Thank you for your interest in partnering with the Young Adult Volunteer program to invite young adults to serve and grow in your community! The YAV program has been centered on developing young adults as faithful leaders for the church and the world for the past 27 years, and we are excited you would like to be a part.
Here are answers to a few frequently asked questions that may be helpful as you consider partnering with the YAV program:
First, the YAV program places young adults in small site groups usually of four to eight young people, rather than placing the volunteers as individuals. So hosting a YAV site each year involves planning and preparing sites to host a small group of young adults to live, work and learn in your community.
Second, the YAV program collaborates with community agencies, nonprofits and advocacy groups as worksites for YAV participants. We often describe this as a program ‘outside the four walls of the church.’
There are many ways your congregation or presbytery can partner in the development of young leaders. A few suggestions include using space available or already existing partnerships to create Hospitality Houses to reach out to young adults already serving in your community. Another resource that may be helpful is the Vespers Discernment curriculum. This resource has been used by several different groups, including many YAV sites, as a guided process for further vocational discernment with young adults.
If you have questions about hosting a new YAV site, contact Destini Hodges, Coordinator at Destini.Hodges@pcusa.org
New National YAV site process
If you are interested in becoming a national site for a particular YAV year, (say the 2024-2025 YAV year), please begin a conversation with the YAV office in advance (such as March 2022).
New International YAV site process
The YAV program anticipates a new international YAV site with one of our existing global partners. Each International YAV site will work with the applicable World Mission Area Coordinator: