Our Roots

The Center Story

The Center Introduction

The story of The Center has its roots in the ministry of The Christian Youth Center, which began in Joliet, Illinois more than 50 years ago. In 2013, The Center was birthed out of that ministry and has been making a profound impact in the lives of teens ever since. The Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit located in Joliet, Illinois.

In the 1950s, The Center (formerly the Christian Youth Center) began as a ministry primarily for teenagers. We could fill volumes with testimonies of teens who have been transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the ministry of The Center!

However, some seventy years later, we find that the world has changed a bit. On the plus side, many churches now have dedicated youth ministries. Teenagers have a myriad of options to get connected to peers in a Christ-honoring setting.

On the downside, dramatic shifts in culture and technology have altered the pace of development in young people. In the 1950s, a high-school graduate was typically ready to launch out to college, career, and family. Today, we observe that young people, though they might be legal adults, still need help understanding and embracing the opportunities and duties of adulthood. Unfortunately, there are few places they can find that help.

In early 2024, the Board of Directors of The Center began to record the age of attendees of The Center’s Thursday night program. Despite our efforts to market our program to teens in Joliet, we found that the vast majority of our regular attendees were in fact 18 year of age and older. And they were THRIVING at The Center!

After pondering this data and discussing amongst ourselves, we have come to this conclusion: At present, the ministry of The Center is most effective and most needed in the 18-30 demographic. There are so many needs and opportunities in this age group that The Center is perfectly positioned to meet!

This means that The Center will shift our prayers, our marketing, and our programming to focus on this group, for at least a trial period of six months.

At present, young people ages 16 and 17 will still be welcomed at The Center, provided their parent(s) or guardian(s) understand this change and approve their attendance.

Please, we are asking you to do a few things:

  1. Pray for the young adults in the greater Joliet region. Ask God to intervene and send them the help they need.
  2. Pray for The Center. Ask God to help us reach as many lives as possible.
  3. If you know any young adults in the greater Joliet region that could benefit from The Center, please inform them of the new direction of our ministry.

We love you, and we appreciate you! We also welcome your feedback.

Sincerely,

The Center Board of Directors
Daniel Stinnett, President
Kelly Corcoran, Executive Director
Mark Bogdan, Program Director
Eva Jabaay, Treasurer
Paula Jarot, Secretary