Young adults discover and transform the world through the YAV program

LOUISVILLE — From the classroom to the locker room — and back again — Steffan Johnson has found himself on a 27-year-long quest to discover the “real world.”

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The South Carolina native — who spent his undergraduate education at the PC(USA)-related St. Andrews University playing college football while earning a degree in philosophy and religious studies — said that because those years didn’t bring him anywhere close to finding what he was seeking, he enrolled in Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

“In seminary, since I didn’t have my friends around me in the locker room, I just poured all of that energy into my studies,” said Johnson, who received a master’s degree in theological studies in 2023. “I dove into everything that the professors gave us, including Martin Luther and Augustine. And even though seminary was life-changing, I can’t just go and tell a stranger on the street what Martin Luther said. I love Augustine, but 95% of churches wouldn’t even know who he was. I needed to find the language where I could connect with everyday people.”

And he ultimately did find it — through the PC(USA)’s Young Adult Volunteer program.

The YAV program — which has been changing the lives of young people ages 19–30 for three decades — also emphasizes living in intentional Christian community, spiritual formation and vocational discernment.

“I committed to my YAV year as a 25-year-old fresh out of seminary,” Johnson said. “Up until that point, I was just a student pursuing my education, which was a little nerve-racking. I had friends starting families and businesses, and it felt like my first time entering the world. The YAV program helped me understand the flow of the real world.”

An ecumenical, faith-based year of service that is lived out in sites across the U.S., virtually and around the world, the YAV program is supported, in part, through the Pentecost Offering, one of the PC(USA)’s four Special Offerings.

Not only do gifts to the Pentecost Offering benefit the YAV program, but the Offering also supports the Office of Presbyterian Youth and Triennium and the Educate a Child, Transform the World national initiative. A hallmark of this shared offering is that 40% of it is retained by individual congregations for local ministries, while the remaining 60% is used to support children at risk, youth and young adults through ministries of the PC(USA).

“Our slogan, ‘A year of service for a lifetime of change,’ is really true,” said Destini Hodges, coordinator of the YAV program, which has produced more than 1,900 alums over the past 30 years. “I love the way the young adults are ‘transformed’ through their service.”

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As one of those alums, Johnson was placed by the program in four different sites across New Orleans during his term as a YAV.

“I got a pretty wide view,” he explained.

Johnson’s service encompassed stints with the Jefferson Food Bank; Mid-City Ministries, an after-school program; Rebuilding Hope in New Orleans (RHINO), a citywide ministry focusing on service projects and volunteer work originally established in response to Hurricane Katrina by St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church; and the Program of Hope, run by First Presbyterian Church, which ministers to New Orleans’ homeless population.

“During my discernment process, one of the aspects that compelled me was volunteering in these multiple communities in New Orleans,” Johnson said. “This was my chance to see where my studies were useful in the world. While learning more about the city, I saw myself helping people in need — youth and young adults — all while sharing a community with other YAVs, enjoying jazz music, great food and even better people.”

Because he was always “intrigued by youth ministry,” Johnson found that his youth-centered YAV service aided his vocational discernment.

“While in New Orleans, I volunteered as a tutor and, at the same program, I conducted a Bible study with young people,” he recalled. “It was great! Although my enthusiasm for youth ministry definitely prepared me for my role as a YAV, my background in education was put to the test by a loving group of grade school students.”

Like when Johnson was teaching second graders how to read, which he called “the hardest thing ever.”

“I was trying to be cool but also to be the disciplinary figure they needed,” he said. “And whenever they asked me hard questions, I had to acknowledge that I don’t always have all the answers. We’re all still learning.”

Including the YAVs in his own community, three of whom were from Scotland.

“Sharing a house together, I realized how many things in our lives are the norm but aren’t really normal for others,” said Johnson. “Like I tried to explain what Black History Month is because not everyone knows. We all keep learning.”

Especially Johnson himself.

Since he found that he was still discerning his vocational path when his year in New Orleans came to a close, Johnson applied for and served in a virtual YAV placement with the PC(USA)’s Asia Pacific and Africa offices.

He was grateful for the opportunity — and for the Pentecost Offering, which largely made it possible.

“Presbyterians should give to the Pentecost Offering so that young people can experience diverse communities, learn more about their place in the world and build an appetite for justice for future generations,” said Johnson. “By giving, young adults are given a chance to grow socially, vocationally, and more important, spiritually.”