Bellingham Young Life
Young Life has been a part of the Bellingham community since 1942, making us the third oldest Young Life area in the entire mission! With 75 years of ministry through Young Life in Bellingham, we are proud of our legacy and are excited for what ministry growth is to come.
Currently, we have active ministries in Bellingham High School, Sehome High School, Squalicum High School, Fairhaven Middle School, Kulshan Middle School, Whatcom Middle School and Western Washington University.
Our goal is to keep growing so that every student in Bellingham has the chance to experience life to the full through Jesus Christ!
CONTACT US!
360.676.8970 BellinghamYL@gmail.com
Does it matter?
4 out of 5
Young Life participants
consider Young Life and it's leaders to be a significant influence on their faith.
94%
of volunteer leaders and staff
with Young Life would overwhelmingly recommend their leadership experience to a friend.
Justin
Garcia
AREA DIRECTOR
jjgarcia921@gmail.com
Justin was raised in Spokane and met the Lord through Young Life in 2008 at Malibu Club. He attended Gonzaga University and got his Masters of Theology from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He has been on Young Life Staff for 10 years and has been in Bellingham for 2 years as our incredible Area Director! He has been a Young Life leader with kids since 2010 and is so excited to continue his time with YL here in Bellingham and to see the lives of kids in our city become transformed by the Gospel!
Drew
Anderson
MISSION STAFF
WYLDLIFE COORDINATOR
drewander.yl@gmail.com
Drew grew up in Federal Way and has now called Bellingham home for the last six years. He experienced and fell in love with Christ for the first time in 2018 at Washington Family Ranch and has been involved with Young Life in multiple capacities since. He graduated from WWU, where he spent much of his time volunteering as a Young Life College leader and spent his summers serving at YL Camp in both summer staff and intern roles. Drew oversees our WyldLife ministry and loves introducing middle schoolers to Jesus!
Emily
Kickner
AREA ADMIN bellinghamyl@gmail.com
Emily started leading Young Life in Auburn, WA in 2016 as a high school student leader. When she moved to Bellingham to attend WWU, Emily joined the Young Life College team as a student leader. Since graduating with a degree in linguistics, Emily pursued more training in Young Life's Student Staff Program and then joined our staff team as our Area Admin! She is passionate about creating a community that feels like home where anyone can come to hear about God's great love for them!
Jack Craighead
STAFF ASSOCIATE jackbc2004@gmail.com
Jack grew up in Enumclaw WA, and met Jesus at a Young Life camp called Castaway Club in the summer of 2022, right after graduating high school. That fall, he moved to Bellingham to attend WWU and graduated in 2024. Since moving to Bellingham, he has been a volunteer leader and served at Young Life's Malibu Club during the summer. Jack has joined our staff team while in the process of getting his mortgage license, with plans to one day be a mortgage advisor. Jack enjoys spending time with high school kids and introducing them to Jesus Christ.
Fatih Taddonio
STUDENT STAFF
Faith is a Bellingham local! Faith met Jesus as an adolescent, but it wasn’t until her senior year at Squalicum High School that she began to truly grow in a personal relationship with Him. She came home from a trip to Malibu Club ready for more. After graduating, she decided to become a Young Life leader. Having grown up involved in Young Life and poured into by a caring leader, she developed a deep desire to pour into others the same way. Faith is continuing her journey with Young Life on Student Staff while also attending BTC this year. She loves ministering to kids, walking alongside them in life, and pointing them to Jesus.
