Christian college freshmen are halfway through Young Life training, which began Jan. 21 at the Young Life house on the University of Denver campus.

Young Life is a Christian organization located in middle schools, high schools and colleges around the United States, which meets once a week at students’ homes.

“Young Life creates an opportunity for DU students to serve in the community in which they live and share the Gospel with others,” said Young Life leader Konrad Osa.

According to Osa, college freshmen have been meeting every Sunday from 6-8 p.m. to explore their faith with other Christians and eat a home-cooked meal outside the college cafeterias. The schedule was altered on Jan. 21 to include leadership training from 5-6 p.m.

College freshmen interested in leading groups of high school students in the Christian faith are halfway through their four weeks of training to become club leaders. After the training, these freshmen will join other Young Life leaders at local high schools where they will engage with teenagers while exploring their faith.

Although the organization is faith-based, the program is geared toward middle and high school students with little to no knowledge of Christianity.

“Young Life started 65 years ago from a desire for every kid to hear the message of God’s great love for them and to have the option to respond. That is the signature of the YL mission,” said Young Life leader Ken Tank.

The trainees were given manuals detailing the description of Young Life leaders and their responsibilities. They were then prepped on the requirements, opportunities and perks of being a leader. Many trainees were already well aware of the Young Life program, having participated in high school or middle school, but some were introduced to the program for the first time.

Osa developed the manual to answer questions of newcomers and expand on the knowledge of the veterans.

Osa explained that in addition to weekly club meetings, club leaders are expected to develop trusting relationships with the students and serve as mentors and role models. According to the Young Life manual, the organization not only requests that possible leaders honor their vision and mission, but that they go above the call for duty and participate in “contact work.”

Contact work is the responsibility of club leaders to expand their relationship with the students by leaving the walls of the clubroom to discover more about the high school students. Meeting for coffee or going to a school game, concert, play or anywhere else where students might congregate are all examples of contact work done outside of weekly club meetings.

“We earn the right to be heard by students by going where they are and living out the Gospel with our lives,” said Tank.

The trainees have two more weeks of preparation before they can be leaders, but they are optimistic about their contribution to the program, Osa said.

According to the leaders, Young Life is always open to new people who want to either be leaders or just want to hang out and eat a home-cooked meal.

“If you have a passion for lost middle and high school kids, Young Life is definitely an organization worth checking out,” said Osa.