On every Monday night at 7:59 at 701 Starwood Dr. a ‘party with a purpose’ starts. Young Life, a Christian like youth group, has started to gain attention and popularity among students in the Cedar Park area. It is a program run by college students to promote Christianity without the challenges of participating and running a church.

“Young Life is a great way to start your week with friends, music and God,” sophomore Jordyn Farrar said. “It’s really uplifting and a good way to make new friends. I enjoy Young Life because our college leaders really put in the effort to make sure we have a fun time while still being amazing mentors to us in every aspect of our lives.”

They are hosted by college kids every Monday night starting at 7:59 and are hosted at the leader’s house. During their time together they have karaoke, raffles to buy supplies, skits, games to meet people, a worship song and at the end a message about how all their activities have connected back to what they believe in. The purpose of this non-denominational group is to have a place for kids, specifically those who have had bad experiences at churches or parents who aren’t willing to attend, to worship without needing to go to church.

“[My favorite part is] being surrounded by people who are there for the same reason as me; God,” sophomore Madison Berglund said. “I would suggest to go because it’s a great way to make new friends and hang out with God all while taking a break from school and just having fun.”

The group has a history going back to the 1930’s when a lady in Gainsville, Texas wanted to lead a prayer group for the local high school. Now it’s expanded all over the U.S and also internationally with groups in places like Democratic Republic of the Congo, Croatia, Armenia and Nepal. Here in Cedar Park there are several places to attend but the designated one for students here is shared with kids at Vista Ridge, however anybody is welcome no matter what.

“[I got started] through the juniors,” Berglund said. “They are huge role models for me in my life and having them on the volleyball team I would really look up to them and they encouraged me to go and try it one time with them. Young Life is a time to get away from homework, school and stress. It’s just a time to dance and sing your heart out while being with all your friends. Everyone is so open and genuinely caring for each other and everyone is so easy to relate to.”

They also hold summer camps but their main goal is to introduce kids to Jesus Christ and to help them grow in their faith.

“Every kid deserves to have a really good friend who knows them and loves them,” Young Life Leader Abby Loehr said. “The vision of Young Life is ultimately to love kids as Jesus does. Everything we do is because we want to make sure every kid is valued ultimately builds lifelong relationships that points towards Jesus.”