“Young Life is a faith based organization whose mission is to meet kids where they’re at and to show them God’s love.” These are the words of Amy Steen, a teacher at Prior Lake High School who also enjoys volunteering for this popular youth club. Young Life is an international organization of young kids that try to grow further in their faith by forming small groups inside of their own communities. In addition, they also get to spend time with their friends and have a fun time together!

Here, at Prior Lake High School, the students are a part of Scott County Young Life. Outside of Prior Lake, there are larger Young Life groups that help people all around the world grow in their faith. Teens are shown all the ways that their faith can be a part of their daily lives. This helps them outside of their faith lives to thrive as students, athletes, and friends.

The leader of Young Life at PLHS is Max Moser, who is the area director. In addition, Moser is a freshman football coach, so he is constantly involved with the community. This is beneficial because our very own community members are working to help provide a safe and fun environment for high school students. Other volunteers consist of Amy Steen, PLHS coaches, along with PLHS graduates. Steen states that she joined Young Life because she is a teacher, so she obviously loves students. It is also a way for her to strengthen her faith. Steen confidently shares, “Young Life is an amazing opportunity to connect with kids outside of school.” She wants teenagers in the community to be shown care and respect on a more personal level.

Young Life is quite popular at Prior Lake High School. For club meetings, the attendance rate is anywhere between 20 and 70 kids. The meetings for this club are held weekly, every Monday night at 7:57 p.m. at a student’s home. The purpose of having the meeting at someone’s house versus at school, is to make everyone feel at home in addition to it being a non-school sponsored club. Young Life wants all the kids to be comfortable and relaxed in a welcoming environment. These meetings are known as “A Party with a Purpose.”

A common misconception among students at PLHS is that they believe that students have to sign up in order to join this club. However, that is incorrect. All students are allowed to attend any meetings they want, with no requirements or mandatory dates. This gives high school students the ability to feel more free within the program. This then allows them to take charge of their own faith in a way that fits their schedule the best.

Young Life is always welcome to new members! Students are always welcome to attend Free Flapjack Fridays in Steen’s room, every other Friday morning before school. This allows students to get to know others kids at PLHS better and to have a fun breakfast! Young Life constantly provides a safe and welcoming environment for teenagers throughout the high school. Their mission is to help youth grow in their faith, make them feel cared for, and of course, have a great time!