ABOUT US
Our Story
AYM (Area Youth Ministry) is a nationwide non-profit Christian youth organization that connects high school students with other like-minded peers and mentors.
AYM started in 2018. Our vision is to go beyond the church walls — to provide students with caring mentors. We are not a church.
We are college students (& alumni) who are passionate about seeing the youth thrive. We offer mentorship, summer camps, resources for Christian clubs, special events, and sports camps for youth in over 25 cities in the United States. We provide support to help the youth mature in Christ and to inspire them through Scripture to be agents of God’s love in their schools, families and communities.
We also offer workshops that answer many “tough questions” ranging from “How do I stay Christian when I go to college?” to “If God is good, why is there evil and suffering?” or “Is there evidence for the resurrection?” or “Is the Bible reliable?” or “Is Jesus a historical figure?”
We have seen the increasing rates of teen anxiety and depression, growing numbers of college students losing the faith of their youth, a culture that is more intolerant and hostile towards the Christian faith, and the fear and confusion brought on by another deadly mass shooting. God has laid a heavy burden on our hearts. In response, a handful of Kingdom-minded college friends got together with a vision to fight against this trend, to pray for this generation, to share the good news of Jesus and to serve the youth. We want students to know they are not alone in the challenges they face and provide a listening ear. We desire to bless our community and the youth in our area with the love of Jesus. AYM started in the SF Bay Area, but we are now located in 25+ cities across the nation!
To Parents
We are college students (and recent alumni) that have a heart for the next generation! We know that having mentors is a huge blessing for any student—and so we want to partner with parents by offering summer camps, mentorship, prayer and support for your child and to cheer them on in their journey that is not always easy. AYM is a resource for you and a way we can serve parents in our community and the youth in our area.
SAFETY. We take safety very seriously. THRIVE mentors go through background checks, screening, and we require references in order to be accepted as a mentor. In addition, our mentors undergo annual safety and compliance training before doing any work that involves minors. We have a ”2-Adult Rule” when meeting with minors, and in-person mentorship meetings take place in open, public spaces.
To Pastors & Churches
We are not a church. We believe that the local church (the body of Christ) and the Gospel is the hope of the world.
Area Youth Ministry is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization — similar to a para-church ministry (like YWAM, Cru HS, Youth for Christ, YoungLife) and we partner with Kingdom-minded churches. At our events and meet-ups, we do NOT endorse or invite students to any particular church.
Our goal is to reach students without a community, to find one in their area—and for the youth who are already part of a church community to be equipped to serve and be a blessing to their own church. This is important to us as we partner with many local churches to reach every youth in our cities.
The harvest is plentiful and the workers are few [Matt 9:37]. This is the reality that we have come to grasp and see in our cities, ministries, in our culture and in recent statistics [The Barna Report]. We partner with many Gospel-advancing churches and organizations to put on events, apologetics conferences, summer camps, etc. to reach students with the Good News of the love of Jesus. It would be a privilege to co-labor with you for the greatest Cause in the Gospel.
