Young Life Celebrates milestones at conference.

USA (MNN) — For the first time in four years, youth leaders are gathering together to talk about what God is doing in the lives of young people around the world. It’s Young LIfe’s ‘All Staff’ conference taking place in Orlando, Florida.

Young Life’s Terry Swensen says, “There will be roughly 3,300 staff and spouses from all over the world gathering January 8-12, 2004 to meet and worship and celebrate and look ahead.”

Speakers will include Prison Fellowship’s Chuck Colson, Young Life’s President Denny Rydberg, Doctor Henry Cloud and Joni Ericson Tada will address the staff.

While worship and celebration will be the focus, Swensen says they will, “look back over what we’ve done over the last four years, the way God has worked through Young Life. In 2000, our theme was ‘Every Kid Everywhere for Eternity’ and that has been our missions theme, but it continues to be a theme for this conference,” says Swensen. He says, “We will remember and celebrate the fact that in the last four years Young Life has increased in the number of ministries we have around the world by 150-percent.”

With young people making up a large percentage of the world’s population, Swensen says now is not the time to cut youth ministry. He says, “Young Life is burdened if you will by the realization that there are so many teenagers out there who are not hearing the Gospel. So, there’s a great sense that while we’ve come a long way, there are so many kids out there who we want to reach.”

The goal for the staff is to leave encouraged and read to reach the lost. Pray for the staff as the travel to Florida and that they’ll be spiritually challenged to do more to be effective in evangelism.