Youth Alive is a Christian organisation that operates in every state in Australia. The concept for Youth Alive was formed in 1982 at a camp in Victoria. It was birthed out of a genuine concern and passion for reaching young Australians with a positive message. This concern was being felt in a similar fashion in Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales and Western Australia, and in June 1986, youth leaders from around the nation met in Melbourne to discuss plans to make an impact on this issue. Out of this meeting Youth Alive was formed with its first National director, Mal Fletcher.
From a Tasmanian perspective, in 1997, Karen Hogg became director and started rallies in each region of the state. In 1998, Joe King became the state director and he inspired the state with vision and boldness to reach Tasmania's 49,000 young people. This saw the state event rise sharply to 2000. In January 2001, a 23 year old Matthew Carswell became director, the youngest to do so in Youth Alive's history nationwide. Matt's love for people was evident and he led for nearly 7 years.
Matt was ably followed by Ps Russell Yaxley who lead from Devonport and continued to strengthen the team and the influence of Youth Alive in Tasmania, before passing the reigns to Matt Sharples in May of 2009. Matt has over 15 years of working with teenagers both as a High school teacher and as highly successful and inspiring Youth Pastor. Matt and his wife Karen pastor Abundant Life Church in Lauderdale and under their leadership, Youth Alive Tasmania continues to grow and move from strength to strength. Their message of death defying hope is delivered with passion and integrity.
Not a week goes by without the media reporting appalling statistics regarding the youth crisis within Australia today. It•s statistics like these that drive the heart of every member of Youth Alive. Our young people are the future of our nation and we believe this is a future worth living for. Therefore, our purpose is to bring a message of hope and courage to those in need, and then go beyond this by providing genuine support through local youth groups, helping teenagers realize their potential.
Youth Alive focuses on four key areas:
Reaching youth with a positive life message
Leadership Training
Leadership Networking
This is facilitated through a number of high quality activities funded and run by Youth Alive.
Youth Alive Big Events are drug and alcohol free events that take place across Australia at various times during the year. Each state holds a number of major events every year varying in attendance from 500 to 15,000 with most attendees aged between 12 and 25. The style of each event may vary dramatically but generally includes exceptional music, dance and drama performances, competitions, multimedia presentations, motivational speaking, giveaways and guest artists. The purpose of these Big Events is to provide an outstanding night out for teenagers and young adults, that promotes positive life choices.