Our Mission. 

We exist to encourage, equip, & empower global youth ministers.

Our mission is undergirded by the following values:

We Activate

We believe inspiration and information should be connected to application and activation. The why and what should facilitate the how and now?! Because of this conviction we set and celebrate measurable outcomes. We want to be seers and doers of the Word (James 1:22).

We Contextualize

While resources and responses for youth discipleship can be adopted and adapted across cultures, the creation of contextually relevant, indigenous, and sustainable solutions is always preferred. For ministry to youth to be truly effective, models and methods must change while the mission and message of Christ remain the same (1 Corinthians 9:22b-23). This means we strive to listen and learn before loving and leading (Acts 17:22-31).

We Affirm One Another

We identify most with the early church leader Barnabas – a son of encouragement (Acts 4:36). We take seriously the words of 1 Thessalonians 5:11a, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.” Through words of affirmation (spoken or written), acts of kindness, gifts of appreciation, and practical benevolence we strive to build up our clients, colleagues, and partners. We also do this well when we celebrate God’s goodness by sharing ministry impact through numerical and narrative findings.

We Collaborate for Impact

Much of what we do involves intentional collaboration. Whether networking organizations toward mutual benefit, offering structuring solutions for movements to scale, or co-creating a curriculum along with multi-national contributors, we believe greater kingdom impact occurs when we work together toward outcomes. Like the Early Church’s we desire to see lives transformed daily as we share ideas and resources, fellowship and pray together, and boldly declare the love of Christ alongside other believers (Acts 2:42-47). One way we intentionally collaborate is through our Hive initiative, (collaborative learning communities) which help youth ministers move from discussion to actual development of resources and responses which impact global ministry to and through youth.

We Persevere through Prayer

One way we discern wise stewardship of our mission is through team prayer. We regularly prayer for our clients, colleagues, and partners. IYS mobilizes prayer partners through the use of prayer cards, updates, and newsletters. As we trust, lean-into, and obey the Lord, through prayer, we know He lovingly directs our path (Prov. 3:5-6).

We are Stronger through Diversity

We believe God gives diverse talents, perspectives, and gifts to the Body of Christ and the more we embrace that, the more we are unified in our knowledge of Him and become mature in faith (Eph. 4:11-13). Diversity is not sought for the sake of political expedience or correctness but rather it is an outgrowth of prioritizing character, calling, and competence with those we minister with. Because of this conviction our Board of Directors (and global advisors) are men and women representing diverse backgrounds and experiences, who each uniquely contribute to the health of our mission.

We are Spirit-led & Intentional

Like the Apostle Paul, we seek to be both Spirit-led and strategic. God works through the head and heart to animate our hands and speech (Acts 1:8). As we fully consider (analyze) Christ and His will, we will pursue our race with purpose and not grow weary in doing good (Heb. 12:1-3; Gal. 6:9-10). Our team believes Spirit-empowerment means we boldly express God’s goodness through wise and disciplined planning, preparation, and implementation. Thus, we prayerfully internally utilize strategic plans and processes while externally offering nexus-style support to start, strengthen, scale, and sustain transformational change. We believe this approach honors the Lord and our partners.