Christian Youth in Action® (CYIA™) is a program designed to train you and a team of other high school and college-aged young people in effective and engaging ways to teach children about God. Then we give you an opportunity to put that training into practice as you spend the summer sharing the Good News of Jesus with kids.
Training. CYIA offers training focused on preparing you to lead children to Christ. You will learn to present the Gospel clearly on a child’s level, counsel a child for salvation and lead a dynamic club ministry for kids. Components of this club include teaching a Bible lesson, a real-life missionary story and a Bible verse as well as leading songs, games and a fun review time. Training includes both classroom and practical sessions.
Pre-Training. Initial training sessions will take place locally, dates for 2025 are: May 3, 17 and June 14.
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​Training School. Then you’ll attend the week long statewide CYIA training school. In addition to classes, practical sessions, study time and fellowship time, students will have the opportunity to enjoy the facilities of the retreat center and time at the shore. In 2022, the training school dates are June 23 through 28th at Libenzell Retreat Center in Long Valley, NJ.
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​Ministry Weeks. After this training, you will return to your local community and teach 5-Day Clubs® at various locations with a team of other young people. These clubs take place out in the community with predominantly unsaved kids who don’t regularly attend church. You will be able to take the light of the gospel to them in their apartment complexes, daycare centers, neighborhoods, parks, schools and other community locations. Ministry weeks will generally consist of teaching two or three clubs a day, Monday through Friday. During your application and interview process you will be asked to commit to the number of weeks, as well as which weeks you will work.
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Financial Support Raising. Like most missionaries, CYIA summer missionaries are responsible for raising their own support. Once your application has been approved, the local CEF director will provide additional guidance on how to build your support team: those who will support you through prayer and financial gifts.
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Getting Started. The first step toward becoming a CYIA summer missionary is completing an application, which may be downloaded from this page when it becomes available. Application deadline: May 15, 2025
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