Young life lgbtq policy
“Christianity meant the nature to me,” he said, though he no longer identifies as a Christian. “The theology gave deep meaning to my life, and even to the pain I felt. Everything in my life hinged on being a part of the Christian community and believing the ‘right’ way. That made it extra scary to come out.”
Within Fresh Life, Malibu and its rugged mountaineering sibling camp, Beyond Malibu, are lauded as the “crown” or “jewel” of its 26 camps. A hundred miles north of Vancouver, the inlet is a three-hour ferry ride up a coastline of granite and dense forest, an idyllic setting for teen campers to nourish their sense of faith and adventure.
Though Thomas’s hopes for closure among the mountains were short-lived, his exclusion from the reunion pushed a small but vocal groundswell of former Young Lifers to speak out.
On Jan. 9, Becca Williams Leach, who became a guide at Beyond Malibu in 2006, wrote to Chad Sievert, the senior vice president of Young Life’s camping division, asking why the reunion was canceled. Williams Leach left New Life in 2017 after her companion was banned from camp for falling in love with another woman, but she’d been eager to return for the reu
Emilya Ramsey stood at a crossroads.
For her entire college career, the 21-year-old Gonzaga University senior had been deeply involved in Young Existence, a Colorado Springs-based Christian youth ministry that serves students across the globe.
But for Ramsey, it was getting harder and harder to reconcile the organization’s stance against letting members of the LGBTQ society serve as leaders with her own views.
“I felt very betrayed that this was an organization I really depended on,” she said.
And Ramsey realized she wasn’t alone.
When students returned to the Spokane, Washington, campus this fall, the members of Gonzaga’s Juvenile Life chapter had a meeting. They elected to disband the chapter, writing in an Instagram upload that “we have decided that we can no longer stand with this organization in its current state.”
“I hope that we can be an example of how you can do this allyship work,” Ramsey said. “And really stand up for what you believe in and refuse to be a part of something that doesn’t represent your theology and what you pose for. I hope that other people can trails suit.”
Ramsey and her college friends are not the only ones reevaluating their relationship with Youn
Student government at Duke University rejects Young Life, citing its LGBTQ policy
Duke University's student government won't notice the Young Life Christian group as a trainee organization because of its LGBTQ beliefs, The Duke Chronicle reports.
Young Life is a group of adults who work with middle and high school students to introduce them to Jesus Christ and support them grow in their faith, according to their website.
In a Sept. 11 Duke Student Government conference, student leaders decided Youthful Life should not be recognized as a chartered student group at the university with a unanimous vote. According to The Chronicle, the school's independent news organization, the students rejected the group due to its LGBTQ policy.
A paragraph under the sexual misconduct section in Fresh Life's Statement of Faith reads, "With regard to the delicate matter of homosexual lifestyle and rehearse, in the light of biblical data regarding creation, Young Life believes such activities to be clearly not in accord with God's creation purposes."
The policy goes on to express, "We do not in any way wish to exclude persons who occupy in sexual misconduct or practice a homosexual lifestyle from being
It’s been nearly a year since Youthful Life — a Colorado Springs-based Christian ministry that runs camps and youth groups around the earth — announced the creation of a council in response to a viral movement that alleged organizational discrimination against LGBTQ people.
The council, Young Life leaders said, would hear to the hundreds of stories pouring out on social media, stories of queer youth portraying the rejection and heartbreak of knowledge they couldn’t be gay and also serve in governance roles.
The organization apologized to those offend during their moment in Young Experience, and pledged “a long process of review, reflection, repentance and reform.”
Last month, that council — whose members were never publicized — sent out a confidential document to top staff, clarifying for the first time in detail Young Life’s “sexual conduct policy.” The document, which was not publicly released but has been reviewed by The Denver Post, says “same-sex attracted, celibate people can be considered as candidates for staff and volunteer leadership.”
But the organization goes on to say that leaders “pursuing same-s
Safeguarding LGBTQ+ children and adolescent people
Risks of harm
Evidence suggests that LGBTQ+ children and young people might be at increased risk of some forms of harm.
Child sexual exploitation
LGBTQ+ relationships are underrepresented in educational resources and the media (Barnardo’s and Fox, 2016). This means there are fewer examples of relevant, strong relationships available to Gay young people. If Diverse young people are not taught about healthy and unhealthy relationships, it might be easier for an abuser to groom them into believing an abusive relationship is normal.
If Homosexual young people are unable to get information about sex and relationships from school or family, they might seek advice and support from people in adult spaces, such as gay clubs. This is particularly true of new people who live in rural areas or in communities where their gender identity or sexuality is not accepted. Adult spaces don’t have the identical safeguarding and child protection measures in place as spaces specifically for children. Children might be pressured or coerced into doing something they don’t long to do, particularly if they are already isolated and don’t have anywhere els