In 1964, Bill Starr became the second president of Young
Life. He followed Jim Rayburn, the storied founder of Young Life who pioneered
the idea that Christian leaders could not hang a sign on the door and expect teenagers
to “Come to Church.”[1]
For leaders to be effective, they had to enter the world of kids, meet them on
their own turf, and “earn the right to be heard.” This incarnational model of
evangelization has become a trademark of Young Life’s ministry ever since.
But as he took over the presidency, Bill Starr sensed that a
change was needed to fulfill the calling of God and the Great Commission of
making disciples of all nations.[2]
This change had nothing to do with the way Young Life reaches kids or proclaims
the gospel. It had everything to do with who
was at the table.
Speaking firstly about the make-up of Young Life’s board of
directors, Starr reflected, “The more I prayed and thought about [it], the more
I believed . . . that we needed to add African Americans, Latinos, Catholics
and more women.”[3] He
later intuited that we needed the unique contributions of inner city leaders
and international trailblazers who could help us reach kids around the globe.
Starr knew that to reach “every kid, everywhere,” this would require an
intentional, collaborative effort of whites, blacks, Hispanics, men, women,
urbanites, suburbanites, rich and poor.
And look at Young Life now.
We can hardly imagine the mission without multi-cultural leadership.
We wouldn’t dream of doing Young Life without women. We have intentionally
invested in the unique needs of the growing population of Latinos and we have a
bourgeoning Young Life presence internationally, serving kids in over 90
countries worldwide. It seems that Bill Starr’s 1964 vision has been
beautifully fulfilled.
. . . with one curious exception. Catholics.
Though Catholics make up the largest segment of the
religious landscape of the United States (over 77 million), I can count on two
hands the number of Catholics who are working full-time for Young Life. Throughout
New England and the greater New York division, the majority of kids reached by
Young Life are Catholic. In the Southwest where the Latino population is
surging, nearly 70% of these are Catholic. There are strong Catholic
contingents strewn throughout the Midwest. Yet we have only a handful of
practicing Catholic staff that are uniquely positioned to serve them.
If we know that the best way to reach inner-city kids or
multicultural kids or international kids is to raise up indigenous leadership
who know that particular context like the back of their hand. . . If we know
that the most effective way to reach kids is to enter more fully into their
culture and strive to meet the unique demands therein, then why aren’t we
employing this approach with the multitudes of Catholics that fill our
communities?
The time is now. It is time to fulfill the great vision of
Bill Starr of inviting Catholics to the table to lead this mission to reach every kid for Jesus Christ. In the words
of our current president, Denny Rydberg, “It is time to raise up the next
generation of Catholic leaders in Young Life.”[4]
The success of our mission rests in the collaborative vision of reaching every kid with a diversity of leadership
that reflects the diversity of the populations we serve.
So where are the Catholics?
[1]
Interestingly, the word teenager
first showed up in print in 1941, the year Young Life was founded.
[2] Mt.
28:19.
[3] Bill
Starr, The Season For Reflection
(CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2013), 64. Special thanks to Cathy
Garcia-Johnson for bringing this resource to my attention.
[4]
Denny’s opening remarks at the YL Catholic Summit in May 2013 included this
stirring exhortation about the necessity to raise up Catholic leaders within
the mission of Young Life.
