Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., has entered into a new partnership with Young Life, a multi-faceted Colorado-based ministry for high school students and other young people.

Young Life representatives go into the places where young people are, work to develop relationships and then share what belief in Jesus Christ has meant to them. Young Life prays with young people and offers them the chance to get involved in a range of enjoyable, life-changing experiences.

Within the new partnership with Calvin, Young Life will offer the services of area director Eric Kuiper to support Christian leadership development, to assist in exposing high school students to the opportunities for and the benefits of Christian higher education, and to participate in research on the relationship of church and para-church organizations.

In return, Calvin College will provide Young Life with access to facilities and services on the Knollcrest campus and opportunities for involvement in selected campus programs and events.

“This is a natural partnership of like-minded organizations which are invested in the spiritual growth of young people,” said Chris Theule-VanDam, director of the Western Great Lakes Region of Young Life. “So many Calvin students and alumni have been active in Young Life for so many years, it is a pleasure to see this formally recognized.”

“The interface between local congregations and para-church organizations like Young Life is increasingly important and dynamic,” said Todd Cioffi, assistant professor of congregational and ministry studies at Calvin College and research scholar at the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. “We hope to explore and develop models of cooperation that can build the spiritual vitality of the entire community.”

Meanwhile, Calvin College is also announcing the establishment of the Young Life Leadership Scholarship program, which will offer $1,000 scholarships to high school students who have participated in a Young Life summer camp “work crew” and/or the YL Student Leadership Project. Details are available from the Calvin Financial Aid Office.

For more information about the partnership, contact Todd Cioffi at 616-526-7797 or [email protected]. Or Chris Theule-VanDam at 616-446-7733 or e-mail: [email protected] [Editor’s note: the original URL (link) referenced is no longer valid, so the link has been removed.]

[Editor’s note: Some of the original URLs (links) referenced in this article are no longer valid, so the links have been removed.]Source: http://www.crcna.org/news.cfm?newsid=2134&section=1