Statements

Mission

Youth for Christ reaches young people everywhere, working together with the local church and other like minded partners to raise up lifelong followers of Jesus who lead by their godliness in lifestyle, devotion to the word of God and prayer, passion for sharing the love of Christ and commitment to social involvement.

Background

Since 1944, Youth for Christ (YFC) has had a distinctive history of youth evangelism. During World War II, large youth rallies spread throughout Canada, England, and America. The need to coordinate this movement led to the organization of Youth for Christ. Dr. Billy Graham was our first full-time staff evangelist. Sensitive to the changing times, Youth for Christ's ministry methodology turned to bible clubs in the late 50's. In the 1960's, Campus Life ministries to junior and senior high students became the thrust of Youth for Christ. Several new ministry models were developed, including Youth Guidance to reach those institutionalized, Teen Parents to mentor and equip young mothers to know that God has hope and purpose for them and their baby, and City Life to holistically reach and empower young people in our major urban communities. Nashville Youth for Christ was formed in 1976 to begin a ministry of service to the youth of Nashville and surrounding areas and Counties.

Today we are active in several schools with our Campus Life and Parent Life programs in Williamson, Davidson and Rutherford Counties, several juvenile detention centers, in addition to several City Life project areas in and around Nashville and South Nashville area. Nashville YFC is a chartered member of Youth for Christ USA, one of over 130 chapters with Youth for Christ representation. Nashville Youth For Christ is part of the Association of Churches, along with the other YFC chapters and the host, YFC USA.
Throughout its history, Youth for Christ has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to youth evangelism and Biblical Christianity. We creatively communicate the Gospel message of hope, grace, and love in order to reach every young person - one at a time. YFC has been reaching students for over 80 years!

Impact

Top accomplishments from the past year: 1) We impact over 300 students weekly in middle and high schools, 23+ teen parents and serve in several detention centers on a weekly basis. 2) YFC gave several students from our programs college scholarships to start college. 3) numerous decisions for Christ were made in 2022-23. 4) The ministry of Nashville Youth For Christ strives to impact over 2,000 teenagers this year. We have continued to minister to students during 2021-2022, providing porch drop off meals, gifts for graduates, 100+ Thanksgiving Meals to families in need, Christmas gifts to 135+ students and families in need and we continue to meet with students virtually/in person to our incarcerated youth. We also partnered with The Branch Food Bank, Rocketown, YCAP, YoungLives, FCA, The FIND and First Priority - helping an additional students alongside these non profits. Our programs are currently in Williamson, Davidson, Rutherford and Sumner counties.

We want to thank all of you for your prayers and support!

Needs

1) Broaden our Widespread Prayer for each ministry site, student, volunteer and staff through our social media portals. 2) Adding additional volunteers from Churches, Universities, social agencies, community partners and other non profits 3) Provision of additional funds to aggressively grow the ministry in conjunction with the national goals of YFC USA 4) Additional staff, partners and resources to further our outreach to additional schools and sites. 5) Continued Godly governance from our current Board of Directors and adding additional board members. 6). Funding for weekly programming and special programs such as Thanksgiving meals for families in need, Christmas gifts for families in need, Build a Bear (teen mom and baby event), sending students to summer camp and student leader mission trips.

CEO Statement

Our programs provide a safe place of acceptance where students can experience healthy relationships and learn to make better choices, establishing a solid foundation for life while they positively impact their school. All of our character development classes help students cope with the pressures and struggles in life and offer hope and encouragement to them and their families. This year we have continued those virtually and outside school sites. Youth for Christ has a commitment to social involvement with its ministries areas: Campus Life (in and around schools), Parent Life (working with teen parents), City Life (working in the community), and Juvenile Justice Ministry (working with incarcerated youth) .
Trained adult mentors connect with students to help them establish good life skills as well as giving them an opportunity to give back to their community. Youth for Christ is an inter-denominational ministry that intentionally works together with local churches, like-minded ministries, and social agencies to provide sustainable and fruitful ministry.
We are open to all youth, regardless of their beliefs.

Board Chair Statement

2019-2022 were challenging years for Youth for Christ Nashville. In 2019 the tornado took out several locations we serve in which resulted in moving schools and students around. Furthermore, the pandemic forced us out of the schools and we had to adapt to virtual meetings and create new ways to stay connected and help students. Through every trial we have watched God move in ways that on many occasions caused us to "stand still" and know that He is God! We watched the lives of young men and women transformed through impact cards, virtual calls, pre-recorded lessons and porch conversations. Even through these past several years have caused a physical separation with many students, Nashville Youth for Christ knows that the mental, emotional and spiritual health is at risk and we take very seriously the call to adapt without modifying the gospel and will actively pursue students, their needs, financial support for students and additional resources to meet this challenge.
We believe 2023 will be a life changing year for students served by Nashville Youth For Christ.

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Youth Development  - Youth Development Programs
Secondary Category:	Education  - Educational Services
Tertiary Category:	Religion- Related  - Christianity

Areas Served

All areas of Davidson, Williamson, and Rutherford Counties are served by this Youth For Christ ministry chapter and its programs and partners.

TN - Rutherford

TN - Davidson

TN - Williamson