What Makes Pacific Youth Unique

Pacific Youth is the Right Ministry at the Right Time!!!

Pacific Youth Correctional Ministries is an evangelical Christian 501(c)(3) non-profit California religious corporation. While Pacific Youth has several outstanding adult correctional programs, God has clearly directed Pacific Youth to sustain its original vision given during the founding of this ministry: We exist to be a chaplain-placing ministry primarily for county juvenile facilities. The Protestant Chaplaincy Ministry is the model ministry site for Pacific Youth serving the facilities of the Orange County Juvenile Justice Complex in Orange County, California - Juvenile Hall, Youth Guidance Center, and Youth Leadership Academy.

The commonly used term at-risk youth does not adequately convey the emergency posed by our target population. These youth are in serious jeopardy of beginning or continuing a criminal career that often results in years of correctional confinement as well as great damage to themselves, their families, and the persons and property of others. Effective intervention and prevention will change a criminal career path. Pacific Youth exists to provide timely help for a life in peril.

Effective correctional ministry includes Christ-centered church services, Bible studies, one-on-one counseling and discipleship, continuity of care, mentoring, tutoring, life skills development, and sensitizing the Christian community to the needs of troubled youth and young adults. Pacific Youth has developed the Getting to Know Jesus series of discipleship curriculum which is specifically tailored to the needs of our youth. This curriculum consists of four workbooks – Becoming a Christian, The New Me, Walking in the Light, and the Life Action Plan. Delinquent youth need immediate intervention to help curtail a criminal career that often continues to age 24.

Through training, equipping, and direct ministry, Pacific Youth will prepare correctional ministers to serve in juvenile halls, camps, ranches, and prisons worldwide, as well as mobilize local churches to provide continuity of care to released juveniles and adults. As Pacific Youth demonstrates effective proven results, we will impact criminal justice agencies to enhance religious programming in their overall treatment planning as well as improve the professionalism of correctional ministry. Lastly, Pacific Youth will impact correctional and legal legislative bodies to improve human rights, religious freedoms, and faith-based solutions.

As Pacific Youth fulfills the Great Commission with incarcerated youth the result will be changed lives, lower recidivism rates, cycles of pathology broken, reduced criminal expenses to the community, and a new generation of contributing citizens.