, from August 22 to September 30, we’re engaging in 40 days of fasting and prayer across Africa. We’ll continue our direct ministry, understanding that without ending and starting the year with Christ, we’ll not find true hope. Furthermore, many of the leaders have three prayer partners who serve as additional local resources, walking alongside them and persevering through suffering as we focus on the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

Europe/Middle Eurasia/Military

Senior Vice President Europe/Middle EurAsia/Military

BROOKE JOHNSTON

Senior Vice President Middle EurAsia

MARTY CALDWELL

Vice President Military

MARTY MCCARTY

MIddle Eurasia

Europe

Europe/Middle eurasia/Military

Brooke Johnston, Senior Vice President

A Legacy of Hope Through Young Life Military

In Young Life Military’s world, perseverance and character are central elements in the life, work, and communities of U.S. Military Service members and their families. However, apart from Christ, hope can be evasive.

These elements are embodied by a Young Life Military field staff member in Europe, Vianey Ramirez. Vianey grew up as a “Military Brat,” a term of endearment for kids in military families. Her parents separated while she was a teen, and she bounced back and forth between Texas and Germany during her teen years. In her perseverance through this suffering, she found hope in Christ from her involvement in Club Beyond, and from the care and mentoring she received from Young Life Military staff and volunteer Club Beyond leaders.

A veteran five-year Young Life Military staff member, Vianey is the community director for Grafenwoehr/Vilsek, Germany, and is not alone as a Young Life Military staff member with a military background. Numerous Young Life Military staff either grew up as Military Brats or have prior military service. As such, their stories are like Vianey’s with respect to perseverance in the trials of military life, which does build character, and finding hope in Christ to get through the dark days of their lives in the military environment.

So, now, they and their fellow staff want to “be there” for this generation of military teens. They are helping these teens to persevere through the trials of military life, and giving these teens hope in Christ during their pain and suffering. Regarding initiatives where this

“all comes together,” in summer 2025, Young Life Military re-initiated Service Project trips in Europe, as a biennial summer event. This year’s project provided staff, volunteers, and teens the opportunity to give of themselves together and to empathize with the suffering of others. Their collective participation fostered their own hope in Christ, while extending this hope to those in need. This year’s project was amazing, with a lasting impact on all involved!

Courageous and Persevering Leadership in Ukraine and across the Middle EurAsia Division

When Senior Vice President of Middle EurAsia Marty Caldwell took trips to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine this year, he saw the theme of courage and calling repeated and lived out daily in this mission to young people. He was inspired and even convicted to be around such leaders!

Vitaliy Kyslytsia, the associate regional director of Eastern Ukraine, and his wife, Valeria, whom Marty met during his visit to Ukraine this past August, stand out as leaders.

This family has dedicated itself to serving kids regardless of circumstances, showing courage and creativity to share the gospel in difficult places. Through hardships and perseverance, the Lord has been shaping their character and drawing them closer to himself. This is what they pass on to young people.

Vitaliy and Valeria have been on the Young Life staff for five years. When the war began, they briefly moved west to safety, but three months later God called them back to Kharkiv, their hometown.

Although the move didn’t seem logical — taking two young kids (three now) to the frontline city with halted ministry and all the leaders gone, God showed them a different picture. What they saw were hundreds of kids still living in the city, who needed to hear there was hope.

Vitaliy and Valeria would point them to Jesus.

When Marty met Vitaliy during his visit, he was the camp speaker. The week before, he brought a group of teens from Kharkiv and Odessa to camp.

“Watching these kids hear about Jesus at a Young Life camp in the Carpathian Mountains was as holy as anything I have ever experienced,” writes Marty.

Since the war started, God formed five new teams (the most they have ever had in the city) in Kharkiv, and 12 teams and 96 volunteer leaders across the entire eastern region — a remarkable number considering the circumstances.

This growth is happening throughout Ukraine and beyond, with Ukrainian refugees starting Young Life in European countries.

Statistics FY 2025:

Kids to Camp (through July): 1,525

Projected August-September: 553

As of Mission Year-End 2025:

Kids Known by Name: 8,624

Kids in Club Weekly: 1,083 Volunteer Leaders: 794

Ministries: 97

Ukrainian Language Clubs Multiplying across Europe

On February 24, 2022, Ukrainians experienced devastation as war broke out in their country. Over the next two weeks, almost two million Ukrainians would flee to neighboring countries as refugees. Now, over three years later, there are over five million Ukrainian refugees scattered across Europe. With many of these refugees settling in countries where Young Life Europe was already present, it soon became clear we needed a strategy — or rather a person — to help manage the needs of this growing teenage population.

A Young Life volunteer leader in Ukraine, Danyl, his wife, Anastacia, and their two young children lived in a town that was getting bombed regularly. Men could only leave Ukraine if they were over 60 or had three children. With their third child on the way, Danyl decided he and his family would leave once their baby was born for the protection of their Ukrainian Camp in Poland 2024.

children. Danyl connected with some of the Ukrainian Young Life staff who had fled to the Czech Republic, and in May of 2022, only a few days after their third child was born, Danyl and his family left Ukraine to begin a new life in Prague.

Danyl had a heart for the Ukrainian youth who were refugees like him. His heart met Young Life Europe’s need for a staff person and we soon hired him to begin a Ukrainian language ministry in the Czech Republic.

As of August 2025, there are now eight cities with Ukrainian ministry across six countries in Europe. In the past three years, 300 kids have come to camp and 196 of them have accepted Christ. Danyl now oversees our Ukrainian language work in Slovakia, is helping to develop the Ukrainian language ministries in other countries and assisting with our work in Hungary. As the ministry has grown, so has Danyl’s vision. Danyl says, “I am for all kids. I am for Ukrainian kids, but I also want Slovak, Czech, and Polish kids to know Jesus too!”

In the face of incredible uncertainty that’s caused so much upheaval in the lives of Ukrainian refugee teenagers, the perseverance of Danyl and Anastacia to turn their pain into purpose has given kids a chance to place their hope in Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

“I am for all kids. I am for Ukrainian kids, but I also want Slovak, Czech, and Polish kids to know Jesus too!”

Latin America/Caribbean/Canada

Senior Vice President Latin America/Caribbean/Canada

KEVIN SUWYN

Vice President International University Initiatives

BRETT RODGERS

Director Developing Global Leaders

KEVIN EDELBROCK

LAtin america/Caribbean/Canada

Kevin Suwyn, Senior Vice President

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” — Romans 5:1-5

Peace.

Suffering.

Hope.

Love.

“Peace does not describe most places in Latin America/Caribbean (LA/C); however, “suffering” is a word often used. Most leaders around the world would admit Young Life work is fragile, beautiful, and completely held up by the Lord.

In LA/C this year we continue to see adults giving their lives to teenagers for the sake of the gospel, living out hope and sharing in his poured-out love as we join in a Holy Spirit movement to the lost.

Haiti

Haiti may have fallen out of the news cycle in the West, but it continues to be in a very dark period of its history. You may remember the president of Haiti was assassinated in his bed in June 2021. This set off a series of chaotic events still strongly affecting the country; more than 80% of its capital city Port au Prince is under gang control.

Our Haitian brothers and sisters daily face the uncertainty of tomorrow. We lost the spouse of a staff member this summer due to local gang violence. However, Young Life leaders there continue to turn their eyes to Jesus. They suffer

daily in their circumstances, but they exemplify the apostle Paul. They continue to “plant in the garden of Haiti” because the Lord has a transcendent call on their lives.

Despite the instability, we just finished up a camp season where many kids attended camp and heard and received the good news of Christ:

“Sasou began a relationship with Jesus at camp. When she returned home, she shared her newfound faith with her family — including her father, a Vodou priest. Through her courage and testimony, her mother gave her life to Christ. What started as a moment between a child and her Savior is now echoing through her household.”

The leaders in Haiti continue to challenge us with hope. In the words of Noyo, one of our key staff, "When we look at the situation in Haiti, and many places in the world, we are going through very difficult times. We may want to give up, but it is in these moments God shows us he is about to do something brand new. Sometimes we focus on the past, the house you lost, the gang members who forced you to flee, the neighbor who died from gang violence, friends who were kidnapped. When we look back, we get stuck and lose our hope. But God says, I have started, don’t you see it? Things are moving, but we must have spiritual eyes to see.”

Belize

Elsa and Dito are Young Life leaders from Nicaragua who have been serving as missionaries in Belize for almost three years. Elsa first got involved with Young Life in high school and Dito as a college student. Although they were helping lead a flourishing ministry in Nicaragua, they were called and said yes to reach teenagers in Belize. In January 2023, they followed God’s calling, leaving their thriving ministry and families behind, and moved to Belize to begin Young Life. They’re planting and watering and trusting the Lord to

cause the seed to take root and grow. Elsa and Dito and the team have faced many difficulties and persevered. They’ve been particularly faithful investing in leaders in Belmopan, Belize. One leader named Deanni has been greatly impacted through the ministry of Young Life and Elsa’s mentorship. Deanni now has a dream map of her own and is eager to expand ministry in her neighborhood, Las Flores, and beyond.

Brazil

Young Life began work in “Brasil” in the '60s as a partner organization. In the past few years some historical Young Life leaders have discerned a bold path forward, with a renewed vision and focus to “fish out in open water” so more disinterested teenagers would hear the gospel. This has not been an easy path forward. Gabriel is one of these generational leaders who has the gospel running through his veins and has deep Young Life experience. He’s been working leading the team to branch out to new cities and neighborhoods to reach the next kid with perseverance and enthusiasm. There are six new clubs and ministries growing in five new cities through Gabriel’s perseverance in the Lord. Gabriel and the team have persevered, building character, and in turn hope is given through the gospel message to club kids and campers. These are the words of Paul to the Romans at work.

