Contents History of Youth Ministry 2 Pre-YFC Days 3 The Official Launch of Youth for Christ in 1944 9 Billy Graham Hired Full-Time 16 Soldier Field Rally and the First Winona Convention 21 Youth for Christ Expands Overseas 26 More Growth in the U S 33 Wildfire Expansion Worldwide Began Under President Bob Cook 36 Billy Graham's Crisis of Faith 39 Emphasis on World-Wide Revival in the Post World War 2 Era 41 New Ministry Methods and Expansion in the Early 1950s 43 YFC’s 10th Anniversary in 1954 46 Consolidation and Innovation 1957-68 49 Sam Wolgemuth Becomes President 54 YFCI and YFC USA Split 57 YFC USA Continues Influencing the Worldwide Ministry 60 The Stabilization and Growth of YFC International 66 Leadership Crisis in YFCI 71 Growth of YFCI Following the Crisis 74 Geordon Rendle Becomes President in March, 2013 79 Dave Brereton as YFCI Director 82 The 2019 Annual Report: Serving the Kingdom 86 COVID-19 Strikes the World Hard in March, 2020 93 Some Very Innovative Nations With Ministry During Covid-19 95 GA 2020 Postponed Until September 2022 97 The Future of Youth Ministry 99 Great Memories, but Even Greater Dreams 101 Parade of Nations 103 Introduction History is very important, and the Bible says as much All of Psalm 78 looks on Israel’s past Verse 4 says… ”We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done Job 8:8 says, “Ask the former gener- ations, and find out what their fathers learned…” In 1 Chronicles 12:32, the men of Issachar “understood the times and knew what Israel should do ” Youth for Christ has a rich history, and we must not forget the past as we plan ahead for a great future Thus, we must remember where we came from – so that we understand the miracle that is Youth for Christ International today and what it could become tomorrow Theodore Roosevelt said, “The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future ” It is not possible for you to comprehend Youth for Christ in the 21st Century without delving into this compilation of how God literally raised up Youth for Christ from the dust and debris of World War 2 and has empowered it to grow to where it is 77 years later We can’t blindly jump on a new ministry method without discov- ering how that method or a similar method did or did not work in the past We need to know what programs have been discarded in the past and why Sometimes we have found old programs from the past are relevant once more Knowledge of the past helps us produce the present and so the future Abraham Lincoln once said, “Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history ” Those who try to escape YFC’s past will live to regret what is created in the future All staff must be aware of what founder Torrey Johnson said in an early prayer meeting, “We want folks to know God’s hand is on this movement We want folks to say this is too big and too great for any man or group of men to accomplish by themselves We want folks to say, ‘GOD DID IT!’” Then Bob Cook repeated, “Let’s keep this thing on a miracle basis from beginning to end all the way through ” And the rest of those who were praying shouted, “Amen, brother!” Later Billy Graham would declare YFC “one of the miracles of the 20th century ” Whether you are a current staff member, an alumnus, a supporter, or simply an interested party, you will be enriched and encouraged as you read what follows But we don’t want to get ahead of the back-story! Dr Art Deyo YOUTH FOR CHRIST INTERNATIONAL History of Youth Ministry The beginnings of Protestant youth ministry in the United States occurred in the middle of the 19th century in the wake of the industrial revolution Churches took note of all the young men who moved into central urban areas to work in factories Laypersons who noticed these young adults working six days a week and gallivanting about town on Sundays, aspired to educate them Thus, churches brought older children and teenagers into classrooms called Sunday Schools to teach them how to read the Bible Many of these were unchurched, so a secondary effect was that the students would realize through bib- lical passages that they were sinners in need of forgiveness Eventually churches opened up Sunday School to church members, unchurched children, and teens alike Teachers encouraged their students to bring their friends along, and the movement gained momentum Laypersons would often work independently, neither subjecting themselves to congregational scrutiny nor receiving church funding This fostered the development of interdenominational teaching programs and, eventually, faith-based organizations devoted to youth such as the YMCA, founded by George Williams in 1844 in London, and YWCA, founded in Boston and New York in the 1950s by women such as Mrs Marshall Roberts and Lucretia Boyd Later