KEEP THE CORE - CHANGE THE CONTEXT
“But it's different over here!”
I am not sure the first time I noticed the phrase above, but I can tell you that I have heard it countless times since. Over the past eight decades, as Young Life has grown and expanded, we have committed organizationally to reaching adolescents in ALL communities and settings. What started with high school students in Texas now has a presence in all 50 states in the US and over 100+ countries around the globe. The graphic below gives a sense of how Young Life became Young Life and where ministry and cultural moments intersected.
(Thank you - YL Creative Services)
Over the last several years we have tried to get a ‘pulse’ on the growth of new ministry models beyond AGE & STAGE Ministry and FOCUS Ministries (Capernaum and YoungLives). Below is a simple, broad overview of the ministry models that we are aware of globally and it is growing daily!
So what do you do when you have literally a few dozen ministry models spanning Junior High to College aged?
What do you do when your rhetoric is to reach ‘Every Kid’ not just in the US but globally?’
YOU FOCUS ON TWO KEY VARIABLES.
You align your ministry along CORE principles.
You give great flexibility to allow for a broad range of CONTEXTS.
The relationship between ‘Core to Context,’ may be the most valuable connection that we can foster to stay relevant in the coming years. If we understand it well, we are allowed to pivot, shift, have permission, and adjust according to the context we serve. When we stay committed to our Values and Methods and adjust to specifically serve our communities, everyone wins! At the intersection of ‘Core to Context’ is the heart of the gospel, and Jesus modeled it well:
Jesus was multicultural
Jesus went to people
Jesus was relational
Jesus looked for common ground
He asked good questions and listened, Jesus was authentic
Jesus didn’t avoid hard topics
Jesus was not afraid to speak truth
Jesus kept the gospel primary
As a mission, we will survive if we remain different because we respond to the shifts we observe in the culture. So we should stay committed to Principles and be flexible in Particulars.
Try this 15-minute EXERCISE with your team:
Answer 3 simple questions-
(6 min) What are some core (key) essentials to your Young Life ministry that are non-negotiable? (List 10 or more!)
(6 min) What are some specific contextual elements within your community that make it different? (List 5 or more)
(3 min) Grade yourself on how you are doing on the relationship between core to context? What should you do more or less?
Students are changing constantly although, at their core, their needs are similar to what they were when Young Life began. Young Life is the same too - Jesus, faithful adults, lasting relationships, and a compelling presentation of the gospel. Being different will be a good thing only if it helps us reach not just more kids but the current kid as well as the next kid.
Written by Ken B Tank