As we reflect on the movement of the Lord across Latin America and the Caribbean, we’d like to share a little of what we heard kids sharing publicly in front of their peers at camp:

“When I came, I didn’t believe in the word of God. I got here and felt clean. I opened my heart to him. He’s by my side.”

“I arrived here very distant. Cabin time made me reflect. I'm going away from here with him.”

“Jesus gave me an opportunity to feel loved. He has us all in a process. You are all my family!”

“This camp was the best therapy of my life, and I feel that Jesus changed my life completely.”

“I want to give thanks to my leader. She convinced me to go. I didn’t want to go. I was able to let go of so much …”

“I used to have lots of 'friends.' But every night I’d lay down to sleep and I would feel alone. In the 15 minutes (silence), I recognized something changing with the emptiness: it was God in my heart!”

Thank you, Lord Jesus!

"There are six new clubs and ministries growing in five new cities through Gabriel’s perseverance in the Lord. Gabriel and the team have persevered, building character, and in turn hope is given through the gospel message to club kids and campers."

Stage of life MINISTRY

Young Life College (U.S.)

Pete Hardesty, Vice President

God is doing something amazing with college students! We’ve witnessed miraculous stories and crazy “coincidences” with students finding Jesus. Our new College director, Lisa DeWeert, who started ministry at North Central University in Illinois, has set the pace.

New Initiatives

Spring Break Trips: Last year, over 2,000 students attended a summer-camp-like spring break, and we’re praying for 20% growth this year. We added over 1,000 spots on “national” plug-and-play trips.

The 3012 Project: A pilot program led by Southeastern Divisional Coordinator Chris Cockerham with six college directors, aiming to increase personal funding by 30% within 12 months, to support sustainability and long-term ministry impact.

Plus 1 Leader Project: Our national team met with 100 Young Life College staff with a goal of increasing the number of Young Life College volunteer leaders. We brainstormed, prayed, developed a strategy, and implemented it. We grew from 1,329 in spring 2024 to 1,512 in spring 2025!

Our staff and leaders have persevered, and the light is breaking through — pointing more college students to hope in Jesus.

International University

Brett Rodgers, Vice President

This past year, we’ve continued to see the Lord grow current and begin many new university ministries internationally, including now having over 85 staff internationally focusing on university. One story of perseverance bearing fruit is our Kenyan friend Fredrick Ochieng, who’s now overseeing all university ministry in Africa. Despite many challenges, he’s helped ministry grow from being the only university-specific staff in Africa four years ago to helping hire and train 28 staff and over 1,000 volunteers throughout the continent, resulting in almost 40,000 African university students being known by name. Another example is Jamie Paterson in Belfast. Through his leadership, he’s grown his staff and volunteers at Queens University, started ministry at a technical college in town, and has vision of reaching new areas, such as Dublin, this fall. I’ve personally been so encouraged by Jamie and his leaders’ presence on campus; he continues to lead by example for everyone to continue to persevere, showing up in the lives of university students.

WyldLife

Julie Clapp, Vice President

Some call middle school the 1,000 days of significance — the season of life when adults can have a lasting impact on kids. That’s why WyldLife leaders stepping into the world of middle schoolers is so important.

When we launched the WyldLife Team Leader Grant Initiative, we asked new team leaders to begin meeting kids. The goal was to lay groundwork for starting WyldLife ministries in year two, but God had a different timeline for some areas. Leaders built relationships quickly and deeply with middle schoolers who were anxious, scared, and desperate for someone to take them seriously.

Kate met a seventh-grader who lives in a hotel with her sick mom. For the first time, this girl had an adult who wanted to listen to her. Paige showed up at the school with donuts where she met an eighth-grader who seemed to have everything going for her. As they got to know each other, Paige learned the girl had made choices she regretted. The girl’s mom later texted Paige, “I’m so glad she has someone to talk to.”

Shaddai became friends with an eighth-grader who then lost his second brother to gun violence. “Because of the personal relationship we developed through WyldLife,” said Shaddai, “We have been able to walk with this kid to provide support, comfort, and hope during this difficult time.”

Young Life

Capernaum

Suzanne Williams, Vice President

Kate, Paige, and Shaddai are three of the thousands of WyldLife leaders who step into the world of middle schoolers — a place many adults don’t want to enter — and offer the hope found only in Jesus.

The story of Capernaum in Mark 2 often centers on the man who was paralyzed. But Jesus’ intent reached far beyond just healing one individual — it extended to everyone present in the room. The four friends who carried the man, the crowd gathered, and the man himself were all impacted. When we

come together in community, we all experience transformation. This is true in our mission as well. What God is doing isn’t just about people with disabilities or those without — he is actively using both to impact and grow one another.

Molly, a staff associate in Minnesota, is a Capernaum alumnus and a graduate of Young Life Capernaum’s Leadership Experience. Recently, a new area director named Nick came on staff, replacing someone Molly had served with closely for years. While the transition was significant, Molly’s deep commitment to healthy ministry has made space for a beautiful new working relationship. She and Nick have had multiple intentional conversations about how they learn, how they process feedback, and what they both need to thrive in partnership. Molly’s self-awareness and pursuit of health are helping shape a strong foundation for collaboration. Nick, in turn, is championing Molly’s continued leadership growth and dreaming big for every kid in their area!

Young Lives

Karil Connor, Vice President

As our friends in Young Life Africa say: Pamoja Pamoja (Together, Together)

Stories of Resilience

Teen parents are often navigating some of the biggest questions in life: identity, belonging, faith, and future — all while caring for a child. Many face these concerns with little support. By God’s grace, more teen parents are turning to Jesus; trusting in the God who created them and their children, fixing their eyes on the hope that does not disappoint.

Hope Restored to Impact Many

Lacey, a YoungLives alumni, faced isolation, judgment, and the pressure to figure it out on her own. Her YoungLives leader continued to show up in her life, picking her up for church on Sundays. God continued to pursue her in her young parenting journey. Today, Lacey is a college student and on YoungLives staff through NextGen Leaders, impacting teen parents and sharing the same hope that was shared with her years ago.

35 Years of Perseverance, Character, and Hope

Stories like these are happening with over 34,000 teen parents across the globe in 35 countries. As we reflect on 35 years of impact in YoungLives, we are encouraged to remember the visionaries and bridge builders who planted seeds of perseverance, character, and hope that continue to flourish.

camping

Camping

Chad Sievert, Senior Vice President

Hope in Camping

We’re celebrating how our mission’s camping strategy supported thousands of our volunteer leaders and staff to introduce their adolescent friends to Jesus and help them grow in their faith this past year. We witnessed many students embrace God’s invitation to full life or take next steps in their deepening journeys with Jesus. There’s much to celebrate!

• We experienced 4.0% growth in outreach and discipleship camping ministry in the U.S. during the 2024-2025 school year as just over 73,000 students and leaders camped at Young Life-owned and non-Young Life-owned facilities. Due to Hurricane Helene, we lost the opportunity to serve roughly 2,800 campers and leaders during this time.

• Summer 2025 camping ministry grew slightly in the U.S. with 63,086 students and leaders attending a week of outreach or discipleship camp at our camps and non-Young Life-owned facilities (1% growth over summer 2024). Over 12,600 new believers stood up at Say-So and nearly 17,000 Bibles were distributed.

• Our summer family camp ministry at Trail West had 3.2% growth in attendance (2,068 guests), compared to summer 2024.

• U.S. Camp Volunteers: We’re also celebrating growth in the number of high school students who volunteered to serve on work crew (9.6% growth over summer 2024) and college-age students who volunteered to serve on summer staff (13.5% growth over summer 2024).

Character in Camping

Our camp and field leadership who serve together at Washington Family Ranch demonstrated courageous and resilient leadership in the face of two significant crises over the past two summers. They navigated a fatal accident involving a summer staff volunteer in summer 2024. And this summer, due to a nearby wildfire that was ultimately contained, they made the hard, but necessary, decision to send areas home early and delay the arrival of others. These folks have led and served through extreme situations in a remote location, at a severe cost to them personally.

There is a select group in the mission of Young Life whose character has been shaped by persevering through trials with adolescents such as this. Yet, those who have journeyed through these valleys and walked in these shadows are the very ones who can also attest to the rest of us that hope resides there too. They uniquely articulate how shadows prove the presence of Light! May we treasure the hope these teammates might offer the rest of us because of their perseverance in the face of crises and the trial-tested character it has produced in them.

Perseverance in Camping

As fiscal year 2025 ends, the Camping department is celebrating that 24 of 29 camps in the U.S. are out of operational deficit, as we continue to service the mission’s COVID-related debt. Camps continue to work aggressive plans for generating more income and reducing expenses. All camp staff are invested in seeing this debt eliminated and they carry a somewhat conflicted posture. There is the weight of knowing our remaining debt is about $17M. Yet, in comparison to where we started (-$33M), there is a growing sense the light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer. And so, we persevere. We’re working our debt pay-down plan while continuing to prioritize the needs of our people and ministry assets.

New in Camping

Camping leadership spent the past year working with AE Sloan Leadership to gain clarity on the pain point of the world that Young Life Camping is uniquely positioned to meet as an expression of God’s mission in the world. We identified adaptive shifts that will help us both offer relevant ministry to today’s adolescents and navigate the never-encountered-before ministry terrain of post-Christian cultures, which lies ahead. This work generated three strategic initiatives that will guide how the Camping department moves forward:

1. Executing on clear priorities

2. Prioritizing the thriving of our people.

3. Becoming full partners in the gospel ministry of Young Life.

In FY26 we’ll define the core values, attitudes, and behaviors that shape who we are and how we work; thereby developing a shared framework we are calling:

Healthy People, Healthy Operations, Health Ministry.

