Colorado Springs-based Young Life is reporting significant financial and programmatic growth six years after the pandemic disrupted its operations. Revenue for the Christian youth ministry jumped 17% from 2023 ($497 million) to 2025 ($584 million).
U.S. programs are seeing modest growth, with 567,698 youth attending weekly Young Life Club meetings, and 293,462 attending its Campaigners meetings designed to deepen kids' faith through Bible discussions and community. The ministry has 224 employees in the Springs, including local field staff and workers who serve national and worldwide efforts.
Meanwhile, its international work in 114 countries is booming. In 2014, Young Life hosted 74,527 campers outside the U.S.; last year it hosted 253,193 international campers, about five times more than U.S. camp attendance. The work is growing rapidly in Africa, where Young Life says it reached 3,115,625 kids last year. In addition to 25 U.S. camps, there are now seven around the world, including locations in the Dominican Republic, Scotland, the Philippines, Brazil, and Canada.
Young Life was founded in 1941, moved from Dallas to the Springs in 1947, and celebrates its 85th anniversary this year. On the camp front, one of its most historic properties faces an uncertain road. The oldest camp, Frontier, near Buena Vista, opened in 1951 and has been in "hibernation" since the pandemic. At present, it can host only small groups while undergoing a major restoration, and could reopen in full by 2028 depending on the success of the "Restore Frontier" fundraising campaign. Wilderness Ranch, situated between Creede and Lake City, is open but is adjusting its wilderness camping and backpacking activities when smoke from the Aspen Acres fire is heavy.
Alongside its operational expansion, the ministry has continued investing in research on youth culture. In 2023, "The RELATE Project" surveyed more than 7,000 Gen Z youth aged 13 to 24 in eight countries, asking them about their relationships, sense of belonging, identity, agency, and beliefs. The key causes Gen Z youth care about include mental health, health and medical issues, personal safety, climate change and pollution, and job opportunities. Drilling deeper, RELATE research found that half of teens and young adults are stressed by school and finances, and nearly 40% are concerned about mental health.
When it comes to relationships, over 40% of Gen Z don't feel worthy of being loved, and a third say they turn to social media when anxious, not face-to-face relationships with other youth. For years, Young Life camps have fostered relationships by requiring campers to turn over their phones and devices when they arrive, with the devices returned at week's end.
On Sept. 10, Young Life is set to release its latest version of RELATE research, this time revisiting Gen Z while also bringing in the younger Gen Alpha, and exploring new challenges to deep human relationships brought by AI companions, which are used by one-third of global youth.
The outcome of the "Restore Frontier" fundraising campaign and the reception of the forthcoming RELATE research release on Sept. 10 will be among the key developments to watch in the months ahead.