Francis Edward Clark began the Christian Endeavor Society in Portland, Maine, at the Williston Congregational Church in 1881 Clark wanted to change the view of young people in churches from “pitchers waiting to be filled” to “young adults responsible for larger service in the church of Christ ” This revolutionized youth ministry and became extremely popular in its first years of operation By 1887 there were 700 societies with over 50,000 members spread over 33 states The structure of Christian Endeavor established a much imitated pattern: weekly meetings for prayer, devotions, education, and recreation in local churches, mainly in the so-called Protestant mainline churches such as the Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational This caused some church denominations to become fearful that they would lose all their young people to these societies Francis Edward Clark So mainstream denominations began their own youth organi- zations Some examples are the Methodist Church’s Epworth League or the Lutheran’s Luther League These new church-based organizations, as well as the interdenominational ones already in existence, flourished, increasing in attendance and in international outreach After World War One, the focus of many youth ministries began to shift from outreach and conversion to education and understanding of faith It was during this time that teenagers began to think theologically as well as gain a social awareness of the world around them From the 1930s to the 1960s the churches emphasized fellowship and theological understanding Before 1940 it was the pastor’s job to do everything in the church, including youth fellowships During the late 1940s there was some introduction of church youth committees Youth were returning from the war with great life-experience, and they could not be kept out of leadership in the church just because they were in their twenties Youth for Christ was one of the earliest non-denominational youth ministries in the country, but it was quickly followed by others such as Campus Crusade for Christ, Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, Fellow- ship of Christian Athletes, Youth Specialties, Group Publishing, and many others 2 YOUTH FOR CHRIST INTERNATIONAL Celebrating 77+ YEARS OF YFCI Pre-YFC Days Back in 1904 two young Irishmen, Frederick and Arthur Wood, heard and answered the call of God to step out in faith as evan- gelists For seven years God used them mightily in Great Britain in churches and campaigns Since they noticed most of their converts were young people, they felt a growing burden for youth They sensed that they should specialize in working with young life Traveling one day on a train, one of them traced on the misty window the letters Y L C as they discussed the pos- sibility of a Young Life Campaign A group of pastors encour- aged them to form an advisory council and to launch a series of young life campaigns all over Great Britain This led to The National Young Life Campaign being organized Jim Rayburn In 1937 Mr and Mrs Frederick Wood came to the United States and toured the country in a series of meetings sponsored by the Christian Youth Campaign of America, directed by Lloyd Bryant On their tour they met young, handsome, fiery Jim Rayburn in Dallas, Texas In 1939 Jim started the Gainesville, Texas chapter of the Miracle Book Club for high school students The book club became Young Life on October 16, 1941 Rayburn moved the Young Life headquarters to Colorado Springs in 1946 Young Life differed from Youth for Christ in that they did not have Saturday or evening night rallies They got the students together in groups and reached them for Christ in that way The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world It began after the U S stock market crash of October, 1929, and sent Wall Street into a panic, wiping out millions of investors It’s timing varied across the world In most countries it started in 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s During the Great Depression, God began stirring the world of Percy Crawford and his children youth even more than before One of the first youth rally direc- tors in America was that same fiery Lloyd Bryant, who helped Young Life get started Bryant had been born and reared in the slums of Boston and had a vision of reaching the youth of America who had no religious connections The result was the Christian Youth Campaign of America He conducted his first Christian youth broadcast in 1929, but there was no definite weekly program until he went into Times Square in the heart of Manhattan using the Christian Missionary Alliance Tabernacle From 1932 to 1939 he conducted approximately 500 rallies, meeting not on Saturday, but on Monday and Tuesday nights He had many well-known