This framework will ultimately facilitate our three strategic initiatives, and the adaptive shifts they require, becoming a lived reality all camping staff experience.

Development

Development

Joey Jimenez, Chief Development Officer

Romans 5:1-5 calls us to resiliency rooted in Christ: “Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” In this season of ministry, these words have been a constant source of encouragement. Despite challenges, I have seen the hand of God strengthening our team, refining our character, and keeping our eyes fixed on the hope we have in Jesus.

Finding Hope in Jesus

In Development, hope fuels our work. Our mission to connect resources with ministry opportunities is grounded in the truth that the Lord is moving through Young Life worldwide. I have watched our team anchor their confidence not in forecasts or trends, but in the God who owns “the cattle on a thousand hills.”

This hope is visible in how we pray with and for donors, staff, and one another. Even in discussions about large gifts or campaign goals, we acknowledge God as our ultimate provider. This grounds our work in his faithfulness, letting hope rise above doubt and uncertainty.

Growing in Character

I am inspired by colleagues whose character is refined through perseverance. Leaders like Jennifer

Rettele-Thomas, our new vice president of U.S. Development, are navigating complex relationships and change with humility and steadfastness.

Our younger staff also demonstrate remarkable maturity. They are eager to learn, quick to own mistakes, and faithful in stewarding relationships. These quiet acts of faithfulness often go unseen, yet they form the foundation for long-term Kingdom impact.

Helping Others Persevere

I am reminded often that development work is a marathon and not a sprint. Our team comes alongside field staff weary from ministry and fundraising. Through coaching, practical tools, and personal visits, leaders like Chad Watson and Naty Pacheco in Global Field Development remind them they’re not alone.

We celebrate every win, new donor, young person meeting Jesus, and successful event as a reminder that God is at work. Sharing these victories lifts eyes from hardship to eternal hope.

New Initiatives Born of Perseverance

This season has sparked innovation. We have refined major donor strategies, launched new digital storytelling initiatives, and expanded our revenue marketing and lead generation capabilities. Our partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing and The Signatry reengaged thousands as they followed Aric Almirola and Car #19 through the NASCAR racing season.

These initiatives emerged because we refused to let challenges stall our mission and have kept our eyes fixed on the hope we have in Jesus.

Development Services

Foundations Engagement and Field Development

Jamie Efaw, Vice President

Foundations Engagement Team

Caitlin Zyskowski, Director of Foundation Engagement

Perseverance is a core value of our team. Without it, we could not grow our engagement with foundations. Building relationships is often slow, but can bear much fruit, as it has with many Young Life staff this year. Our team has prioritized knowing the hearts of the foundations we partner with (and hope to) and the individuals behind them. As a relationship-centered mission, our character shines when we place higher value on sharing God’s love with those we partner with than on the funds they may provide. In doing so, we experienced amazing generosity from new and old partners, in some cases up to 10x from previous giving, desiring to be part of what God is doing on a larger scale than ever before.

Global Field Development

Chad Watson, Senior Director

Our team finds hope in God’s generosity as people partner through their time, talents, and resources. Their engagement is a constant reminder of Jesus working.

Meli Campos, Costa Rica national director, shared: “God has supported me with his love and passion for this ministry through mentors who give encouragement, advice, and creativity to make it possible to start Local Action Teams/Committees.”

2025 brought major progress outside the U.S., empowering staff and communities to form Local Action Teams that sustain the mission, sparking growth in Costa Rica, Colombia, Ireland, Spain, and Tanzania. Localized communities build a foundation for lasting ministry.

In the U.S., Aldre Chisolm said, “Our first staff woman [of color] is hired. It’s vital she’s empowered in community engagement like I was.”

Young Life Foundation

Jeff Rudder, Executive Director

The Young Life Foundation continues to work with our eyes fixed on the hope of Christ, in support of the mission of Young Life and the spread of the gospel around the world.

Our work in helping donors consider legacy giving, complex/asset-based giving, etc., is one of the primary ways we support the mission. As of the end of FY25, we have seen total planned giving results of more than $55.2M. This represents the largest single year of planned giving results in the history of the Foundation.

There were 64 new funds created during FY24, contributing $14M in new funds under management by the Foundation. Net asset value of the Foundation as of 8/31/25 is $297,266,844. (Note: 40% of these funds are not fungible.)

For the coming fiscal year, the Foundation (in conjunction with our MarCom team) will expand our broad-based marketing effort to our core longevity donor base of 20,000 donors who have given 15 years or longer. This effort is designed to initiate conversations with donors who are our most likely candidates for a legacy gift.

The Foundation continues to serve the more than 1,800 donor households that comprise our “Club 37” bequest society with consistent communications, special invitations to Young Life events, and concierge service.

We continue to see the providential hand of God in every aspect of the work of the Foundation.

Financial Services

Financial Services

Scott Brill, Chief Financial Officer

This past fiscal year provided ample opportunity for the Financial Services department to find glory in our sufferings. Our teams have persevered, grown character, and found hope. During the first full fiscal year in Workday, our managers and directors have led their teams through the implementation and stabilization phases. It has been inspiring to see how our teams have worked diligently to provide follow-up care and resources for this tool, all while providing timely and accurate financial information.

Likewise, our Risk Management and Legal Services teams have immensely helped our domestic and international teams continue to ensure the security and stability of outreach in a variety of ways. They had their own challenges to overcome with the launch of the Screening and Training tool and the system access issues that followed. Their perseverance through this project has been tremendous.

Both teams are wonderful examples of boasting in the hope of God’s glory, of finding new ideas and initiatives through perseverance, and growing in Christlikeness.

Financial Services

The Lord continues to show his grace and blessing on us as a mission. Our pre-audited results for the 12 months ended September 30, 2025, include the following (M = million):

Operating Contributions of $408.4M were $46.1M (12.7%) more than last year and $6.5M over budget.

Capital Contributions of $36.4M were given for various projects. Southwind, Washington Family Ranch, and LoneHollow received the largest support.

Only 3.1% of areas were in deficit at year-end. That is significantly lower than last year.

The U.S. Field operated at a net surplus of $9.7M. The results reflected a total revenue increase of $23.3M (6.4%) to $390.7M. Contributions were up $30.1M (10.4%) to $320.4M. Spending increased $6.5M (1.7%) to $381.0M. Salaries and benefits were up $9.6M (4.5%), but offset by transfers in.

The International Field operated with a surplus of $3.7M reflecting a revenue increase of $10.1M (14.1%) and spending increases of $10.1M (14.8%). The revenue increase was almost entirely due to operating contributions which were up $10.7M (26.9%). The expense growth was driven by salaries and benefits (11%), and distributions to international organizations (non-consolidated entities) growing 9.1%.

Camping delivered a surplus of $13.8M, $3.1M more than last year. Thanks to more camping activity, revenue was up $9.3M (10.7%) and expenses grew by $6.2M (8.2%) for more campers.

MSS (Mission Support Services) ran a deficit of $6.9M. This deficit was caused by an expected increase in expenses to meet the demands of the growing mission, but with a shortfall in Impact funds and related service charges.

"It has been inspiring to see how our teams have worked diligently to provide follow-up care and

resources

for this tool, all while providing timely and accurate financial information."

Administrative Services

Paul Sherrill, Vice President

Risk Management

We continue to make significant strides on the number of staff and volunteers who have completed their training in the new YL Connect Screening and Training system. Nearly 25,000 staff and volunteers have completed some form of training, which would include nearly 20,000 individuals who have completed the new Child Safety Training. And while we continue to make improvements to enhance the overall login process, we’re hearing great feedback from staff who have completed the Child Safety Training. We have received comments like: “I was expecting the content to be based on some federal regulation we had to comply with but was surprised instead by its authenticity and richness. What struck me most was how the “never bore a kid with the gospel” shined through and the thoughtfulness with which you must have to balance risk against the core tenets of the ministry. Very well done and I look forward to my committee members completing it as well.”

The Risk Management department rolled out a new enterprise risk management system this year called CAMMS by Riskonnect, which has enhanced our ability to track and assess accidents that occur throughout the mission. We now have the ability to monitor claims in real time. This new system will be used to support our new Enterprise Risk Management Committee (starting in September) to evaluate and mitigate risks through the use of risk registers, heat maps, and other risk analytic tools.

Domestic Legal

In May, Young Life learned about a new lawsuit filed by a Colorado Christian camp over three new regulations passed by the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) earlier this year. The new rules required Colorado child residential camps to: (1) allow campers to use gender-segregated toilet

and shower facilities consistent with the camper’s gender identity, (2) allow campers to sleep in the same room with individuals whose gender identity is consistent with their gender identity, and (3) allow campers involved in backpacking or camping events to sleep in the same tent with individuals who are consistent with their gender identity. Young Life learned, after speaking with the camp’s attorney, that they had requested an exemption from the new rules due to their sincerely held religious beliefs, but their exemption request was denied. As a result, the attorney for the Christian camp filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the State of Colorado for injunctive relief based on its violation of the Free Exercise Clause under the First Amendment. The Department of Early Childhood claimed it was only imposing these rules in an attempt to comply with rules established by the Colorado Civil Rights Commission and the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act. In June the Colorado Department of Early Childhood sent out a public statement which acknowledged the Colorado Civil Rights Commission rules do not apply to places “principally used for religious purposes.” Young Life has long held that our camps solely exist to further the religious purposes of Young Life’s corporation and therefore these new rules will no longer apply to Young Life camps in Colorado.

