Ministry Spotlight - AYM

Last summer, some mentors from Gen LA launched our youth ministry called AYM (Area Youth Ministry). AYM is a non-profit youth organization with locations across the country, and our hope is to reach teens in our community with spiritual encouragement, mentorship, and resources to help them thrive during a very tumultuous time in their lives. 

We started off with a volleyball summer camp, and have since continued to provide volleyball open gyms and recently launched our first volleyball league, AVL. We have also been meeting teens through our Thrive Mentorship program - a weekly 2-on-1 mentoring program to cover tracks of the students’ choice - whether that’s college prep and resources, how to read the Bible, even an “Ask Me Anything” track. We have tried getting our name out there by tabling at local festivals, postering around the city, and even passing out flyers and candy at a popular trick-or-treat spot last Halloween!

Youth mentors at a Halloween event!

Back in February, we combined forces with the other AYM locations in Southern CA - Pomona, San Diego, and Orange County - to host the very first SoCal Winter Camp 2026! There were 106 students who came to join us for an awesome weekend away from the busyness and distractions of daily life to be in nature and be refreshed! We had messages from our speaker Josh; workshops ranging from How to Matcha 101 to Science and Faith, to How to make your own T-shirts using Cricut; rousing praise and worship; and an epic battle of team games in the snow. 

SoCal Winter Camp - hangout time

SoCal Winter Camp - praise & worship

We were so thankful for the many students who were impacted by the retreat. It was exciting to see these students from different cities coming together and starting friendships! We are excited to continue to make an impact, one teen at a time.