Our Mission and Vision

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The vision of Youth Conference Ministries is to minister to young people in such a way that they would experience the power of God in their lives daily.  Our mission is to awaken a desire for Christ in young people so that they will return from our programs to their local church empowered to live for Him.  We seek to: 

• Present Jesus Christ to young people in such a way that they can make a non-pressured decision for Him
• Nurture Christian kids in their walks with Jesus Christ
• Equip & train youth workers to be more professionally competent in their calling
• Strengthen and serve as a resource to the local church by providing a variety of high quality youth ministry programs and resources.

History

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Youth Conference Ministries has been in the making for over 30 years. Under the leadership and vision of Dr. Charles Neder and through the contributions of countless others, it has grown from a single conference to a multi-faceted youth ministry organization. Included in YCM 's offerings are mission trips, youth conferences, family life seminars, youth worker equipping conferences, and church resourcing.

In 1977, Chuck Neder, Jim Bankhead , Jim McNaull, and John Tolson met together at a Holiday Inn in Atlanta to discuss the need for a strong evangelical youth conference. These men each saw the importance of offering kids an experience that would be characterized by challenge, encouragement, and fun. Along with Charles McGowan, they launched the first Fun in the Son (FITS) conference at Jekyll Island, Georgia, later that summer. Though it began with only 300 high school students and a small staff, FITS has grown to over 4000 participants in four locations. After coming on staff full-time in 1984, Chuck Neder noticed a deficiency of youth mission opportunities offered by mainline denominations. He recognized the importance of sending students on mission trips, not just financial support. With this vision, Son Servants, the first mainline denominational short-term missions program, began in 1982 with 26 students serving in Mexico. Under the direction of Danny Dotson since 1991, the program has expanded to more than 20 student projects, several custom mission trips, and over 1,500 people serving the disadvantaged in Central America, Mexico, Jamaica, and around the United States.

With Fun in the Son well under way in the mid-eighties, Chuck Neder and Hugh Maclellan sought to provide a high quality ministry opportunity for middle school students with the same purpose and characteristics as the high school conference. In 1984, on the campus of King College in Bristol, Tennessee, the first national middle school conference of its kind commenced-The Great Escape (TGE). The Great Escape has grown to over 5,000 students attending these conferences held on college campuses in Tennessee, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Florida.

In 1989, Covenant Fellowship, the organization this ministry was part of at the time, became Presbyterians for Renewal (PFR). From 1989 to 1994 PFR Youth Ministry saw rapid expansion as numerous conferences and mission trips were added. Also during that time, Family Life Seminars, Strategic Planning, and Inductive Bible Study Training programs were added in order to equip and support local churches, youth workers, and parents for year-round ministry. In the spring of 2003, a decision was made based upon the belief that PFR Youth Ministry could be more effective if it was an independent entity operated by its own Board of Directors. As a result of this agreement, PFR Youth Ministry seamlessly transitioned to become Youth Conference Ministries (YCM). There remains a close working relationship with Presbyterians for Renewal, who has multiple representatives on the YCM Board. In addition, YCM is actively pursuing their vision to develop partnerships with other ministries who could benefit from what they provide for students and churches.

Throughout all of the growth and transition, God continues to use our ministry to bring renewal to mainline denomination churches. We remain committed to ministering to kids in such a way that they experience the power of God and the love of Jesus Christ in their lives.