SARAH COLEMAN KELNHOFER

PPARENTLY THE IDEA OF SETTLING down after college never occurred to Brian Yeager, 26. In 1997, after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in religion from Southern Adventist University, Brian headed straight for Berrien Springs, Michigan, with a mission in his heart: to reach a nation of searching young adults with the good news of God.

Encouraged by Adventist leaders from coast to coast who shared his dream, Brian spent the following year in Berrien Springs, working with the Center for Youth Evangelism and the North American Division of Youth Ministries to create a one-of-a-kind team sponsored by the division and independently funded. YouthNet eXtreme (YNE), a group of traveling young adults willing to speak, sing, act, and teach for God, officially hit the road in June of 1998. And though the members have changed, the team hasn’t stopped traveling since. “The more we’re on the road,” wrote Yeager for a team-update newsletter, “the more we realize we love being on the road.”

The team’s affection for traveling, however, is easily topped by their love for their Saviour. Each member demonstrates a deep desire to know Him better and bring others to know Him as well. During the member selection process the absence of training in a particular area can easily be outweighed by an individual’s passion for introducing youth to Christ. This concentration on God means that even while members display their talents during performances, audiences know that the focus rests on the Saviour. “They didn’t have a ‘wild, prove-themselves’ agenda,” writes one college student, “but . . . were earnestly dedicated to helping lead others . . . closer to God.”

The Road Ahead
This emphasis on Christ will be essential in the months ahead. Phase 1 of YNE’s ministry (June–August 2000) focused on inspiring revival among

IN PRAYER: Team director Brian Yeager leads a congegration in prayer on a Sabbath morning.

Adventist youth and young adults. And while the past two years have been both fruitful and rewarding in that field, a shift of mission will redirect the team’s energy in phase 2 (beginning January 2001).

“We’re relaunching ourselves as an ‘evangelistic’ team,” Yeager wrote in a January article published in Handspeak, the North American Division’s youth newspaper. Barna’s research indicates that only 4 percent of youth have a basic understanding of God and salvation, and believe that their relationship with Him is important. Furthermore, young people ages 14-18 only have a 4 percent likelihood of accepting Christ as their Saviour. This is simply because we’re not effectively reaching them evangelistically. There is a need in the church to develop effective methods of reaching this untapped army of youth and bringing them into a relationship with Christ.

According to Yeager, phase 2 will especially focus on reaching unchurched youth in several ways. The team will use crusades or other events

Metamorphosis as YNE Visits Highland View Academy It’s funny how after four years in academy a lot of things get old. Really old... Click here for full story.

“designed to reach outside the church,” as well as other Christian youth (trained by the team) to reach non-Christian young adults everywhere.  “To reach a secular mind,” Yeager says, “we have to increase the programming options we have.” He plans on launching phase 2 with 10 team members (a full music group and drama group), production resources to facilitate events of up to 5,000 people, and a new truck and trailer. Thus equipped YouthNet eXtreme will specialize in reaching the unchurched media generation. This won’t leave Christian youth out. Rather YouthNet eXtreme’s passion will be to take churched youth at whatever faith level they are at (radical discipleship or apathetic complacency) to a higher state of active spirituality and active witnessing. They’ll also provide even better training for the Christian youth they’ll continue to serve. The team will still do weeks of prayer and develop local Adventist youth ministry, but rather than simply filling empty programming time, they want to work with youth groups who have a mission in mind. Experience has shown Yeager that when young adults act on the truth they know about God, rather than simply hearing it again,

THE SPOKEN WORD: Brian Yeager offers a short, powerful homily.

they suddenly get pumped about their faith. The team plans to help youth and young adults nationwide—from every walk of life—experience that excitement. “We’re looking for places that are creative and want to do something, not just maintain the status quo,” Yeager says.

It’s a tall order to fill, especially for a ministry only two years old. But Yeager knows it can happen, and he’s sure to find team members with the same vision. If the enthusiasm of past YouthNet eXtreme (YNE) members is any indication, the team’s future looks bright indeed. Kathyrine Caraig, originally a member in the summer of 1999, says, “Joining YNE fed me so much spiritually that I came back for more—I rejoined the team in January 2000.”

Melissa Barclay, a member during the 1999-2000 school year, grew from her eXtreme experience as well. “Ministry has become an addiction,” she writes. “My life has been changed in so many ways. Before I went on the road, God and ministry were a part of my life, but in this year I’ve grown in the realization of how desperately I need God. With God as a continual presence I’m not able to just sit still and keep quiet about it.”

No Typical Team
This inability to “sit still and keep quiet” is precisely what attracts members to YouthNet eXtreme’s ministry. Most members, past and present, join the team because they feel a strong call to do so—a desire to reach youth for Christ. Bernita Smith (1998-1999) always “had a great love” for her faith, and felt that the team was an opportunity to help others find that love as well as meet others who felt the same way. Bryan Fowler (1999-2000) agreed to spend a week with the team and, after three days together, accepted a call to join their ministry. Melissa Barclay felt “a call from God” to join, and found peace only when she accepted that call. Cory Wetterlin (1999-2000) had a similar experience. “When the team came up,” he says, “I knew God was making a move in my life, and I could not ignore it.” In fact, after leaving the team, Cory changed his major from psychology to theology, a decision that reflected the calling he received to continue in ministry.