International Legal

As Young Life’s annual foreign funding continues to grow, so has the need for greater stewardship and compliance with changing laws and regulations. To support greater accountability around the use of funds, an international working group of leaders has developed a Cross Border Funding Agreement (“CBFA”) to replace the International Grant Agreement. The CBFA will impose new annual renewal requirements that include monthly reporting and banking obligations consistent with Young Life’s internal auditing practices, and the U.S. Department of Treasury.

Human Resources

human resources

Shelley Meador, Chief Human Resources Officer

Our HR support focus in FY25 continued to be helpful, practical, and sustainable.

U.S. HR

A challenge the U.S. Field shared as a priority is recruiting staff. So, our HR Support team, in collaboration with a diverse group of field leaders, has developed a Regional Hiring Toolkit to create a more consistent and effective recruitment and hiring process across all regions. The toolkit establishes a standardized hiring plan aimed at improving recruitment, retention, candidate diversity, and cross-region/division practices while providing clear, up-to-date guidance that enhances candidate experience, reduces bias, ensures legal compliance, and strengthens confidence in staff selection. Field leaders have already begun applying some practices and are seeing the benefits of adopting new methods. The completed toolkit includes: recruitment best practices, hiring readiness assessment, makeup of hiring teams, interview questions, interview stages, making an offer, and cross-region/division hiring best practices. This fall, one region in each division will pilot the toolkit to provide feedback and measure initial impact, and in June 2026 it will be rolled out to all regional directors with training on the new practices.

International HR

As we continue to have exponential growth internationally, the need of proper support and building local competencies on HR topics is even more critical. This led to the hiring of a seasoned, global HR leader who has a love for Jesus and a passion for missions. Bryan Heinz joined us in May as the vice president of International HR, bringing diverse experience that equips him to address the unique challenges and opportunities within our global mission. Beyond his professional expertise, Bryan has actively integrated Kingdom-building

initiatives into his work and travels. His impactful involvement includes leadership in his church’s Middle East-North Africa Missions Team, guiding teams to Barcelona to assist Moroccan immigrants, championing missions in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain alongside his denomination’s leadership, and supporting a house church network in Iran.

Bryan hit the ground running — connecting, listening, and meeting the needs of staff and volunteers in every division. More specifically, Bryan partnered with the International Development team to strategically reimagine and restructure the ministry’s development approach in Africa, ensuring a sustainable path forward to fund future growth. The collaboration included an assessment of current talent, repositioning individuals to align with the evolving organizational structure, and identifying and acquiring additional people resources needed for success.

The Journey of People Development

While we’re a volunteer-led mission, the development and well-being of our staff is critically important to ultimately reach more adolescents. In FY25 we enhanced our focus on staff development to provide greater consistency and frequency of global talent discussions together as the MLT. We developed unique competencies needed for MLT roles aligned with KNOWN strategy, and launched succession planning to ensure long-term mission stability and continued success by preparing for the next generation of senior leaders. This also included designing and implementing a strategy for the succession plan for the president role. In FY26 we’ll focus this work with the Senior Leadership Council roles and ultimately engage with the Global Leadership Council.

Benefits

Troy Mulder, Vice President, Global HR Operations

Young Life’s U.S. health plan currently supports 6,707 members, including 2,521 employees and 4,186 dependents. We project in FY25 that our costs will be ~$57 million. With medical benefit costs continuing to rise, we’re evaluating ways to refine health benefits. Specifically, we’ll launch a dependent eligibility audit with estimated savings at $500,000, and explore broader plan adjustments, targeting significant savings from vendor renewals and new pharmacy contracts. Future design efforts will focus on optimizing coverage sustainability while maintaining well-being and continued excellence in available coverage.

Our U.S. retirement plan now supports 7,626 participants, achieving a 95% participation rate. The plan continues to perform well, with a 15% increase in assets over the past year, bringing total assets to $536.2 million. We’re also exploring a student loan repayment program, which will offer a dollar-fordollar match of up to 4% of salary.

Young Life is also transitioning this next fiscal year to Sedgwick for U.S. leave of absence management to address evolving state leave regulations, with costs offset by other vendor savings and the 2025 benefits budget. These strategic initiatives underscore our commitment to a healthy, secure workforce while adapting to economic and regulatory trends.

Finally, we’re planning to commence our work this next fiscal year with evaluation and possible expansion of health and retirement benefits globally, collaborating with divisional leaders to shape future offerings tailored to diverse needs.

Organizational Health and Belonging

Mia Meadows, Vice President

A Year of Listening and Learning

The 2024-2025 year has been dedicated to what we call “holy listening” — intentionally creating space to hear the voices of staff across the mission. This included reviewing historical data, launching a global engagement survey, and responding to direct requests from staff.

The Engagement survey allowed us to hear from 64% of staff — missionally. Through listening tours and survey insights, we gained a clearer picture of both the strengths of our culture and the areas that need focused attention. One message repeatedly emerged: staff are eager for more opportunities for growth, development, and leadership support.

Investing in Women Leaders: Nautilus Executive Cohort

One response from “holy listening” includes relaunching our women’s executive coaching cohort under a new name: Nautilus: Women’s Executive Cohort. This initiative, funded through a grant, is grounded in the principles of Adaptive Leadership and Tempered Resilience, equipping women leaders to thrive in a complex, ever-changing ministry environment. Participants will experience a blend of cohortbased learning and personalized executive coaching from certified AE Sloan Leadership Coaches. Nautilus is designed to expand leadership capacity, deepen resilience, and empower women to lead with wisdom and courage in advancing Young Life’s mission worldwide.

Learning and Leadership

Tricia Blake, Chief Learning Officer

Facing Global Complexity

In the face of linguistic, technological, and cultural complexity, the Equipping Global Volunteers initiative has become a testimony to the truth of Romans 5:1-5. What began as a daunting challenge to equip tens of thousands of volunteers across Africa in their heart language has become a movement marked by perseverance, shaped by character, fueled by hope.

Growth Against Odds

As volunteer numbers surge and the staff-toleader ratio reaches 1:100 in parts of the world, many leaders outside the U.S. are serving in regions with limited access to staff, internet, and training — yet still doing tremendous ministry. Better biblical and ministry training is a huge need. With support from the Global Giving Circle, a cross-functional team spanning Operations, Marketing and Communications, Information and Technology, and Learning and Leadership has built a highly adaptable, video-based training curriculum delivered via WhatsApp messaging. The first phase launched in August across Africa in four languages and received positive feedback.

Collaboration Building Character

Through this collaborative work — navigating time zones, cultural nuances, and technological barriers — we have forged deeper character. Teams have modeled humility and shown we do not walk alone. This work is helping

leaders in Africa train others well and is empowering thousands of volunteers to share Jesus with adolescents. And even better, this model of equipping is prepared for exponential growth and sustainability especially in areas with limited access to formal learning.

Horizon of Hope

For these reasons, we boast in hope. By May of 2026, four different training modules will be implemented in at least 10 languages across Africa, with potential to expand worldwide. This reach toward a linguistically diverse mission field isn’t just a technical achievement — it is a spiritual one. It is the hope of the glory of God reaching the ends of the earth through faithful perseverance.

Operations

Global Operations

Billy Boyle, Chief Operating Officer

Shannon Harmon, Vice President, U.S. Field Operations

Nkosi Sampindi, Vice President, International Field Operations

“Since we have been justified through faith … suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:1-5)

This year has tested every part of our global operations. Despite significant challenges, our teams have persevered — collaborating through difficulties, learning critical lessons, and uncovering opportunities that will strengthen us for the future. These experiences are helping us mature as an organization and prepare to fully support the growth of our KNOWN vision.

In Field Operations, we are pushing each other to keep our eyes on Jesus even during challenging times. Hope is growing — not because our work has gotten easier, but because the Lord continues to meet us as we keep going. Our focus is simple: to stay close to ministry on the ground, to tell the stories of what God is doing, and to try and take the weight off those closest to young people.

Where We Find Hope

Story-sharing is now part of our rhythm as Billy led this well through the entire Operations department. Our teams pass along field stories — they’re subscribing to ministry newsletters, showing up and serving at camps, and staying connected to nearby areas in a variety of ways. This keeps us focused on Jesus’ work with kids. We also guard rest and spiritual refreshment — encouraging participation in Developing Kingdom Leaders, The Good Way, and taking regular days of solitude — because lasting ministry comes from abiding, not striving.

Character on Display

We celebrate our team members who have maintained a strong and uplifting presence through a challenging season.

Dee Coates, our U.S. field administration manager, is a 20-year staff veteran committed to providing resources and care for those serving in the ministry of administration. Whether through monthly training calls, in her thoughtful leadership of the annual Regional Administrator Gathering, or her regular Field Administration newsletter, she equips and serves our staff with the utmost kindness and intentionality.

Allison Heredia transitioned from international operations to the Workday team. With her experience, she continues to serve and strengthen international ops and divisions with Christlike care and steady professionalism. She brings the fruit of the Spirit into tough talks, making space for joy and honest problem-solving.

Helping People Persevere

In Field Operations, our commitment is to keep things simple and clear. We aim to serve as a bridge for our field ministers — lightening their administrative load so they can focus on ministry. Our guiding question remains: How can we equip an area director or volunteer leader to reach more kids? A couple of ways we are attempting this effort today:

• Outsourced capacity: In International, we’re looking to build smart partnerships with people experienced in outsourced services to increase effectiveness without adding staff and keep focus on our mission.

