Youth for Christ

==History==
===Early years, 1940s&ndash;1950s===
[[File:Youth for Christ advertisement in Stockholm 1946.jpg|thumb|Advertisement for Youth for Christ's 3-day campaign in Stockholm in April 1946.]]
Youth for Christ rallies were first held in [[New York City]] in 1940, organized by [[Jack Wyrtzen]], a young ex-insurance salesman who had also played the trombone in a cavalry band.<ref name=TIME>{{cite magazine|title=Religion: Youth for Christ|magazine=[[TIME (magazine)|TIME]]|date=February 4, 1946|url=http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,776614-1,00.html|access-date=February 21, 2021}}</ref> The Youth for Christ campaign idea spread to Washington, D.C., Detroit, Indianapolis and St. Louis. In 1944 [[Torrey Johnson]], a Baptist minister and pastor of Chicago's Midwest Bible Church, staged "Chicagoland for Christ" and became the most successful advocate of this type of campaign.<ref name=TIME /> Johnson was elected Youth for Christ's first president, with [[Billy Graham]] as its first full-time evangelist.

Following the end of [[World War II]], the movement expanded to other countries after [[Charles Templeton]] of [[Toronto]], Ontario, Canada, and Torrey Johnson met with a number of youth leaders from around the United States at [[Winona Lake, Indiana]], in 1945 to form a working group that would become an international organization.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/GUIDES/048.htm#3|title=Records of Youth for Christ/USA - Collection 48}}</ref> The name "Youth for Christ International" was adopted in 1946. By then, Youth for Christ International had approximately 300&nbsp;units in the United States and over 200&nbsp;overseas. The average attendance at rallies in 1946 was 350. The largest attendance at that time was 70,000 at [[Soldier's Field]] in Chicago.<ref name=TIME /> Popular youth events such as Bible quizzing, which is now embraced by many Christian denominations, were originally begun as Youth for Christ activities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblequizzer.org/|title=Bible quizzers answer questions from God's word}}</ref>

Evangelist [[Billy Graham]] was the first full-time evangelist of YFCI. Graham took over Johnson's local radio program called ''Songs in the Night'' which was broadcast over a local station in Illinois and predated YFCI. The movement also benefited by promotional publicity in the newspapers and magazines owned or influenced by [[William Randolph Hearst]].<ref name=TIME /> Large rallies were held at the [[Hollywood Bowl]] in Los Angeles, California, organized by [[Wilbur Nelson]] in 1949-1950.<ref>{{cite news|title=Wilbur Nelson Will Conduct Services Here|newspaper=[[Pomona Progress Bulletin]]|date=January 12, 1951|page=18}}</ref>

===The 1960s&ndash;1980s===
In 1968, in a little publicized conference in Jamaica, representatives from different countries created the International Council of Youth for Christ with Dr. Sam Wolgemuth as the first International President. The number of nations with Youth for Christ ministry had grown to over 100. Youth for Christ continued its growth throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Different ministry models and ministry emphases were developed and refined to reach young people around the world. During this time the current Youth for Christ logo was launched and adopted by the global organization.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yfci.org/about/the-logo/|title=The Logo & Its Meaning}}</ref>

===The 1990s&ndash;2000s===
In 1996 a report was presented to the Youth for Christ movement in Taiwan, with recommendations for a restructuring of the organisation. In March, 2000, the Youth for Christ organisation met in Muhltal, Germany. Most of the leadership, including the International Board, attended the gathering. The Youth for Christ worldwide Staff and Leadership Conference (General Assembly) was held in Denver, Colorado later that year.