Ruth Ann Steen and Caleb Jones are freshly tanned from a summer filled with nature walks and conversations with teenagers about God. That’s their mission, and the mission of Young Life St. Augustine – to bridge the gap that today’s teens face more than ever and give presence, conversation, meaning. They are here to provide the power of presence, share God’s love, and remind teens of the worth and purpose in their lives.
Now an international organization, Young Life was formed in 1941 by Jim Raeburn, who recognized an entire generation of teenagers seeking to define their purpose amid a lack of societal direction. Reaching out to kids aged 12-22 of all socioeconomic backgrounds, the organization does not discriminate when it comes to the need for connection. It addresses family and societal pressures along with serving those dealing with disabilities like blindness and Down syndrome. Teen moms are also served through Young Life’s programs.
With four children of her own and usually one or two sleeping over on the couch, Ruth Ann – Young Life St. Augustine’s Area Director – has made it her life’s work to meet kids where they are, and love them through whatever they are going through. And she’s passed on that passion to her family – her son Sam, a sophomore at Pedro Menendez High School, is a WyldLife leader and often wakes as early as 6am to organize beach mornings and campaigners, pouring himself into middle school children who are coping, struggling, and working to find themselves.
Though Young Life St. Augustine is a smaller chapter, its programs reach kids of all walks of life. A middle school program on Fridays brings kids from various schools to connect on a social level. On Mondays before school, Bible Studies meet at Chick-Fil-A. College Young Lifers from Flagler and St. Johns River connect on Thursdays. Ruth Ann credits her team and volunteer leaders who hang out with kids, attend games, events, and befriend them as providing a spot for kids to connect in person instead of from behind screens.
Caleb Jones heads Capernaum, working with 40 kids with Down Syndrome and helping them fit within the world while providing a place where they are respected and feel loved. Brennan Gagnon, who runs Wyldlife, focuses on the urban community with Alexius Ferguson. Bethany Forbes heads YoungLives (Young Life for teen moms), and Don Lohr leads YoungLife programs for 100 students at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. It is a very relational process, where leaders live in teens’ worlds, integrating in-person with technology – Snapchatting and connecting in any possible way. Many conversations center around finding an identity, setting boundaries, and looking toward the future.
“So much of adolescence is influenced by social media and access to a lot of things that can impact kids in a potentially negative way,” says Ruth Ann. “Creating a safe outlet for kids to hang out without the pressures of expectations, needs of family members, demands of school and work is more essential than ever.”
“Graduation isn’t always in these kids vocabularies when they come to us,” she continues. “I feel as though we are here to help them see beyond their immediate circumstance, allow them to dream, and to support them to realize those dreams.”
Young Life introduces itself at summer camps. As kids go back to school, programs – such as the one at Florida School of the Deaf and Blind – ramp up. Young Lifers help with move-ins, host club nights, attend Thursday dinners at Memorial Presbyterian Church, and more. “Kids have so much at their fingertips to entertain them but lack healthy patterns for growth and building responsibility,” says Ruth Ann. “In many ways, we are fighting all the stuff that comes with that. Social media and the Internet lack in-person communication. There is a loss of true community and understanding around consequences. How people communicate through social media is not realistic. There is a feeling of false safety that allows our kids to act out, act overtly sexually, potentially violent. It’s important to create an environment for realistic conversations, behaviors, expectations, and consequences that helps them live beyond what they can see as their potential.”
It is essential to Ruth Ann, Caleb, and their team that the connections they make with local students are genuine and authentic. “My goal is to meet you where you are,” says Ruth Ann, “and earn the right to be heard, instead of telling you what I think you need. I actually want to get to know you and know your heart. This is a very relational process, which we support by attending kids’ practices and games. We live in their world. We integrate in-person with technology. We connect with them.”
To learn more about Young Life St. Augustine, visit www.staugustine.younglife.org. Written by Lauren Eastman. Photography by Brian Miller.
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