Sharing Christ's love with the students of Ligonier Valley
Who We Are
Valley Youth Network is a Christ-centered community where high schoolers are invited to experience the love of God and find their place in His story. Through weekly fellowship, Bible studies, mission trips, service, and real-deal adventures, we walk alongside students as they grow in faith, build lasting friendships, and discover what it means to live for something bigger than themselves. We believe God has a purpose for every teenager — and we're here to help them chase it together.
Founded in 1991 by a group of concerned individuals in the Ligonier Valley, the Valley Youth Network (VYN) began as a grassroots mission to reach out to area high school youth. The founders of VYN envisioned an organization that would complement and extend the impact of youth groups in a number of Churches in the Ligonier Valley. The goal of this youth ministry is to provide youth with the tools they need to resist the downward pull of risk factors that exist in every community and move towards healthy, hopeful, responsible, future-oriented, and service-minded decisions.
WEEKLY FELLOWSHIP — C.H.I.L
This is the heartbeat of VYN. Every Thursday night an average of 65 high school students arrive at the Barn for C.H.I.L. (Christ Happening In Lives!). The hour and a half program is designed to meet the social, physical, and spiritual needs of the high school student.
Students join in large group mixers and small group games as they enter the building. After a time of socializing, a simple snack is served, student song leaders take the stage, and a Bible-based message is shared.
7:30 | The Barn @ Ligonier | Open to all 9th–12th graders
WHAT WE DO
Service — Students show up for their neighbors. Local projects, community outreach, hands-on work that makes the love of God visible.
Mission Trips — We go. Across the state, across the country — wherever God opens a door. There's something that happens on a mission trip that can't happen anywhere else.
Adventures — Hikes, retreats, overnight trips. We get outside and into the kind of moments that stick with you!
Bible Studies — We get into scripture together and learn about who God is.
Community Events — Bonfires, game nights, the random stuff that turns a group of students into a community.
HOW WE STARTED
The Valley Youth Network was incorporated in the Fall of 1994 as a non-profit corporation to provide impetus and financial support for this effort. Our purpose was to join together, pool resources, and employ a well-trained professional full-time youth worker. In December of 1994, Kip Crumrine was hired as Executive Director to begin programming. The immediate efforts were modest. Meetings were first held in the director’s living room with about a dozen students attending.
Although we started small, Valley Youth Network quickly outgrew Kip and Sandy's living room and we were invited to use the facilities at the Ligonier Camp and Conference Center in the fall of 1995. Attendance continued to grow over the years by word of mouth and by the spring of 2002 over 60 youth were participating in VYN’s programs.
In the fall of 2002, VYN moved the headquarters to the The Barn (the former Wildlife Club) to accommodate additional youth who were interested in attending. During the 2002-2003 school year, attendance increased to over 150. From our inception to our present-day success, we have reached over 2,000 area high school students! And over ¼ of Ligonier High School’s student body currently participates in our programs!.
