Youth for Christ USA, Inc.

Summary

Youth for Christ USA, Inc. (YFC") is part of the global Youth for Christ International network of national YFC programs. YFC is a worldwide movement of young people sharing Jesus Christ with other young people. YFC is "generational evangelism" -- each generation declaring God's Good News to its own peers. YFC aims to reach today's youth with God's love. The YFC family involves 25,000 staff and volunteers using a great variety of creative methods to share God's love with young people in 127 countries. YFC operates on a basis of local and national autonomy within a global international fellowship. The General Assembly of Youth for Christ International provides a forum for mutual support and coordination among member nations, each of which has equal voice and vote in the Assembly. The "nerve center" for global cooperation and initiatives is located in the Republic of Singapore. YFC has been helping young people find a productive balance in the physical, social, mental and spiritual aspects of their lives for over 50 years.

This organization is a nonprofit. Contributions to it are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. It is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

Contact Information: [ Back to top ]

Organization Details [ Back to top ]

Purpose [ Back to top ]

Youth for Christ USA, Inc. (YFC") is part of the global Youth for Christ International network of national YFC programs. YFC is a worldwide movement of young people sharing Jesus Christ with other young people. YFC is "generational evangelism" -- each generation declaring God's Good News to its own peers. YFC aims to reach today's youth with God's love. The YFC family involves 25,000 staff and volunteers using a great variety of creative methods to share God's love with young people in 127 countries. YFC operates on a basis of local and national autonomy within a global international fellowship. The General Assembly of Youth for Christ International provides a forum for mutual support and coordination among member nations, each of which has equal voice and vote in the Assembly. The "nerve center" for global cooperation and initiatives is located in the Republic of Singapore. YFC has been helping young people find a productive balance in the physical, social, mental and spiritual aspects of their lives for over 50 years.

This organization is a nonprofit. Contributions to it are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. It is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

Mission Statement [ Back to top ]

Youth for Christ USA, Inc.'s Mission Statement is:

Is to participate in the body of Christ in responsible evangelism of youth, presenting them with the person, work and teachings of Christ and discipling them into the local church.

Program Accomplishments [ Back to top ]

YFC has communicated its accomplishments as follows:

Since 1985 YFC's DCLA programs has reached 120,000 kids for Christ. Over 90,000 students and youth leaders have been taught how to live and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

YFC has developed training programs for field and staff internships for professional staff involved in programs for ministry to high school aged students.

YFC provides field services and development for local chapters of YFC which includes materials for their use and consultation in various areas.

Trained and sent missionaries on short and long termed basis.

Statement of Faith [ Back to top ]

Youth for Christ USA, Inc.'s Statement of Faith is:

1. We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.
2. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
3. We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.
4. We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful people regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
5. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
6. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.
7. We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in Christ.

History [ Back to top ]

The Youth for Christ movement was born in America in the mid-1940s through an impulse from the heart of God that simultaneously touched dozens of leaders in different places with a concern to reach out to the young people normal church channels were missing. By the early 1940s dynamic young evangelists using "revolutionary methods" were conducting lively mass rallies in more than a dozen cities, often under a common name, "Youth for Christ". By November 1944 it was clear that some organization should be formed to handle the growing flood of requests to start new rallies. A Chicago pastor, Torrey Johnson, was elected chairman of a temporary committee. He opened an office in Chicago and asked Billy Graham to become the first full-time Youth for Christ worker. Less than a year later, Youth for Christ International, Inc. was formally incorporated with Torrey Johnson as the first president.

In the late 1940s and early ’50s, YFC evangelists and teams crisscrossed the globe, their hearts aflame with God’s love, especially for young people. Their zeal for evangelism and their contemporary approach was electrifying and soon new YFC rally centers sprang up in other cities around the world. As a result, new organizations were born as spin-offs from the dynamic that characterized YFC in these early years, including World Vision International, Trans World Radio, Overseas Crusades, Far Eastern Gospel Crusade (now Send, Inc.), Greater Europe Mission, and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

But God’s Spirit continued to fan the flames that produced new youth evangelism efforts in countries throughout Asia, Europe, South America, the Caribbean and parts of Africa. By the late ’60s a growing desire for interaction and fellowship among YFC leaders worldwide culminated in the first Convocation of YFC’s International Council. Encouraged especially by Sam Wolgemuth and Wendy Collins, two American YFC leaders with a heart for the world, a group of twenty-one leaders met in Jamaica in late January 1968 to give birth to YFC’s International Council. At this historic meeting, the development of Youth for Christ’s global mission and international decision-making was firmly placed in the hands of a broad spectrum of national leadership. And the management and coordination of YFC’s cross-national affairs were now entrusted to a truly international body.

From this first conference, the principle of local and national autonomy within a global international fellowship was established and found expression through a United Nations style assembly giving equal voting power to every member nation. This ensured a strong sense of ownership which grew with the increasing number of participating nations. The second Convocation was held in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1971 with twenty-six member nations involved. By 1974, at the third Convocation in Les Diablerets, Switzerland the number had jumped to forty. When delegates arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the fourth Convocation there were now forty-nine national member programs. During the ’80s, total delegates to each triennial Convocation averaged around four hundred, meeting in Birmingham, England (1980), Hong Kong (1984) and Manila, Philippines (1987). As a reflection of the international scope of the movement, these international conferences moved around the continents, with Africa hosting it for the first time in 1990 (Nairobi, Kenya) and North America (Chicago, Ill.) for the first time in 1993 as part of YFC’s 50th anniversary celebrations. And in August 1996 the International Convocation will be held in Taipei, Taiwan.

By the early ’80s growing concern about the financial costs of a Swiss operation (the organization was headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland) and a desire to identify the world headquarters more with the masses of young people in the developing world led to a decision to move the international office to the Republic of Singapore in 1982. In moves designed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the international ministry, what had formerly been ten world areas were restructured to four major regions by the middle of the decade (later extended to five with the addition of the Middle East) and additional staff were positioned in the international headquarters. Under the leadership of the "two Jim’s", the 1980s was a time of strong consolidation of the international body with expansion of services to member nations and extension of pioneer outreach to new nations.

Then in 1990 the first non-American president, Mr. Gerald O. Gallimore of Jamaica, was elected to a role that basically combined the previous functions of general director and president into that of president/CEO. And a year later, one of YFC’s earlier statesmen, Dr. Ted Engstrom, agreed to serve as chairman of the international board.

The methods have changed with the decades. But the 2000 full-time staff and 22,000 part-time and volunteer staff who are committed to communicating the life-changing message of Jesus Christ to every young person in the hi-tech, high-touch culture of the ’90s share a similar combination of flexibility and commitment as did the early founders.

Ministry Needs [ Back to top ]

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Research Analysis

Transparency Grade [ Back to top ]

MinistryWatch.com 5 Star Financial Efficiency Ratings [ Back to top ]

Ranking Category	Rating	Overall Rank	Fellowship Evangelism Sector
Overall Efficiency Rating		204 of 348	12 of 19
Fund Acquisition Decision		204 of 348	12 of 19
Resource Allocation Decision		of 348	6 of 19
Asset Utilization Decision		of 348	6 of 19