HOPE Youth Corps: Helping your Ministry THRIVE!

HOPE Youth Corps: Helping your Ministry THRIVE!
Inspired by James 1:27, HOPE Youth Corps seeks to imitate pure religion. By engaging youth in
international service to the poor and needy, we promote leadership growth, character
development, and worldwide unity.
HOPE Youth Corps (HYC) brings students from all different backgrounds together to work with
HOPE worldwide programs across the globe, serving the world’s poor. Among the many benefits
students receive from their participation in HYC are spiritual growth, lifelong friendships and
memories, a heightened sense of purpose, greater self-confidence and independence, and a better
understanding of the modern world.
The Three Pillars
HYC not only brings compassion and hope to the needy, but it gives participants an
opportunity to increase their spiritual maturity by establishing and implementing its three
main pillars. Centered on the belief that “from everyone who has been given much, much will be
demanded” (Luke 12), HYC emphasizes the following components:
1. Direct Service – Each day during HYC, participants are given the opportunity to serve in a
variety of ways (mentoring inner-city students, cleaning, painting, and maintaining clinics,
assisting with disaster relief operations, etc.). At the end of each day, site leaders facilitate
discussions on the service activity, and participants share their thoughts regarding service and
ways they can implement these convictions at home. HYC shows participants that “whoever
refreshes others will be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:25) and plants in them the desire to make service
a larger component of their lives.
2. Devotionals and D-groups – An HYC would not be complete without a daily devotional and
the chance to connect on a deeper, more personal level in a d-group. Lead by an ICOC ministry
couple serving as the site leaders, each HYC gives participants a chance to connect to a more
seasoned Christian and the opportunity to explore the Bible in deeper ways. Every year, HYC
has a spiritual theme, and after the group studies and discusses the theme’s biblical principles
and teachings, participants put the scriptures into action as they serve the poor or reach out with
the local campus ministry. D-groups mold participants’ relationship with God and allow them to
share their thoughts and feelings with their peers. Ad-hoc singing devotionals, prayer walks, and
spiritual conversations permeate every HYC (Eph 5:19-20), reaffirming that Christianity is both
an organic faith and fulfilling lifestyle.
3. Recreation and Fellowship – To provide volunteers an opportunity to bond with one another,
each HYC hosts at least two team building or recreational activities that range from whitewater
rafting, hiking, capture-the-flag, paintball, and laser tag. Daily, unstructured leisure time also
allows participants to relax, become acquainted with their peers, and reflect on their experiences.
While these opportunities not only give participants the rest they need during an HYC, they also
foster unity among the group that crosses all geographical and socio-economic lines and has
proven to build relationships that last a lifetime. Church-wide unity is significantly improved and
strengthened because of HOPE Youth Corps (Psalm 133:1).
Leadership Training
The staff member component of HYC is critical to its operation and offers college students and
veteran HYC participants the chance to develop their leadership skills. Each summer, HYC
opens two staff member positions per youth corps session. Staff members, if serving within the
United States, are compensated with a modest living stipend for their services which include:
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Leading D-groups
Facilitating group activities
Serving as liaisons between participants and site leaders
Setting examples in service, love, and evangelism
Staff members are charged with understanding the participants’ needs and must communicate
these needs effectively to the site leaders to ensure a positive experience for all. Besides being a
veteran HYC volunteer (at least one summer served with the program) and the age requirement
(minimum of 18 years old), staff members must receive an excellent recommendation from their
minister and should be proven leaders within their home congregations. The HYC leadership
training component not only allows staff members to grow spiritually, but also refines their
communication and organizational skills.
Staff members are trained by HOPE worldwide staff and an ICOC ministry couple familiar with
the program. If serving internationally, staff members fulfill many of the same roles but have
Site Leaders
Regarding HYC site leaders, HOPE worldwide seeks ICOC ministry couples who are willing and
able to work with an HYC for 10-14 days during the summer. Site leaders are oriented and
trained by HOPE worldwide staff prior to their service, and they are responsible for:
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Shepherding the youth corps group
Ensuring the experience is spiritual and edifying for every volunteer
Preparing the youth corps group for service and evangelistic outreach
Implementing the devotional/d-group portion of the HYC facilitating debriefing sessions
at the end of each service day
Ensuring group cohesion is strong
HYC: A True Impact, A Promising Investment
To all who attend, HYC shows Jesus in ways a Sunday sermon or midweek service cannot. It
elevates participants’ faith and increases their spiritual fervor. It gives them a strong network of
like-minded peers and generates unity among younger generations. Furthermore, HOPE Youth
Corps assures its volunteers that, although worldly lifestyles can be attractive, walking with God
is far superior and vastly more rewarding.
Clearly, HYC is an incredible way to invest in a ministry and develop future leaders. Doug
Lambert, Lead Evangelist for the Baltimore Church of Christ comments, “those who served on
HOPE Youth Corps have come back to become some of our most mature and effective
members.”
Make the investment. Promote HOPE Youth Corps in your congregation and let HOPE
worldwide help your ministry THRIVE!
Church Leader Perspectives
“HOPE Youth Corps is one of the most valuable tools to train our children how to reach out,
care for others, and develop lasting friendships that will glorify Christ.”
John Brush, Elder – South Florida Church of Christ
“Sponsoring ten of our teen and campus students to go on HOPE Youth Corps was one of the
best ministry moves we’ve made all year.”
Will Ashley, Evangelist – NYC Church of Christ
"Those who served on HOPE Youth Corps have come back to become some of our most mature
and effective teens."
Doug Lambert, Lead Evangelist – Baltimore Church of Christ
“Countless testimonies of changed lives speak to the power of HOPE Youth Corps. It not just a
leadership training opportunity, it is a soul-shaping experience that will inspire future
generations to serve the poor. We are embarking on a new era of social and spiritual poverty
around the word and HYC has the tools to equip and train the future leaders who will not only
lead our churches but will impact cities, towns, and villages around the world.”
Shane Engel, Evangelist – San Diego Church of Christ
“HOPE Youth Corps is fantastic.”
Mike Taliaferro, Lead Evangelist – Mission Point Christian Church (San Antonio)
Participant Sponsorship
Eager to see HYC impact and strengthen your own ministry? Interested in supporting local
members to attend? HOPE worldwide encourages every willing and able congregation to
financially assist local teenagers and college or university students to attend HYC. HOPE
worldwide’s desire is that HYC may send more and more youth around the world to serve and
grow spiritually, and supporting your local members to attend is one of the keys to helping us
raise up the next generation!
In fact, many congregations have begun earmarking funds in their annual budgets to provide full
or partial scholarships to interested members. Various ways of distributing these scholarships
have ranged from anonymous essay contests, lottery drawings, or are awarded on a first-come,
first-served basis. The benefit these congregations have reaped is obvious: members returning
home with softer hearts, greater zeal, and increased gratitude for God.
To support a local member to attend HYC, please contact us at [email protected] or call (610)
254-8800.
Promoting HYC to Your Congregation
If you are interested in advertising HYC to your teen or campus ministry, please contact us at
[email protected]. HOPE worldwide has an array of resources – videos, flyers, announcements,
etc. – for your church to get the word out and recruit volunteers.
Hosting an HYC in Your City
HYC not only benefits its volunteers and those they serve, but it also encourages the host church.
Many congregations have benefited from hosting an HYC and have witnessed bolstered support
of their local Chapter’s work as the HYC brings a dramatic increase of volunteer assistance.
Campus ministries have also seen increased leverage at their colleges during the time of year
when evangelistic out-reach is at a minimum.
To learn more about the requirements and responsibilities of host cities, please contact us at
[email protected].

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