Founder of YL Catholic Relations Steps into New Role in Africa

After 14 years of building a bridge between Young Life and the Catholic Church, Michael Havercamp is stepping into a new chapter – one that is unexpected but deeply familiar.

Havercamp, the founder and senior director of Young Life’s Catholic Relations office, is leaving his role this week to serve in a new position focused on the spiritual formation of Young Life staff across Africa. The move, he said, flows from a personal calling and a pressing organizational need within Young Life's mission.

“More than 30 years ago, I came to Christ while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa, and my life was forever changed,” Havercamp said.

That transformative encounter decades ago led him to step away from a promising place in medical school and embrace an uncertain future in ministry. Over time, two enduring passions emerged: Young Life and the Catholic Church. Both have defined his life and ministry career for more than 25 years.

Chad Edwards, Young Life’s group senior vice president for Africa, India and the Middle East, said Havercamp is known throughout the mission as a unifier and a bridge builder. 

“Jesus said, ‘by this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another,’ and that kind of love is at the root of Michael’s leadership and vision,” Edwards said. “Love that unites the body of believers around a deep desire to see young people transformed by the love of Christ.”

In his new role as director of spiritual formation in Africa, Havercamp will be leading a team to bring spiritual formation to 550 full-time staff and 47,000 volunteer leaders. “The opportunity is a perfect fit for Michael’s gifting, experience and, of course, his heart,” Edwards said. “The African leadership could not be more excited for his appointment to this role.”

Havercamp has a doctorate in Christian Spirituality and will be focused on weaving spiritual experiences and practices into Young Life training across a continent where ministry is growing rapidly. He will travel regularly to Africa, coming alongside staff and volunteers to nurture indigenous leaders and equip them to care for the hearts and souls of others. A key part of his work will involve adapting and launching Young Life’s beloved The Good Way, which is a series of personal retreats designed to help U.S. staff encounter Jesus in unhurried, life-giving ways.

Africa is now home to the largest Christian population in the world, with more than 730 million Christians. Of the 4 million young people Young Life is serving around the globe, most of them – 3.2 million – live in Africa. Christianity is flourishing in Africa not just because of its growing birth rate but because the Holy Spirit is moving through local ministry leaders, and ministries have successfully adapted to African contexts. Also in Africa, there is incredible unity among believers. Across Young Life’s senior leadership team and its staff and volunteers in Africa, half are Catholic, and half are Protestant.

Havercamp’s departure marks the end of a significant era for Young Life Catholic Relations, and it highlights just how much has changed since the office began.

Fourteen years ago when Havercamp launched the office, many Protestant Young Life leaders had little understanding of the Catholic faith. In their enthusiasm for evangelization, some leaders encouraged Catholic kids away from their Catholic tradition. As a result, Catholic parents and priests often viewed Young Life with skepticism or mistrust.

Havercamp entered that tension. And what began in 2012 as a one-person office has grown into a team of 10 staff members and nine interns dedicated to helping Young Life live more fully into its ecumenical identity. Over the years, Catholic Relations has welcomed more than 1,000 Catholic adults to Young Life camps and Catholic Summits, trained thousands of Protestant staff in ministering well to Catholic kids, and helped raise up dozens of Catholic staff each year to serve in local Young Life ministries across the country.

“I never set out to craft a Catholic version of Young Life or to make Young Life more Catholic,” Havercamp said. “The goal was always integration. Young Life has Protestant roots, but it’s decidedly ecumenical. The big vision is not to get Young Life into Catholic settings but to welcome Catholics into Young Life ministries so we can serve kids together.”

Over the past 14 years, Young Life has received more than a dozen endorsements from Catholic cardinals and bishops. Young Life has established working agreements with Catholic dioceses and formed academic partnerships with Catholic universities. A Catholic theologian now serves on Young Life’s Theological Advisory Board, and last year the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry welcomed Young Life as an organizational member.

Havercamp said Young Life’s relationship with the Catholic Church has been built patiently, through ground-level relationships and a reliance on the Holy Spirit’s guidance. “God is always the initiator,” he said. “This work takes time. And it always begins with friendship because ecumenism is fragile, nuanced, and often controversial.”

True collaboration, he said, requires humility on both sides. It requires Protestants to be curious about Catholicism, and this leads to deep respect for its traditions and practices. And true collaboration requires Catholics to step beyond programmatic models of ministry and embrace an incarnational approach that prioritizes relationship with Jesus above doctrine.

“I’m grateful for the Catholics who have caught the vision and are willing to engage in ministry outside the church walls,” Havercamp said, “and I’m grateful for the Protestants in Young Life who taught me about the ministry of accompaniment and the art of meeting people where they’re at. I learned about evangelization from Protestants. Later, I discovered how beautifully it aligned with Catholic teaching. I’m so proud of Young Life for truly embracing its ecumenical identity. We in Young Life know this is who we are.”

Young Life’s executive team is using this leadership transition in Catholic Relations as an opportunity to expand the organization’s commitment to this work. As part of this shift, Catholic Relations is being elevated from a director-level office to a vice president-level office. The office will soon be renamed Catholic Engagement to reflect this growth. Young Life is now accepting applications for the Vice President of Catholic Engagement.

Email responses to this update are directed to a shared staff inbox; to contact Michael Havercamp directly, email mhavercamp@gmail.com.