If you want to share the good news of Jesus, practice outdoor leadership, invest in youth, and you have time to give in your summers, then you are in the right place! Look at our position openings to see how you might join us this summer in the great outdoors to make disciples of all nations.
FAQ
Q: Do summer staff make money?
A: Yes! All staff at Youth Dynamics participate in our ministry partnership process. We equip staff to partner with their network to raise a mutually agreed-upon amount. This fundraising covers living expenses (room, board, and training); anything raised beyond that is what staff take home as salary. Most of our staff earn a similar amount to other summer jobs. They consistently report feeling supported and set up for success in this process, usually finding it much less intimidating than expected! We see staff grow in their faith through this process as they learn to trust the Lord’s timing and provision and experience it in new and tangible ways.
Q: Are there differences between the bases?
A: There are some! Each adventure base has its own unique flavor and focus, taking advantage of the spectacular locations we call home. We’ve highlighted a few of the notable differences below.
- Housing:
- Washington: Summer staff live on-site in communal housing at Stonewater, our 158-acre retreat facility in Leavenworth, where most Washington adventures launch from.
- Idaho: Staff live communally in ministry-owned housing, a short walk from the Horseshoe Bend adventure base.
- Oregon: Staff stay with local families through a host-home model. Multiple staff may stay at the same location depending on a host’s capacity/preference.
- Adventures:
- There are some differences in adventure area focus, primarily due to the locations of each base. For more information, check out each adventure bases’ home page to get a sense of their primary focus. If you have more questions, feel free to reach out!
Q: Do summer staff have to be a certain age?
A: Yes, you must be at least 18. Most of our staff are 18 to mid-20s, but there’s no upper age limit. Summer staff use this time to serve the Lord in His creation, explore local mission opportunities, and discern what God might have in store for them vocationally.
Q: Do you have to be studying or wanting to work in full-time ministry for this to be a good fit?
A: Not at all! We love having a variety of people join us—engineers, nursing students, plumbing apprentices, EMTs, and more! We believe the skills you develop with us will translate into whatever field you pursue!
These skills may include, but are not limited to, time management, leadership, deepening your faith, life and work in an intentional Christian community, risk assessment, teaching, youth cultural awareness, youth engagement and creative problem-solving — all of which are valuable for future professions and personal opportunities.
We find that the input and variety of knowledge and experience that comes from having summer staff pursuing all sorts of vocational opportunities is a rich addition to our community life and work, and we love having folks from all walks of life join our team!
Q: Why do you require a two-summer commitment?
A: There are benefits to the two-year commitment for the summer staff as well as Youth Dynamics. The first year for summer staff is often compared to drinking out of a fire hose! There is so much to learn, understand, and balance as staff learn technical guiding skills and how to integrate that with ministry to youth. The second year is usually when our summer staff start doing their best ministry as they develop more bandwidth for relationships and ministry conversation.
From our end, we invest a lot in our summer staff through training and mentorship. It’s a massive benefit for us not to start from scratch each year and to have instead a group of returning staff to help the new staff as they learn the ropes. Finally, we love our staff and deeply value working alongside summer staff who have become trusted friends and ministry partners for multiple years!