Middle Schoolers targets of out reach in US

USA (MNN) — It’s the Junior High branch of Young Life , and it’s having a huge impact on meeting the spiritual needs of this age group. It’s called, WyldLife, says the director Rick Beckwith. “It’s our attempt to take what we’ve learned about reaching out to unreached teenagers for the past 60 years and take it down to early adolescents starting with kids in middle school,” says Beckwith.

There are currently more than 1,200 WyldLife Clubs. Beckwith says it’s important to reach out to this age group. Beckwith says, “All of the statistics point towards 86-percent of Americans and stuff are making their professions of faith now by the age of 15, with 13 being the year of most decisions. And, we are seeing this lived out.”

Beckwith believes the older a person gets the less likely they are to Christ. “(They) become so hardened by the time they get to high school and college,” says Beckwith, “that they’re much less open.”

Prayer is needed for two things. Beckwith says, “In every area we need people. We’re trying to develop this in every community across the country and around the world in the countries we’re working in, and we need to step up and take ownership in this work.”