In 1979, Youth Alive started as a package of resources for students to use their freedom of speech to share Jesus with their classmates. Youth Leaders used those resources to inspire a generation of students to start campus clubs, Bible Studies, host outreaches and sponsor school assembly programs. In some instances, the right of a student’s freedom of speech was denied. Bridget Mergens was one of those students. The American Center for Law and Justice took up her case, and it led to a Supreme Court decision that has given our students the Equal Access Act. In general, this law provides protection for students to share their faith/beliefs with anyone at school if they do not interfere with a normal school day.
With tremendous growth in student initiated and student led ministry at public schools, our fellowship saw the need for district missionaries to champion the cause of students reaching students across America. Pastor Mark Dean, Superintendent of the Minnesota District of the Assemblies of God, saw the need. He championed the cause in 1998 as one of eight districts to create a Youth Alive missionary position. Richard Baker was the first to answer that call and now, 28 years later, the LORD has blessed our MN District with three additional missionaries: Bobby Loukinen, Kelli Patrick and Kyle Curran.
The vision for this team is to reach every student, at every school, and every community with the message of hope found in Jesus Christ.
To fulfill that vision, MN Youth Alive works to engage the Church in four areas:
- Prayer
- Students sharing Jesus
- Student-led Campus Movements: clubs, Bible Studies and prayer groups
- Outreaches this includes school assemblies and creative student ideas.
Connecting the Church to schools is the goal of the four areas.
Prayer Zone Partners is a way to engage adults and students in prayer every time one drives through a school safety zone. What would happen if every one of our church attenders prayed for a school as they drove by each day? Officially, we have 660 people praying for schools in this way. Every August, approximately 80 bikers travel Minnesota praying for every public high school and from each corner. Every January, students and adults join a prayer reminder thread uniting in specific prayer needs of students. Each camp season, our staff teaches and challenges students to hear God’s voice. A must for school outreach. Doors are opening and students are coming to Jesus because of those prayers.
In the last four years, our team has seen more than 2400 students receive training on how to share Jesus. 1,077 students have received a “Youth Alive FireBible “to use for campus clubs, sharing their faith and the study of God’s Word. This has resulted in 394 MN schools having a student leader/missionary and/or a club at school. Kelli Patrick has led the way with student engagement.
Students lead the way in outreach also. Leah didn’t want to return to her high school but felt like God was asking her to lead a change with her faith. Not only did she organize the first “See You at the Pole,” she started a campus club, and then asked her principal if they could have a school assembly with Terrence Talley. Her persistence at one little school created an open door for seven more high schools in her county. It didn’t end there, our team was able to visit three more schools because of the tremendous influence Leah had at that first little school.
