Mission

High school was a really hard time for me. It probably didn't look like it was, to most people. On the outside, I had everything that a typical high schooler desires. But I was dying on the inside. I was never consistently happy. The things that I put my hope in never lasted. I was just. so. tired. But my life forever changed in July of 2009 when I heard the gospel in a way that I, an average non-church-attending teenager, could understand. I surrendered my hope and my life to God, a figure that I had never really believed in and thought if He did exist, was probably really mad at me 99% of the time. But what I heard made my tired heart stir. It seemed to good to be true. So I took the leap and tried to have a relationship with this God that I heard so much about. And now, quite a few years later, I can tell you with the utmost certainty the best news you'll ever hear: the gospel is true.

But really, it all started about two years before that when I met a friend. Her name is Jen Kruskamp. She was my Young Life leader and God used her to change my life.

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Young Life is a world-wide, nondenominational Christian ministry for adolescents. We're not affiliated with a church or with schools but we have a vision of reaching every kid, every where to give them the opportunity to meet Jesus and follow Him. There are lots of teenagers who would never step foot in a church. Believe me, I know. I was one of them. So instead of holding a youth group in a church once a week, we go to them. We show up at their football games, their parties, and their school dismissals in hopes of eventually sharing the news of Jesus, even to the kids that would never dare to dream to go to church.

We give our time to this ministry to ease the burden of high school for our teenage friends; not by giving them tips or tricks to get ahead in life, but by introducing them to their Creator, the lover of their soul and their purpose in this crazy world. 

We do not strive to be a pastor or a mentor or a teacher to these high schools students. We strive to be their friends. That's it. As Young Life leaders, we believe that you must earn the right to be heard. And that right comes through friendships. And friendships naturally can get messy. Really messy. 

It's hard to be with a student when their parents announce they're getting a divorce and not just comfort them, but go through it with them. 
It's hard to be with a student when they continually turn back to partying and to not just shrug it off, but to not give up on them and love them with truth. 
It's hard to be with a student when their best friend unexpectedly dies at the age of 16 and not just to say the right things, but to mourn with them. 
It's so hard and it would be so much easier to be their mentor and keep a safe distance, throwing words of wisdom at them every once and a while. But that's not how Jesus changed the world and that's not how we will either.

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In the summer of 2014, God threw a new plan into the works. We had been leading in Northern Kentucky for the past four years. I had just graduated college and Dan was graduating in December. We were beginning to map out the next decade or so of our lives there in the suburban area of Cincinnati. Out of no where, Dan was offered a Young Life area director position in Ross County, Ohio. After many hours of prayer, seeking counsel and challenging conversations, we felt that this is what God had next for us. (Read more about our moving process HERE).

And that's where we are now. We recently moved to Chillicothe, Ohio to start a high school ministry. Nothing like this has ever occurred in Ross County. In fact, no where in Southeastern Ohio has Young Life. It wrecks me to know that there are thousands of teenagers nearby going through the hardest time of their life and some will never truly hear the message of Jesus in a way that they can understand. We're praying that God uses us to change that.



For more information, you can visit the Ross County Young Life website here. 

If you'd like more information about joining us in this mission through prayer, giving or other resources, you can contact me at cortneymhill@gmail.com or can contact Dan at dkh.hill@gmail.com.

My first Young Life camp when I was 15 years old.

My most recent camp trip as a leader with my friends from Lloyd Memorial High School