• Streamlined processes: Our U.S. team is working closely with our HR partners to eliminate unnecessary steps in Workday processes so we may align more closely to how our field offices function and create greater efficiency.

Strategic Services

Arthur Satterwhite, Vice President, Strategy

The Strategic Support Office remains dedicated to strengthening Young Life’s global movement by aligning efforts, expanding leaders’ capacity, and promoting organizational excellence. Despite challenges, the team stayed responsive, with perseverance shaping character and hope as we help the mission serve for years to come.

Mission Analytics and Decision Support (MADS) advanced that vision by turning data into actionable insight and strengthening the reporting pipeline. Key wins included supporting Workday adoption, improving the CMI mission-year dashboard, launching a U.S. Ministry dashboard, enhancing volunteer compliance reporting, and securing our data environment.

Research and Evaluation kept our community at the forefront of adolescent culture so ministry can meet young people where they are — geographically, socially, and technologically. The new YL Voices initiative builds on The RELATE Project, inviting adolescents to translate insights into practical tools

for the field. As Wave Two of RELATE launches, findings on faith formation, technology’s influence, and relational dynamics will sharpen our approach to reaching future generations with the gospel.

Strategic Services helped the mission adopt systems and processes that show we value one another worldwide. The team stabilized platforms (Workday, Salesforce), promoted innovation (Global Giving, AI Volunteer Training), and advanced efforts boosting ministry impact (Healthy Ministry, GO Network). Even as we transition into a streamlined, focused PMO, our goal remains clear: help leaders persevere, navigate change, and feel equipped and connected to their calling, so more adolescents encounter the hope of Jesus.

Information Services

Josh Smiley, Vice President, Enterprise Architecture Kevin Spinks, Vice President, Information Technology

This past year tested our systems and our resilience. At the start of our global Workday implementation, we experienced a significant outage — just as field, camps, and operations were adapting to new platforms and reconnecting downstream systems.

Perseverance in Action

Through this season, our teams pressed forward by:

• Maintaining legacy systems while advancing the new environment.

• Strengthening integrations, improving user

experience, and prioritizing security as the foundation of maturing our systems.

• Collaborating with staff and leaders across the mission, aligning efforts with patience and hope.

Character Shaped Through Challenge

These challenges stretched our technical capacity and deepened our ministry culture as we:

• Walked in humility and dependence on the Lord.

• Chose transparency, collaboration, and stewardship.

• Celebrated “small miracles” of stability and breakthrough — signs of God’s faithfulness.

Hope for What’s Ahead

Our systems are now stable and secure. While work remains, we are turning toward:

• Caring well for staff by simplifying processes and strengthening digital engagement.

• Transforming how we serve leaders and volunteers.

• Leveraging technology to advance the gospel.

Closing Encouragement

• Through trials and suffering, God has produced perseverance, character, and hope. We can “boast in the hope of the glory of God,” trusting these challenges prepare us for greater ministry impact.

Marketing and Communications

Lauren Bocci, Vice President, MarCom

The MarCom team partners with the Lord to share his love with a global audience. While seasons of change and challenge are refining us, our purpose remains constant, while our approaches evolve. With fresh opportunities and new avenues ahead, we seek to meet the mission’s needs and continue fulfilling our calling.

Connection Ignites Hope: God is everywhere, all at once.

• With each other — clarifying priorities to deepen engagement with current audiences and grow new ones. This shared clarity renews trust, builds momentum, and fuels excitement to “stack hands” on shared objectives.

• Within divisions — equipping and supporting staff tasked with marketing and communications. Regardless of reporting structure, we’re cultivating a unified voice.

• With the field — connecting interest to the right staff through new digital strategies and a new local ministry site experience that shows every U.S. ministry, camp, event, and active staff person — helping people find the right connection while freeing staff to focus on relational ministry.

Fresh Paths Forward: Change brings both grief and anticipation, yet we are energized by fresh ideas, including:

1. Experimenting with new tools for the field (Canva), brand partnerships (NASCAR, Dude Perfect), new models and tech (The Circle), and strategic campaigns (Frontier Ranch, YL Foundation, Camp Retreats).

2. Carrying missionwide messages — inspirational or instructional — so they reach the right staff and volunteers at the right time, strengthening unity and multiplying impact.

3. Nurturing and growing our audience through new communications (newsletter) and a comprehensive content marketing strategy — aimed at increasing engagement, growing site traffic, and generating new leads for Development and the field.

We’re stepping boldly into new priorities to ensure we can reach our audiences effectively, trusting God to continue using Marketing and Communications for his glory.

Appendix

Young Life Board of Trustees

2025 Spring Executive Session

April 10, 2025

A meeting of the Young Life Board of Trustees was held on April 9-11, 2025, at the Four Seasons Ten Trinity Hotel in London and the executive session took place on Thursday, April 10.

The following trustees were present: Nanette Ballbach, Sue Beré, Newt Crenshaw, Doug Eaton, Brooks Entwistle, Raquel Harrison, Bill Haslam, Jacqueline Holland, Susan Hutchison, Regg Jones, Kevin McVaney, Curtis McWilliams, Harold Melton (chair), Mike Murray, Susan Peterson, Mark Rodriguez, Michael Stain, Kathy Stevens, Tom Thomas, Phyllis Washington, Angeline Yee, Kristin Young, and Mark Zoradi.

The following trustees were absent: Berto Guerra, John Hummel, Clyde Lear, and Chris Roberts.

The following staff members were present: Mandy Adkins, Billy Boyle, Scott Brill, Shelley Meador, and Paul Sherrill.

Executive Session

The chair, Harold Melton, opened the meeting at 10:30 a.m. Harold asked committee chairs to share their committee reports.

Committee Presentations

Human Resources Committee

Doug Eaton reported on behalf of the Human Resources Committee. He shared the following:

• They’re discussing adding additional international leaders

• A 3.5% merit increase

• Medical benefits continue to improve; these are the best benefits in the U.S. Provided at no cost to staff. The current coverage limits are probably not sustainable. Looking at adjustments and streamline. Desire to remain competitive, but look at rebalancing.

• We’re hearing from the international team around compensation issues

• Discussed The RELATE Project

The Human Resources Committee had no resolutions to present.

Corporate Governance Committee

Kevin McVaney reported on behalf of the Corporate Governance Committee. He shared that they discussed the following:

• New International Legal Entity Updates

• Challenges around Data Privacy

• Artificial Intelligence Policy Draft

• Caring for Undocumented kids and equipping leaders

• Streamlined compliance screening and training

• Update on General Legal Matters

The Corporate Governance Committee had no resolutions to present.

Finance Committee

Scott reported on the financial status as of the five months ending February 28, 2025, and highlighted the

following numbers:

• Paid off $3M purchase debt of second Mission Services building (540 N. Cascade, used for Camping)

• Total revenues are up 5%

• Expenses are up 10% (compensation and benefits are the biggest drivers)

• Operating revenue is ($188M)

• There is an uptick in the number of donors

• Capital is at $19.5M YTD

• There is a $13M surplus

• Cash and Investments are at $346M

• Retirement plans are very healthy. If the employee contributes 4%, Young Life matches it. If they’ve been on staff for seven years Young Life contributes 7%, for a total retirement savings of 15%.

The Finance Committee had two resolutions to present, as follows:

1. Accepting Audit Report for FY2024

2. Current National Credit Lines, Secured Pledges as Security for Borrowing Trustee Governance Committee

Michael Stain reported that the Trustee Governance Committee discussed those trustees that are being put forward via resolution to the board in the fall. They also discussed those trustees that would be stepping off the board, and discussed waiving the one-year waiting period to join as Trustee Emeriti.

He presented the following resolutions coming from the Trustee Governance Committee:

1. Election to the Young Life Board of Trustees

2. Election of Young Life Corporate Officers

3. Election to the Young Life Foundation Board of Directors

4. Election of Young Life Foundation Officers

5. Election of Trustee Emeritus – Sue Beré

6. Election of Trustee Emeritus – John Hummel

7. Election of Trustee Emeritus – Curtis McWilliams

This concludes the committee reports and the staff, with the exception of the corporate secretary, were dismissed.

The Executive Session continued with a discussion of the following topics:

• Changes to the Statement of Faith

• Washington Family Ranch Accident Update

• Taney Town, MD

They closed the meeting in prayer.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Paul W. Sherrill

Paul W. Sherrill, Secretary

(Original minutes signed and placed in corporate minute book.)

(Copies of all approved resolutions from the 2025 spring board meeting can be found in the minute book maintained in the office of the corporate secretary.)

Young Life Board of Trustees 2025 Spring Board Meeting

April 9-11, 2025

A meeting of the Young Life Board of Trustees was held on April 9-11, 2025, at the Four Seasons Ten Trinity Hotel in London.

The following trustees were present: Nanette Ballbach, Sue Beré, Newt Crenshaw, Doug Eaton, Brooks Entwistle, Raquel Harrison, Bill Haslam, Jacqueline Holland, Susan Hutchison, Regg Jones, Kevin McVaney, Curtis McWilliams, Harold Melton (chair), Mike Murray, Susan Peterson, Mark Rodriguez, Michael Stain, Kathy Stevens, Tom Thomas, Phyllis Washington, Angeline Yee, Kristin Young, and Mark Zoradi.

The following trustees were absent: Berto Guerra, John Hummel, Clyde Lear, and Chris Roberts.

