JOPLIN, MO – In 1968, Bob Stacy, a professor at Ozark Bible College, was inspired to create a way to present the Gospel message to young people in a way that was contemporarily and culturally relevant.

That’s not only difficult to do. It’s even more difficult to sustain. Kids today are not even remotely interested in what was considered relevant to their preceding generations. Nor could Stacy have envisioned in 1968 what would be relevant for young people entering the third decade of the 21^st century. That was impossible.

“I thought that God could do the impossible, so I never put a limit on it.” – Bob Stacy

In its formative years, Christ in Youth recruited volunteer college students to help lead rallies and use drama and music to present dynamic high school assembly programs.

Over the past 50 years, CIY has been a leader in youth event ministries that encourage students and their leaders to live boldly for Christ and seek their God-given place for active service in the kingdom of God.

The full-time CIY team crafts events from church-wide, to community-wide, to nationwide, always searching for and creating new tools that will continue to attract young people, win them to Christ, invite them into an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, and equip them for service.

Even the executive staff is evidence of godly men committed to the ever-changing strategies for most effectively reaching young people with the Gospel. The top leadership includes a Vice President of Culture, a Vice President of Content Creation, and a Vice President of Storytelling.

Currently, Christ in Youth operates eight different programs that create inspiring experiences for students at nearly all grade levels. According to the CIY website,

SuperStart! is a high-energy weekend event in which preteens can learn and grow in their relationships with friends, leaders, and, most importantly, God.

Believe is a high-energy weekend event for junior high students only. It is structured specifically for junior high students and is packed with powerful worship and teaching from God’s Word.

Mix is a four-day summer event of awesomeness designed specifically for 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade students.

Move is a five-day high school event held all over the country designed to amplify the call of Christ on students’ lives to become kingdom workers.

Engage trains groups and individuals for a life of kingdom work through experiencing what God is doing in cultures different than their own.

Wilderness is a five-day youth minister retreat designed to rest the soul and rejuvenate the spirit at Bear Trap Ranch in the Rocky Mountains near Colorado Springs. It’s about digging into the heart of why you do what you do. It’s about passion more than programming. It’s about following God’s call on your life and finding the strength to follow His lead.

WRKR Series is a collection of films that portray and inspire Kingdom work, moving hearts to action with visually compelling stories. The films tell the real-life accounts of difference-makers around the world to propel audience members to initiate change in their communities and beyond.

The multiple award-winning WRKR movie, “Love Costs Everything,” a film about the persecution of 200 million Christians worldwide, is available on Amazon Prime.

Because our God does what is impossible, CIY continues to speak the language of this generation of students with its use of high-energy music, engaging videos, and high-quality resources

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