Youth for Christ Italia started in 2007 out of a vision of a small committee to see unchurched Italian young people reached out with the Good News of the Gospel. The work started in Bologna and after a few years spread to other parts of Italy through some gifted, visionary and passionate youth workers who were in Bologna for an internship with YFC and then moved back to their cities of origin to start a similar ministry there.
YFC centers are presently in Bologna, Tuscany, the Naples area and in Sicily. School work, camps, Rock Solid clubs, sports outreach and service projects are some of the ministry models we utilize to reach out and disciple young people. The ministry is essentially relationally based, as we believe that it’s through the connection between our stories and the young people’s stories that we can point them to God’s bigger story.
The “COVID season” has moved our ministry to a lot of one-on-one conversations and a few online meetings. We have gone deeper with some relationships, but we have really missed the fun and interaction of being together in person with the young people. We have also experienced how much the lock-downs and restrictions have had an impact on their mental and emotional health and we want to be there to help them process all this. Our vision is to go back to camps, retreats, conferences and all that makes youthwork truly relational and personal.
Young people in Italy are being reached using the following ministries:
- Rock solid clubs
- Sport outreach through the Urban sport ministry (the football Cage and Volleysquare)
- Drop in center in Palermo for University students
- Schoolwork
- Summer camps
- Training for youth workers
- Production of resources for youth work to help churches develop youth evangelism
- Mission trip for young people to other YFC ministries in Europe
- Gap year to serve YFC in another part of the world