The following staff members were present: Mandy Adkins, Tricia Blake, Billy Boyle, Scott Brill, Marty Caldwell, Liz Dewberry, Chad Edwards, Joey Jimenez, Brooke Johnston, Alexis Kwamy, Steve Larmey, Shelley Meador, James Mungai, Nkosi Sampindi, Wiley Scott, Chad Sievert, Paul Sherrill, Kevin Suwyn, and Martin Wamalwa.

General Session — Thursday, April 10, 2024

The meeting was called to order by Chair Harold Melton at 8:32 a.m. Harold asked Kathy to pray to open the meeting.

The Chair directed the board’s attention to the minutes of the July and November 2024 meetings, starting on page 70 in the board report. A motion was made to approve the minutes and was seconded. The minutes were unanimously approved as written. The Chair then turned the meeting over to Newt for some opening remarks.

Opening Remarks

Newt shared that Young Life is doing what Jesus tells us to do in his final words, recorded in the book of Acts 1:8 “you will be my witnesses, after the holy spirit falls on Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, to the uttermost parts of the world.” The four pillars of KNOWN help give a vision and sense of what God has called us to – to Model Relational Ministry, to Develop Kingdom Leaders, to Inspire a Volunteer Movement, and to Go Together. Newt said these are inherent in the nature of his creation. We are called to reach every tribe and nation and Young Life is global and diverse, in 119 countries right now, and continuing to grow. Newt noted that what is happening in Young Life outside of the U.S. is happening at a greater pace than inside the U.S. Young Life’s ministry outside of the U.S. is three and a half times the size of ministry in the U.S., and U.S. ministry is growing. We are following the work of the holy spirit. Newt indicated that we know almost 3.5 million kids, we have over 65K leaders and 235K campers. He stated that he thinks these numbers are indicators of what God is doing and that we are trying to obey the Lord and rely on him. Newt said that this work is fragile, and that God is humbling us while he is blessing us. Newt said he can’t imagine being part of something more important than bringing Jesus to this next generation that desperately needs him.

International Panel

Chad began by sharing that five SVPs would be talking about ministry in their area of supervision.

Kevin Suwyn – A brief introduction of International and history

Kevin shared that in 2005, then President Denny Rydberg had a stated, strategic focus for international ministry on national leadership development. Like the apostle Paul, who would show up and find people of peace, preach the gospel to them and then hand off the baton, there was renewed recognition that God has people in the places he wants to reach. Young Life found that very often the people who are ready to take that baton and run with passion are young adults/college students, but very often people at this age are just trying to work to survive. When Young Life thought how to close the gap and support a few of these young people to disciple them more intentionally, the seeds for the Developing Global Leaders program were planted. Kevin stated that currently about 70% of DGL graduates are directly involved in Young Life ministry. Since 2005 God has grown volunteer leaders from 1,665 to 65,000, and Young Life went from having two vice presidents of international in 2005 to having a room full of VPs and SVPs who are from international, leading international ministries. This is a Kingdom movement, it is the gospel.

Alexis Kwamy – SVP Africa South Division

Alexis shared he was born and raised in DRC, but now lives in Tanzania and has the privilege of serving that small part of Africa. He shared that last year, at the beginning of KNOWN, Young Life in Africa committed a whole year, called the Year of the Holy Spirit, where once a month they stopped what they were doing and prayed and fasted over their maps and their leaders. He said they took 40 days and did not do any clubs or camps, but walked the maps and prayed for the places God wanted us to reach. He said that walking those maps led them into five new countries in their division: Angola, Lesotho, Botswana, Comoros, and Mauritius. God has done amazing things, in four of the five countries we have leaders already trained, and in Angola and Botswana we have clubs started. Some leaders in Botswana told Alexis, “We’ve been waiting for you for a long time, where have you been?” He shared he was humbled because the Lord went ahead of them and prepared the work. There have been some challenges — the DRC and Rwanda have been in a huge fight and soldiers are present. Alexis said he has had to lead his people through this. He shared that the staff from these opposing countries met together and said “our countries might be in trouble and hate each other, but we know who we are and we are still serving the same God. We love each other.” He asked the board to pray for wisdom to stand outside of the conflicts.

James Mungai – SVP Africa West including North Africa and the Middle East Division

James said that he is leading ministry in a wide range of countries, many of which have a heavy Muslim influence and some of which are in conflict. He said that he came from Tanzania which has huge numbers of kids involved in Young Life. When he began leading as SVP in Africa West he wondered why they had less kids engaged. He thinks God is teaching him that every single kid counts. He reiterated that the countries in North Africa and the middle east have a huge concentration of brothers and sisters with a Muslim background. Mungai shared a story about a Capernaum event that happened in this region that brought together 200 kids with disabilities, both Christians and Muslims, and they shared meals at the same table. One of the mothers who brought her child to the event said, “I love Young Life, I love the way they love my kid with disabilities. They love him as Christians. I will always be ready to do anything when I’m called upon by Young Life.” He said that the Lord is moving all over and it is not about us, it is about Jesus.

Martin Wamalwa – SVP Africa East Division

Martin shared that he oversees Africa East. He said leaders in Khartoum, Sudan, are loving kids and preaching the gospel in the refugee camps. In the midst of war and guns, there is a place kids can go and laugh. During the Year of the Holy Spirit, he shared that the leaders in Chad were praying about where God wanted to lead

them, and one of the leaders shared that through the leading of the Holy Spirit he felt called to go to the Central Africa Republic, which was not on the mission leadership’s map. They went and did a prayer walk in Central Africa Republic and now there are nine leaders being trained to do ministry there. He said that this is a movement of the Spirit. The volunteer leaders are showing ownership and being moved by the Spirit.

Mike Gaffney – SVP Asia Pacific Division

Mike shared via video that 20 years ago Young Life launched Young Life College and University ministries and that is when Mike joined Young Life. After serving in that role for 14 years he took over leadership of the Asia Pacific Division. He shared that as we engage different cultures and people, we learn so much more about the breadth of God’s love. We have to go and we have to linger, we have to ask the next question and be lifelong learners. Mike shared that in many countries his team does ministry, a huge majority of kids they are reaching are first generation Christians. He also shared that the harvest is plentiful as 60% of the worldwide adolescent population lives in this division.

Nkosi Sampindi – VP of International Operations

Nkosi shared the story of how he came to know the Lord and became involved with Young Life. He shared that in his current position with Young Life he gets to wade into complex situations, and hard things, but he also gets exposed to so much more of God.

Brooke Johnston – SVP Europe Division

Brooke was asked to share about International’s strategic levers.

She shared first about Map/Tree/List which is a core operating mechanism for international ministry. This tool represents the where, how and who of Young Life moving into neighborhoods to reach and teach. She said everyone is asked to have a map/tree/list. In this tool there is a representation of what is now, what is new and a vision for what is next. The tool is a simple thing to understand, replicate and transfer, and it’s very accessible. It has given all of international something unifying, a shared language. Brooke shared about a few other strategic levers being used within International:

• Developing Kingdom Leaders (DKL)

• Developing Global Leaders (DGL)

• Volunteer Training Initiative (VOLTS in Africa)

• Global Functional Trellis to support growth

Marty Caldwell – SVP Middle EurAsia Division

Marty shared that the beauty of the ministry in this division is alignment with contextualization. He said when you have the right leaders, they figure it out. They figure out how to do ministry in their context and within their restrictions, and they do it with wisdom and with passion. He said there are good people in each country sharing the beautiful message of Jesus with teenagers and they lead in hope and they pray for peace.

Steve Larmey – SVP Asia South Division

Steve shared that he and his wife relocated to a country in central Asia. The remainder of Steve’s report can be reviewed by request from the Corporate Secretary’s office.

Chad Edwards – GSVP International

Chad shared that all of International surpassed their February goals and are on track to meet and exceed their goals for the ministry year. He referenced that March’s numbers have just come in and Kids Known By Name grew by 100K in one month (February to March). He reiterated, we want to know kids by name, but we want to know them so we can proclaim the gospel. International has had a huge focus on getting kids to club. There’s been a jump in the kids attending club, the goal was 350K and the actual attendance was 386K, and this month we know we’ve had over 400K attending club. The camp numbers are still to be determined. There was also a huge jump in Campaigners as well. As far as the volunteer leader goal it was set at 47K volunteer leaders and we’re at 48K and in the last month we’ve added 2K volunteers. Chad stated that these numbers represent all of International. Africa drives the growth because they present such large numbers, but he said it is not just Africa, International everywhere is growing.

Executive Session – Thursday, April 10, 2025

The trustees met for an Executive Session; minutes recorded separately. The committee reports were given during the executive session and are also recorded here.

Committee Presentations

Human Resources Committee

Doug Eaton reported on behalf of the Human Resources Committee. He shared the following:

• They’re discussing adding additional international leaders

• A 3.5% merit increase

• Medical benefits continue to improve; these are the best benefits in the U.S. Provided at no cost to staff. The current coverage limits are probably not sustainable. Looking at adjustments and streamline. Desire to remain competitive, but look at rebalancing.

• We’re hearing from the international team around compensation issues.

• Discussed The RELATE Project.

The Human Resources Committee had no resolutions to present.

Corporate Governance Committee

Kevin McVaney reported on behalf of the Corporate Governance Committee. He shared that they discussed the following:

• New International Legal Entity Updates

• Challenges around Data Privacy

• Artificial Intelligence Policy Draft

• Caring for Undocumented kids and equipping leaders

• Streamlined compliance screening and training

• Update on General Legal Matters

The Corporate Governance Committee had no resolutions to present.

