Both Young Life and Calvin University have very similar goals for young people: Introduce them to a life in Jesus Christ and help them to grow in that faith.

For this reason, we are in collaboration with one another on behalf of kids and young adults. There are over 30 Calvin Alumni who are on Young Life staff in 10 states and 3 countries, and over 100 volunteers mission-wide. Amazing, right?

Young Life offers the services of Matt DeHoog, Young Life Associate Regional Director, to coordinate and support Christian leadership development, to assist in exposing high school students to the opportunities for and the benefits of Christian higher education, and specifically nurturing Young Life prospective students in their relationship with and consideration of Calvin University.

In return, Calvin University provides Young Life with access to facilities and services on the campus and opportunities for involvement in selected campus programs and events. Calvin has generously provided great opportunities for training and partnership with campus ministries to help mentor and support Calvin students who are Young Life leaders. In addition Calvin has scholarship funds available to Young Life applicants who have been involved in work crew or student leadership.

Here's what current Young Life staff have to say about the Young Life & Calvin University partnership:

As a student at Calvin and Young Life leader, I was able to find incredible community with other leaders. I also think being involved in Young Life helped my faith develop in ways it wouldn't have if I didn't have an outlet for ministry. Finally, being involved in Young Life ultimately led me to my career in Young Life, as I am entering my 14th year of Young Life staff and my 18th year of being a Young Life leader! - Katie Davis, Lakewood, Washington

Calvin’s sociology, religion, and missions courses along with their focus on life transformation prepared me to live out my calling of introducing youth to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith (Young Life’s mission). It's been more than 30 years since graduation, and I am still living out my calling of discipling youth through designing and running Young Life Expeditions USA. ​ I am so grateful for Calvin and all that I learned while there, and for Young Life which has given me a relationship-centered ministry to live out my calling. ​ May God be glorified! - Janice Mulder Beatty, Saint John, IN

My wife and I have been summer volunteers at Young Life camps since 2002 and more full time volunteers since we retired in 2007. ​ We continue to volunteer at Timber Wolf Lake in the summer and Southwind in the winter, serving in maintenance, the kitchen, housekeeping, and the office. ​ We are both 76 and believe the Bible encourages us to keep going and keep serving! We are very thankful for the Young Life & Calvin partnership. - Stan DeJager, Byron Center, MI

Leading Young Life in the local area was my mission field, which would not have been possible without being fed by my community at Calvin. - Drew Baumann, Summersville, WV

A lot of the values that Calvin emphasizes for its students, primarily faith, community, and leadership, are skills that I learned on campus but found actually needed to be practiced outside of the Calvin community in order to become rooted in me. Young Life was a caring and supportive place to take what I was learning at Calvin to a new level. I had to take my faith and leadership into the real world and learn how to create and foster community and engage with people I didn't know who were in different stages of life and faith from myself. I grew exponentially through being a Young Life leader and was set up well by Calvin to take what I was learning and go out into the world to impact hearts and lives. - Kaitlin Vermeer, Grand Rapids, MI

The partnership allowed me to balance my theological education with practical ministry experience. It was helpful to explore ministry concepts in class that I could test or corroborate with the work I did in my ministry context. I’m grateful to both for how they nurtured my vocation and becoming. - Chris Curia, Seattle, WA