YOUNG LIFE
Crisp mountain air, breakfast from a chuck wagon,
songs around a campfire —it's all part of
Young Life's campaign to reach highschoolers for Christ
I t was after a Young L ife roundup in the Kiva at Frontier Ranch. The Kiva is the auditorium o f one o f Young L ife’s fabulous Colorado ranches and a “ roundup” is the term used for one of the regular sessions where high school kids are given the gospel. In this group o f healthily tanned youngsters was a high school athlete from Tennessee, state all-star in football and basketball, the first man to be elected captain of both. There was a girl from a North Chicago high school and one of the first families of Chicago society. A fine looking boy from California who had won fame as a swimmer and diver pushed by. There was a burly football player from Pennsyl vania, a track star from Texas, a girl cheerleader from Tulsa and a student leader from Colorado Springs. And hundreds more. This is Young L ife in action on the mountain top. But months before there was a lot o f carefully laid groundwork back in the high schools where these youngsters came from. A t the opening of the school year, it is not un common for a leader to begin with an entire crowd o f unsaved kids. Most frequently, a new work is begun with several weeks or months of reconnais sance. A Young Life leader w ill simply visit the high school, the football field, the drug store, wher ever the young people are, making friends and estab lishing himself. In one area, this process took many weeks, but it proved to be the fastest procedure in the long run. Young L ife has given years o f prayerful study to the right kind of Christian meeting for kids. What is called a Young Life Club is actually a gospel meet ing for high school young people. It is different from most gospel meetings but the differences are in small things. The kids sing and pray and the gospel is
preached in an atmosphere of friendly informality. The meeting is deliberately placed at their level. The language is that which w ill be understood and impressive to a m odem adolescent. The cliches of evangelical terminology are avoided and a presenta tion of the story of how Christ died for man’s sin is stated in terms which young people can understand and appreciate. The Young Life Club is but a phase o f this work. There are week-end camps, parties, rallies, high school assemblies and an intensive Bible study program for the new converts. Then there is the summer ranch program conducted at three nationally famous Colo rado ranches where several hundred young people are winsomely challenged b y the Saviour’s claims each week. This summer hundreds o f youngsters from every part o f the United States will be gathering each night for what may be the high point of their entire lives. For many o f them it w ill be their first vital contact with the gospel and the good news o f the Saviour’s love for them. Young L ife’s Colorado ranches are not just dude ranches even though they are considered b y many to be the most beautiful and well-equipped summer camps in the West. Frontier Ranch has just about everyth ing. Star Ranch, too, is a gem. Situated on the slopes of Cheyenne Mountain, near Colorado Springs, it has a sweeping view of the prairies to the east and the massive Rockies in the Northwest. In these idyllic settings o f beauty and grandeur, even the most restless heart is quieted for the voice o f God’s gospel. Says one, “ I went to camp at Star Ranch but I didn’t go because I liked camp especially. I looked forward to the athletics IjÉ fìD f k but didn’t look forward to W V n C ^ 11
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