Compass: A Life-Changing Summer Discipleship Experience for High Schoolers
Do you have a high school friend that’s ready to take a deeper step in their faith? Compass is a month-long summer adventure that trains high schoolers to live their calling as a disciple of Christ. Compass students spend two weeks backpacking through the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York and studying theology with professors at Gordon College. Then they take the lessons they’ve learned to serve children and families with the Root Cellar in Portland, Maine, or the Salvation Army in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Compass is a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the student-leader you know is ready to be challenged. They will be pushed to step outside their comfort zone, whether that’s carrying a 50-lb. backpack up a mountain, wrestling with what it means for the Bible to be inerrant, or preparing a summer camp while fighting jet-lag. Through adventure, intense discipleship, and cross-cultural service, Compass equips students to return to their local congregations and schools with a fresh vision of Christianity and their own role in God’s kingdom.
Most students participate in Compass following their junior year, but sophomore and senior applicants are also considered. Compass participants are nominated by their pastors, Young Life leaders, coaches and teachers. In order to apply, students must also seek a mentor who will commit to mentoring them for three years following the completion of the summer program. The application deadline is March 31st. Now is the time to begin talking to kids you think may be interested.
Compass partners with Young Life leaders across the country to identify, mentor, and equip students to be servant-leaders who have a personal and deep faith in Christ. Since 2001, Compass has hosted over 470 students from 3 countries and 30 states. Many of these alumni are now pastors, teachers, administrators, missionaries, and Young Life staff.
Learn more about Compass on their website and recommend a student for the program with their online form. The 2021 Compass Program is from June 30-July 29. Compass students fundraise to support their trip. When you tell your students about Compass, make sure you send students the highlight video from our website.
For more information, contact the director, Bryn Clark, via email here.