Finance Committee

Scott reported on the financial status as of the five months ending February 28, 2025, and highlighted the following numbers:

• Paid off $3M purchase debt of second Mission Services building (540 N. Cascade, used for Camping)

• Total revenues are up 5%

• Expenses are up 10% (compensation and benefits are the biggest drivers)

• Operating revenue is ($188M)

• There is an uptick in the number of donors

• Capital is at $19.5M YTD

• There is a $13M surplus

• Cash and Investments are at $346M

• Retirement plans are very healthy. If the employee contributes 4%, Young Life matches it. If they’ve been on staff for seven years Young Life contributes 7%, for a total retirement savings of 15%.

The Finance Committee had two resolutions to present, as follows:

1. Accepting Audit Report for FY2024

2. Current National Credit Lines, Secured Pledges as Security for Borrowing

Trustee Governance Committee

Michael Stain reported that the Trustee Governance Committee discussed those trustees that are being put forward via resolution to the board in the fall. They also discussed those trustees that would be stepping off the board, and discussed waiving the one-year waiting period to join as Trustee Emeriti.

He presented the following resolutions coming from the Trustee Governance Committee:

1. Election to the Young Life Board of Trustees

2. Election of Young Life Corporate Officers

3. Election to the Young Life Foundation Board of Directors

4. Election of Young Life Foundation Officers

5. Election of Trustee Emeritus – Sue Beré

6. Election of Trustee Emeritus – John Hummel

7. Election of Trustee Emeritus – Curtis McWilliams

This concludes the committee reports.

The board adjourned for the day.

General Session (Continued) – Friday, April 11, 2025

The meeting was called to order at 9:03 a.m. and opened with a prayer. Newt invited Alexis to lead a worship song and then asked the board to share any “waking thoughts” they had before jumping into the day’s presentations.

U.S. Field Update,

Wiley Scott, U.S. GSVP

Wiley said he’d be sharing three things: ministry numbers, ministry priorities, and a field staff update.

U.S. Ministry Numbers:

Wiley shared Isaiah 43:19, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it?” He said he believes God is doing a new thing in the U.S. by bringing us back to some old, core things. Wiley said we’re going back and focusing on those things that make Young Life what it is.

• Kids Known By Name: 574,148 kids known by name, up 5% year over year

• Club 89,132 up 7% from last year

• Campaigners 44,691 up 9% from last year

• Female area directors and above: 395; making up 38% of all U.S. Area Directors. Wiley said we desire to reflect the Kingdom of God and the populations that we serve. A majority of the kids we serve are young ladies, so the growth of this number is important.

U.S. Ministry Priorities:

Wiley shared the three main priorities for U.S. ministry:

1. Healthy Ministry (the heart of relational ministry)

a. There has been a lack of common understanding of what “health” is. Wiley said Young Life has created a framework of what health looks like at each level in U.S. ministry. This gives us a concrete and consistent picture of what health looks like and by ministry type. It allows us to properly allocate resources to things that are working. It helps us reach more kids.

b. Metrics that lead toward healthy ministry include kids known by name (% of school), number of leaders, average club attendance, average Campaigners attendance, summer and school-season camping numbers, and the frequency of club and Campaigners.

c. Categories and U.S. Ministry Breakdown:

i. 18% of our ministries are healthy (meeting five out of seven metrics)

ii. 36% are emerging (meeting four out of seven metrics)

iii. 7% are new (ministries less than two years old)

iv. 35% are struggling (meeting less than three metrics)

v. 4% are flagship (uses a different set of metrics)

2. Volunteer Movement

Wiley said when we think about volunteer leaders we have to evaluate the environment we are working in. Volunteerism and church attendance is down. Greater diversity creates more challenges. Gen Z is looking for different things, and they generally distrust institutions.

• The traditional pipeline of kid to leader and leader to staff is not what it used to be.

• Expecting the staff to be primary recruiters is likely not going to get us to where we want to go.

• We have three pilots trying to identify where leaders are and how to recruit and train them. We have a “caught not taught” scholarship, a come and see philosophy, and it is more impactful. These leaders will be the best recruiters of new leaders.

• Volunteer leaders are critical to what we do. It’s our biggest opportunity and also our greatest challenge.

U.S. Field Update

Wiley noted that Young Life has been rolling out a lot of new/revised systems and which has been interesting for staff with plates that are already full. Wiley gathered a group of staff and asked what their greatest challenges are, they said 1.) Finances and fundraising; 2.) Recruiting volunteers and committee; 3.) Systems. U.S. staff are saying they are hopeful and grateful, but also stretched and strained.

Wiley asked that the board be praying for our staff — pray that they would not grow weary of doing good. He said to call on the Lord of the Harvest to send workers, to send volunteers. Pray for every child to have the opportunity to hear about Jesus, pray for every bed at camp to be filled, and pray for deficits in the field, we want our staff focused on ministry, not money.

Camping Update – Chad Sievert, SVP Camping

Chad shared that there is a flurry of activity going on right now in preparation for camp this summer. Chad shared that at our core Young Life is not a camping ministry, but camping is part of our DNA. We are relational and dedicated to sharing the love of Jesus, with camping deeply woven into what we do. Camp is an accelerator of ministry, it is also where many of our stories come from. It is where our ministry methods are being played out in a consolidated form. It is also a pipeline of future leadership. It is a place where we get to witness transformation.

Chad provided some perspective on camping numbers pre- and post-COVID.

Pre-COVID (2016-2019)

Young Life Guests: 1,294,657

Non-Young Life Guests: 402,568

Post-COVID (2022-2025)

Young Life Guests: 1,383,070

Non-Young Life Guests: 349,647

KNOWN Goal (by 2030)

Young Life Guests: 1,697,225

Non-Young Life Guests: 1,732,717

Chad shared that we know there is a challenge in growing these numbers and the rising cost of doing business, and we are trying to keep our costs down. At camp, we create distraction-free welcoming spaces where all people can encounter Jesus through transformative relationships, hospitality, and joyful, dedicated service. We want to own and steward well what the Lord has given us. Young Life has 40 camping operations worldwide and 557 U.S. camp staff. In the U.S. this year there will be 845 Assigned Team, people who leave their homes for a month and live in community at camp in order to serve kids. This year there will be 4,375 U.S. volunteers at camp, donating their time.

Chad shared that the average age of our U.S. camps is 30 years old. We have a total 3,040,000 sq. ft. of camping facilities in the U.S. The operating revenue for fiscal year 2025 is $94.5M which is camp fees and retail, and our anticipated operational expense for this year is forecasted at $94.6M. We have a thin margin for a business this size. Camping’s three-year average for capital spend = $29M. The book value is listed at $278M, our insured value is listed as $646M.

Chad spoke about the Camp Fee and clarified that this is what gets paid to be at camp. He said there is also trip cost, which includes what it takes to get the group to and from camp (transportation cost, T-shirt, paying the way for volunteers). He said the 10-year average increase for the Camp Cost is 3.78%, saying we fight tooth and nail to keep that as low as possible. The daily rate to be at camp is $111. Other trip costs average about $230-$250 on top of the camp cost. Field fundraising this last year for campership was $20M for summer camps.

Chad shared that there are five camps that will hit 25 years old in a three-year window. There is a lot of maintenance that comes due around this time. All of these factors are part of what we do and how we steward the tension ahead of us. He said Young Life is nearing a point at which we’ll have to wrestle with the value of camp and reality of what it costs. He thinks that what is happening currently is that we establish a camp fee ($111 per day in the summertime) that doesn’t truly cover the actual reality of what it costs to maintain camp, and that we can’t keep pressing on the bottom-up funding of campership to overcome that number.

Chad shared that Young Life needs to be thinking about the following:

• How do we want to leverage the tool that is camping in the future?

• How should we be thinking about the tension of missional stewardship and camper cost?

• What needs to change to impact growth and stewardship? As prices go up, cost goes up, and it is met head-on in the growth that we hope to see. Chad said that balancing these things are a constant ongoing challenge we have to navigate.

Chad asked the board to be praying for God’s angels to be present over camp, over buses, as 100,000 people make their way to a camp this summer.

KNOWN Campaign Update – Joey Jimenez, Chief Development Officer

Joey shared about the funding progress of the KNOWN Campaign, lasting from 2022 to 2030, in which Young Life aspires to be in relationship with eight million kids around the world. In order to do that Young Life must recruit, train, and send about 200K volunteer leaders, who are earning the right to be heard. Joey said that when we said “yes” to this plan back in 2021, we committed to a strategy requiring us to double down on our existing forms of ministry and experiment with new ways to do ministry. The KNOWN campaign includes an investment/funding goal of $1.5 billion ($650M internationally, $375M in the U.S., $250M Capital for Camping, and $225M in Legacy funds through the Foundation). Joey shared that as of March, we crossed the threshold of $400M in funds raised, booked pledges, and funds committed. Young Life set a goal to raise $750M by December of 2025, and Joey shared we are short of that goal currently. The $750M goal was meant to get Young Life to the halfway mark less than halfway through the campaign. He said we are making progress toward the goal and have a clear line of sight on the work we need to do.

Joey shared that some of that work is the evolving structure of the Development department, and that the team is looking at the processes and rigor of our development work.

Development Staffing Updates

Joey shared the following staffing updates within the Development department.

• Josh Powell has been hired as the vice president of International Development. Josh has been with Young Life for 22 years, and he is a visionary, a dreamer, and a disruptor. He is overseeing eight campaign directors who are raising funds to support international work.

• Jennifer Rettele-Thomas (JRT) has been hired as the vice president of U.S. Development. She is new to Young Life. She spent the last 15 years at Kansas State University, building and leading their principal gifts program. She is a gifted leader, she is winsome, and she understands earning the right to be heard.

