West Plains Young Life mentors youth on their turf

Young Life's West Plains director Tyler Stitt doesn't know if his organization's approach to working with young people is the answer to preventing school shootings like the one that happened Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman High School in Parkland, Fla.

But meeting and mentoring teens and pre-teens on their turf couldn't hurt, he adds.

As a national, non-denominational Christian organization, Young Life has been reaching out to teenagers since its unofficial founding in the early 1930s in Texas. In 1944, the young organization discovered spending time with kids where they like to hang out was a good way to connect while in the late 1940s, volunteer leadership emerged as the means for getting adults more involved.

Informal non-church-related youth groups have been around the West Plains for years, with a Young Life chapter coming into being in 1995 in Medical Lake. By the early 2000s, the club - started by Stitt's mother who was a counselor at MLHS - had around 100 members.

A 1998 Cheney High School graduate, Stitt said they tried getting a chapter going at the high school, but didn't have much success. He eventually moved on to a career in construction, but not long ago felt "called" to give that up and return to help grow Young Life in the area.

In 2013, the organization officially kicked off again in Medical Lake, followed by a chapter at Cheney High School and then one at Cheney Middle School the next year. There are now six Young Life "ministries" on the West Plains, including a chapter at Eastern Washington University that began in 2017.

According to West Plains Young Life's 2018-2019 case statement, there are four fulltime staff at the office in Cheney's Safeway Plaza, nine adults on the Young Life committee, 14 mentors, 29 volunteer leaders and over 650 kids "known by name."

"That doesn't mean that's how many come to club," Stitt said. "We know those kids by name. We are having an impact in their world."

"In their world" is the key, what is referred to as "contact work" and what Stitt calls "the heartbeat of Young Life." Organizational training is designed to empower adult volunteers to "step into the life of kids" by showing up at places they like to go. This can be at athletic contests or other community events where the approach is low key, establishing a relationship first being the primary objective.

Once this is done, kids are invited to come to "club," held at the organization's main office or the home of an adult leader. Kids coming to club take part in 55 minutes of games, music and other fun activities.

"But it's all done with the purpose to present the word about Jesus," Stitt added.

Many will never go beyond club with their Young Life experience. But for those who want to have a deeper discussion, there is "campaigners." According to the organization's website, campaigners "is a weekly gathering for kids who wish to learn more or grow in their faith through study, service and leadership."

Currently, 55 West Plains youth are taking part in this course.

Young Life also offers summer camp experiences for kids at all levels. Last year, 120 kids from the West Plains attended camp.

Stitt said they present the Gospel in a broad way, one that steers away from specific denominational practices, beliefs and doctrine and instead looks more at the "characteristics" of Jesus, with the intent to get youth intrigued about building a religious relationship. Stitt admits the organization's relationship with local churches "hasn't been built very well yet," but is intent on constructing those bridges to achieve a unified community helping youth.

Stitt said the organization needs more adults who care about youth and are willing to come alongside them in their world, and as such has a goal this year to get 50 more adults actively involved. A second goal is to grow the number of youth known by name to 900, and a third is to increase the organization's annual fundraising amount by $30,000.

Young Life/West Plains has an annual budget of $160,000, which Stitt said is solely reliant on donations.

"We are 100 percent locally funded," he added.

Stitt doesn't know if this type of approach to mentoring youth will work in reducing school-related violence, noting there was a Young Life chapter at Columbine High School when students were gunned down there in 1999. But working with youth where they live, go to school and play could help create stronger community-minded values.

"If more adults stepped into the lives of kids, I do believe the fewer these things might happen," Stitt said.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.