About us
YoungLives is Young Life's local ministry for adolescent moms. We engage in relationships with pregnant and parenting teens and their babies by entering their world, displaying the unconditional love of Christ, and calling them into their role as women and mothers who have been deeply purposed by God. More than 20 years ago, Young Life answered God’s call to run headfirst into the world of teenage motherhood with the hope of Jesus ... and YoungLives was born. Young Life’s founder, Jim Rayburn, said, “All kids have the right to know the truth about Jesus Christ.”
With 226 babies born to teen mothers aged 14-19 in Hamilton County in 2022, the need for Chattanooga YoungLives is great. A young mother's need for compassion and parental guidance places us in a unique position to bring the hope of Jesus Christ to this extremely vulnerable group of individuals. Our hope is that through YoungLives, parenting adolescents globally will grow to be rooted in their faith, equipped to raise their children and motivated to invest in their communities - making an investment for generations to come.
Our Story
In 2021, we had the joy of bringing YoungLives to Chattanooga. Every month teen moms from all around Chattanooga and surrounding areas gather for our monthly meeting where we enjoy a time of fun, food, fellowship, and a gospel presentation. Outside of monthly meetings, our group of mentors dedicate their time to meeting girls where they are and investing in them and their babies. Through community partnership and building relationships over the past four years we have been able to expand our reach to the teen moms in our area. We don’t want to stop until every teen mom in and around our county knows about our program and has the opportunity to join our community.
How We Serve
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Club
Monthly meetings for a time of fun, food, fellowship, and a gospel presentation.
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Contact Work
Mentors meeting them where they are (schools, outings, and daily life) so that they will see the love of Christ in how their mentors live out their life. (Discipleship)
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Campaigners
A time for mentors to meet in smaller groups outside of the monthly club meeting to go deeper and study the Bible that they may grow in their fath.
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Camp
A time for parents to have the best week of their life away from the noise of the world, free of technology so that they can experience Jesus for 5 days and have an opportunity to say “Yes” to life with Him.
YoungLives in action…
Partnership with 6 Hamilton County schools where we meet moms and offer regular parenting education and support groups.
Monthly Club meetings where we come together as a community to have fellowship, food, and fun!
Monthly park playdates where we gather for a meal and have a great time building relationships.
Discipling moms through one-on-one or small group Bible studies.
Mentors investing in moms and their babies through meeting their physical and spiritual needs.
Summer Camp where moms and their babies have the best week of their life away from the noise of the world, free of technology so that they can experience Jesus for 5 days and have an opportunity to say “yes’’ to life with Him.
A YoungLives committee made up of 5 women from our community.
An annual spring fundraiser and a growing budget dedicated to growing our program
Contact us
Have questions about YoungLives? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly. We can’t wait to hear from you!
Kayla Collins
YoungLives Coordinator
Youngliveschatt@gmail.com