• Ted Seitz has been hired as the principal gifts officer. He was previously senior campaign director at Washington Family Ranch and has been on staff for 16 years. Ted knows how to work closely with people who want to think strategically about their giving. He will be a tremendous help to this work, inspiring greater levels of generosity.

Donor Acquisition and Revenue Marketing

Joey shared that the number of donors has remained relatively flat year over year, at around 200,000. He explained that we gain 60K-70K new donors every year, but we also lose that many. One of our goals is to explore how to grow that number to 250K-300K over next three years. It’s an important part of the overall funding strategy for the ministry of Young Life.

Joey shared about the sponsorship of Joe Gibbs Racing, saying that Young Life signed the contract 10 days before the racing season began. This sponsorship came without spending any donor money, and came out of a partnership with some friends of ours at the Signatry (a donor advised fund facilitator). They had a donor who cared deeply about Young Life, but hadn’t been previously engaged through giving. This donor had done this sponsorship previously and offered this to Young Life. Joey said we tried to negotiate their giving to some other projects in the U.S. field and international, but racing was the passion of this donor. The title sponsorship, which has value of about $2.5M, is entirely Young Life’s. Lauren Bocci and Joey spun up their teams to see how to leverage this opportunity. Every race includes eight VIP passes that we use to host Young Life donors. We work with local field staff to host events prior to the race, like a private donor dinner with Joe Gibbs Racing the night before each race. Joe Gibbs Racing, Signatry, and Young Life are closely aligned on values (JD Gibbs was on Young Life’s Board of Trustees). Joey said Young Life is working to leverage this new opportunity — it’s a muscle we haven’t previously developed. We are seeing what can we learn from this, and hoping to grow our base of support through this opportunity. It’s a tremendous opportunity for us and we’re committed to learn from it.

Joey closed by saying the vision and plan for KNOWN is tremendous work and we believe we have the right teams and strategies, but it is most of all a work of prayer.

Systems Update

Compliance/Learning Management System – Billy Boyle, COO

Billy shared that Young Life’s global systems connect, empower, and resource staff and leaders to be able to go together. He said that over the last 10 months Young Life has experienced what happens when you have major disruptions and huge, significant changes. We are learning how to overcome, but we must get better. He said

Young Life is purposefully moving to cloud-based, globally equipped, more secure systems. We see a future where our digital tools amplify healthy behaviors and work seamlessly alongside leaders to reach more kids. We have significant work still to do, and we can’t move fast enough. He shared that we are having to go back to figure out how to build a stronger foundation before we continue to build out the systems.

Billy spoke about Young Life’s Compliance and Learning Activity Manager. He stated that screening and compliance really is critical because it gets Young Life’s core values in front of our staff and volunteers, it formalizes our alignment around Statement of Faith and our key policies. It provides basic training in key safety and compliance areas, such as Child Safety. These screenings proactively care for and keep kids safe. This new system moved us from our old server-based system to a new cloud-based system and gives leadership at all levels insight into compliance. Billy shared some early wins from the new system: secure cloud-based system, greater visibility, 19,798 people complete the new Child Safety Training, 23,709 unique logins into the system, people are encouraged by how seriously we take child safety.

Billy also shared about some significant challenges that were highlighted by the switch to this new system, ultimately around login issue. He noted that we asked 37,000 people to log into the system to complete the new child safety training, and 30,000 of those had not logged in within the last 12 months, and many had never logged in. He said that between forgotten passwords, duplicate accounts, changed emails, confusion around multi-factor authentication, there have been significant login failures, which has created a lot of frustration. He stated we know this needs to be improved upon and the login experience is being prioritized. He noted that Young Life has brought in some contractors who are helping us evaluate and improve our login process.

He said the new screening system has worked for thousands of people, but we want it to work for every single person that attempts to login.

Workday – Shelley Meador, CHRO

Shelley spoke about Young Life’s switch to Workday saying this has been an opportunity for us to grow individually and grow more unified because this tool is making us have to surrender to him, showing we need each other, and forcing us to go together through Workday. She reminded the board that Young Life was forced to switch our enterprise-level system because Lawson was no longer supported, and that we picked Workday because it was global, cloud-based, and secure, and we received great ministry-partner recommendations for it. There were 220 project team members working on the switch and 175M records got migrated.

Shelley shared about a Workday summit that happened in the fall and brought people from field and functional roles, as well as some contractors, to identify five priorities moving forward:

• Support – creating visibility into the process and status of requests

• Hiring, Onboarding, Recruiting – handling multi-system processes that get stuck when an integration stops working

• Mission Structure – giving the field better understanding and control over Sup Orgs, which change frequently

• Security Groups and Roles – defining Workday responsibilities for an area director

• Adaptive and Security Groups and Roles – defining how to request additional access for specific individuals who need it.

Shelley shared that Young Life has been in Phase Two of the Workday Implementation which has included Workday’s learning management system configuration, enhancements to Adaptive, self-service access to historical W-2s and pay statements, automated income and employment verification, and translation of Young Life’s custom fields/text into Spanish, French, and Russian.

She closed by saying that Young Life will continue to stabilize Workday to maximize its effectiveness for our global staff.

Adaptive – Scott Brill, CFO

Scott shared about Adaptive, a planning and budget tool that is part of the Workday implementation. He noted that we had to replace Cashflow, our custom financial tool built in-house. Scott stated that the launch has not been smooth. The System Outage happened right as Young Life was preparing to launch Workday and that caused some issues. Payroll had to be moved into Workday a month early, and all of the issues that came from that, from a financial, accounting perspective, encompassed the next six months of work to get through our final audited financial statements. Those six months were supposed to be spent working on Adaptive, to make it an easier tool to use by the field.

Scott explained that the way Young Life used Cashflow didn’t require our hierarchy and structures to matter, because it all rolled up into the right place in the end. Now that we are in Adaptive everything is built on hierarchy and it has taken months to update those hierarchies. He said that the advantage of Adaptive is that we can now easily roll-up budgets and see totals and consolidations for all their cost centers and hierarchies. We continue to create dashboards and we can drill through and explore cell-integration which goes directly into Workday. Scott said that as we think about how the mission will grow, we have unlimited planning scenarios within Adaptive and, as mentioned before, world-class security.

One Support – Billy Boyle, COO

Billy shared that the reality is that Young Life has been very siloed in our support. We had five different major teams that offered different types of help, and we have been overwhelmed since the system outage. Billy outlined some major steps Young Life has made toward improvement in this area, which are:

• Assigning a support team lead

• Using one support ticket system

• Moving to a web-based case system in Service Cloud

• Using analytics to enhance data-driven goals and decision making

• Establishing a customer service training program

• Building Capacity on the team, through additional hires and outsourcing help

Billy noted that the support team is trying to put a plan together to address login issues and are reaching out to areas proactively to see how we can help.

Newt thanked those that presented today and passed the session over to Michael Stain for the vote on Resolutions.

Resolutions

The chair presented the following resolutions and called for a vote.

Finance Committee

Resolution 1: Accepting Audit Report for FY2024 – A motion was made and seconded to accept the audit report for FY2024. There was no further discussion and the resolution unanimously passed.

Resolution 2: Current National Credit Lines, Secured Pledges as Security for Borrowing – A motion was made and seconded to allow pledges to be used as security to borrow up to 85% of the value of the pledge. There was no further discussion and the resolution unanimously passed.

Trustee Governance Committee

Resolution 3: Election to the Young Life Board of Trustees – A motion was made and seconded to elect Harold Melton and Tom Thomas to the class of 2027, and to elect Andy Code, Doug Eaton, Promod Haque, Dave Tiley, Joaquin Villena, and Phyllis Washington to the class of 2029. There was no further discussion and the resolution unanimously passed.

Resolution 4: Young Life Corporate Officers Elected – A motion was made and seconded to elect officers as stated. There was no further discussion and the resolution unanimously passed.

Resolution 5: Election to the Young Life Foundation Board of Directors – A motion was made and seconded to elect Scott Brill, Nick Kuechly, and Todd Peterson to the class of 2027. There was no further discussion and the resolution unanimously passed.

Resolution 6: Young Life Foundation Officers Elected – A motion was made and seconded to elect officers as stated. There was no further discussion and the resolution unanimously passed.

Resolution 7: Trustee Emeritus – A motion was made and seconded to elect Sue Beré as a Trustee Emeritus. There was no further discussion and the resolution unanimously passed.

Resolution 8: Trustee Emeritus – A motion was made and seconded to elect John Hummel as a Trustee Emeritus. There was no further discussion and the resolution unanimously passed.

Resolution 9: Trustee Emeritus – A motion was made and seconded to elect Curtis McWilliams as a Trustee Emeritus. There was no further discussion and the resolution unanimously passed.

Closing

The board business concluded and Newt reminded the board about the upcoming meetings on the board calendar, including a summer board call in early August, the Table event September 18-21 in Colorado Springs, the fall board meeting November 19-21 in Colorado Springs, and the spring 2026 board meeting in Tampa, Florida, April 15-17.

Marty Caldwell led the doxology and Harold Melton adjourned the meeting at 11:25 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Paul W. Sherrill

Paul W. Sherrill, Secretary

(Original minutes signed and placed in corporate minute book.)

(Copies of all approved resolutions from the 2025 spring board meeting can be found in the minute book maintained in the office of the corporate secretary.)

Ministry vitals

**Camping Data Source is CMI Dashboard.

**See Missionwide Personnel Report.

U.S. Camper Data Breakdown*

*Doesn’t include family

*Used the Life Stage Filter on CMI 2.0 to delineate age

Missionwide Personnel Report — 2024-2025

*Contracted, seasonal, etc.