A SONG IN MY HEART: The YouthNet eXtreme team shares a special song during a concert where many youth and young adults were shown a very real picture of Jesus in San Ramon, California.

God brought Kathyrine Caraig to the team in an entirely different way. She knew nothing about YouthNet eXtreme until the group visited Pacific Union College for a Week of Prayer. Although Kathyrine had her summer all planned out, she felt God encouraging her to join the team. Suddenly her summer opened up. Her parents gave their blessing for her to join. And finances materialized where there had previously been none. Kathyrine is more than happy she joined. Although her career goals haven’t changed as radically as Cory’s (she still wants to be a special education teacher), her time on the team has given her an important realization. “I feed off ministry, and my passion lies with that—with God-centered praise through music, and telling people about the coolest Friend I’ve learned to love over and over.”

Not only do team members come into closer contact with their heavenly Friend; they gain true, lifelong friends in their fellow eXtreme travelers. “We hold each other accountable, lift each other up, share each other’s lives, and pray incessantly,” says Melissa. “In Acts you read about the early church, and I believe that this year has given me the opportunity to experience that type of fellowship.”

Kathyrine concurs. Although there are unavoidable challenges that arise from traveling with the same people for months at a time, team members learn to grow from these difficulties. “[I] experienced God through the obstacles we, as a team, had to face daily . . . my fellow team members became the ‘realest’ best friends I’ve had in a lifetime. No walls. Sheer love . . . and smack-in-your-face Jesus.”

In-Your-Face Jesus
Yes, as countless high school and college youth have discovered in the past two years, this team is all about getting gutsy for God. Rather than hiding behind flawless facades, members speak honestly to their audiences about issues they themselves face. This fosters friendship as well as trust.

Fast Facts About YouthNet eXtreme Total miles traveled: 105,000 Total events held: 79 Dollars spent at Taco Bell: more than $780 Team’s favorite food: Krispy Kreme doughnuts Team’s favorite CD: Their own, of course! (whY aNyonE, available through AdventSource—www.adventsource.com) Miracle story: When summer team member Kathyrine Caraig arrived for training, she immediately got sick. The team needed her desperately to continue preparations for the summer. After several sessions of prayer with no changes in Kathyrine’s condition, team members got serious, got right with God, and knelt to pray again. When the girls woke Kathyrine to check her condition, she was completely recovered.

“I feel [like] a part of the team,” writes one high school student from New York. “I can relate to them.”  

Students feel free to share their problems and questions with leaders they can relate to. They also draw strength from the performers’ testimonies of victory. One student shares her story: “I just want to tell you that . . . you have enriched my life. You’ve shown me God in a whole new way. Before Laura’s personal testimony, I’d come so close to ‘ending it all’ in the dorm. I’m glad I didn’t. . . . Now I’m planning on rebaptism.” In light of these testimonies, YouthNet eXtreme’s straightforward approach to public speaking is undoubtedly succeeding.

The team’s “needs-based” ministry style has also been well received. In addition to the challenge of planning their programs on the road, YNE members take their job one step further: they tailor each event to fit the needs of the local youth. This means that a weeklong event’s focus can change as many times as God wants it to during that time. This means the team can host everything from a block party to a revival to a missions awareness week on very short notice. This also means each team member must be in tune with God’s whispered direction at all times. But staying continually alert for cues from heaven has definite advantages—rarely does the team leave a location without at least one spiritual breakthrough. “The results from this ministry cannot be defined in simple numbers,” says Yeager. “There have been multitudes of baptisms, recommitments, and kids moving from an attitude of complacency to radical discipleship.” And with the emphasis of phase 2, YNE’s impact will only become stronger.

The Audience Speaks
From Newfoundland to New Mexico, from Washington to Wisconsin, YouthNet eXtreme is a team of radical disciples that demands a respectful audience. But this team does more than talk. They listen and even solicit feedback from the youth they’re trying to reach. “This has definitely got to be the best Week of Prayer I’ve been to. I love ya’ll!” writes one academy student. “Thank you for inspiring me and for making me realize that God has a sense of humor and that He’s a Friend as well as a Saviour,” writes another. Even adults see the YNE difference. Ben Sayler, a church leader from Thief River Falls, Minnesota, says: “First I watched in fear as young people got up to leave, but then they came back 10 minutes later with their friends.” The word about this team has started to travel and, like the on-fire message they share, YouthNet eXtreme hopes it will continue spreading until their nation is wholly ignited for God. And until that happens, “settling down” will be the furthest thing from any member’s mind.

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Sarah Coleman Kelnhofer writes from Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she lives with her husband and several friendly lizards.