Young Life - Area Director

n the early 1930s, Clara Frasher initiated prayer support for Gainesville High School teens. In 1939, Jim Rayburn founded the Miracle Book Club in Gainesville, collaborating with Pastor Clyde Kennedy. Recognizing the need for a more intimate Gospel setting, Rayburn launched Young Life clubs in kids' homes, featuring singing, skits, and Jesus-centered talks.

Rayburn's conviction was that every young person deserved to hear the message of Jesus and make a personal choice regarding the Gospel. Those who decided to follow Christ joined "Campaigners," a discipleship group centered on Bible study, prayer, and sharing.

Camping emerged as a pivotal aspect of Young Life, with the acquisition of numerous Colorado ranches, providing stunning settings to share the Gospel while giving kids unforgettable experiences.

Young Life's global expansion began in 1953 with an outreach in France, utilizing an approach called incarnational evangelism. Today, Young Life operates in over 100 countries.

In the mid-1950s, Young Life broadened its mission to serve kids of all backgrounds. Multiethnic ministries were developed to address the unique needs of diverse youth.

By the late 1980s, Young Life extended its focus to kids with special needs, establishing programs across the country, affectionately known as "Young Life Capernaum." These initiatives aim to expand boundaries, enrich lives, and warm hearts with Jesus' love.

Another facet of Young Life's ministry, "YoungLives," emerged, offering support to teenage mothers. Experienced mentors connect with young moms, providing friendship and the opportunity to explore a relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Issaquah and Sammamish Plateau are wooded suburbs of the greater Seattle area. It sits about a 20 minute drive from downtown Seattle, yet less than an hour from the ski slopes and much more.

The region is driven economically by many of the well-known Northwest based businesses (Amazon, Boeing, Costco, REI, Microsoft, etc.) , and premier tourist destinations like Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, wineries, professional sports and the University of Washington. However, with all these opportunities, so comes the cost-of-living in an area such as this. The Puget Sound area is among the most costly in the nation (median house cost is around $600,000).

WHAT YOU DO

LEAD THE LEADERS

Young Life has produced wonderful videos that help paint the picture of who a Young Life Leader is and what they do. In short, the Area Director spends much of their time leading the leaders. HERE is a great video about the leaders.

INSPIRE AND MODEL OUTREACH

Outreach is a huge part of what Young Life is! Contact work is the crux of what they do (going to kids on their turf ie soccer games, being tutors, attending school plays etc.). They think it's important to earn the right to be heard in the lives of kids before we tell them the good news about Jesus. They ask every leader to be doing contact work weekly. Their clubs are geared towards kids who might have never heard the Gospel before and is structured to welcome disinterested kids.

Equipping and empowering leaders to "show up" is a huge piece of this role, especially in this rebuilding phase for clubs to be effective in this area. YL is nothing if they aren't continuously focusing on outreach.

They are known for going to where kids are, loving the lost, reaching disinterested kids, for fun, laughter, and adventure, for excellence in their programs and camping.

CAMP, CAMP AND MORE CAMP!

The Sammamish area is known for their camp attendance (fill all their allotted spots and have a wait-list). Though this is a great attribute, there are several tension points raised because of this. Which leads to the last major area for this role...

RAISE AREA SUPPORT

... with a great demand for the summer camp spots, there is great need for organizational structures to be put in place for registration, leader recruitment, prioritizaation of wait-list and much much more.

The new Area Director will look to raise support in every area of the ministry. This leader should be comfortable sitting across the table from an awkward pre-teen middle schooler or an awkward middle-aged millionaire. The Area Director will be responsible for leading fundraising initiatvies and reaching out to individual donors to help meet the mission of Young Life.

In addition to financial support, the ministry needs to be build to scale, which means new leaders need to be recruited and trained to support the ongoing ministry to these teens.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Develop a multiethnic vision and strategy for ministry.

Recruit, train, and lead staff and leaders to reflect the community.

Cultivate direct ministry, including clubs, camps, Campaigners, and contact work, setting an example of incarnational ministry.

Build a sense of belonging through sustained, consistent contact work, increasing student ownership through discipleship.

Establish relationships with parents, teachers, coaches, donors, and community members.

Recruit and lead adult "Go Teams" to support ministry in their school community.

Lead kids and leaders at camp and participate in assignment teams as directed.

Develop and lead the area's fundraising strategy, ensuring excellent donor communication.

Actively lead fundraising efforts and raise personal support.

Manage administrative needs for the area while maintaining positive cash flow.

WHAT THIS LEADER WILL LOOK LIKE- A strong, growing spiritual life.
- Demonstrated success working with middle school and high school students.
- Desire to cultivate a multiethnic community by building relationships with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
- Ability to lead through cultural intelligence frameworks with high emotional intelligence, both externally and internally.
- Capability to work independently with minimal supervision in an unstructured environment.
- Proficiency in recruiting, training and leading adults.
- Ability to be a team player and to work closely with other staff.
- Willingness to build and execute a fundraising strategy.

Employment Type: FULL_TIME