About Us

What is RYS?

RYS is a youth ministry organization committed to the spiritual and social nurturing of our covenant youth. We affirm a biblical worldview that emphasizes that young people live all of life to the honor and glory of God. We strive to model a vibrant, joyous and challenging reformed faith that is inspiring and contagious. We are dedicated to a covenantal, confessional way of life exhibited in our local churches and homes.

We believe that both the content and form of youth ministry is important and must be consistent with our beliefs and at our events. As the post-modern culture wages war with our youth, the Church must do everything it can to counter these attacks. Through its retreats, conferences, conventions and lesson material, RYS strives to encourage, edify, and equip the young people led to our programs so they can grow in the grace and knowledge or our Lord and become healthy 21st century disciples of Christ.

RYS offers young people from junior high to age 30 opportunities to grow in their faith and glorify the Lord. Some of these events include junior high retreats, regional high school retreats, an international high school convention, post-high retreats and conferences, and topical lesson material. At all of our events, we aspire to do everything in a winsome manner and to the glory of God. We are dedicated to promoting the timeless truths of the historic reformed faith and the heritage of our forefathers.

Who is RYS?

Our membership consists of churches that promote and agree with RYS’ perspective of reformed youth ministry. Since 1996, more than 95 congregations representing 25 states and provinces throughout the United States and Canada have joined our fellowship. We view our member churches as our partners in this ministry. RYS’ ministry is accountable to a representative board, which is in turn accountable to the consistory of Cornerstone United Reformed Church in Hudsonville, MI. To contact RYS, email us at rysdirector@gmail.com or (360) 842-1130

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

Convention Records

The first Kyrie youth convention took place in June of 1995 at the Kettunen Center in northern Michigan.

Ed and his wife served on the Kyrie planning committee. Interestingly, RYS has hosted LOGOS events at the same site every other year since 1998 (through 2020). 23 people attended the inaugural LOGOS young adult conference, including Rev. Talman Wagonmaker. Approximately eight pastors have attended LOGOS over the years, including our first Canadian attendee, Rev. Jeremy Veldman, a pastor in the URC.

We started the LOGOS young adult conferences/ retreats on January 1, 1998 and have held two events each year for a total of 57 young adult events. Approximately 2,500 singles from across the country and Canada have attended LOGOS in the past 26 years. 30 couples have met their spouse at LOGOS, for which we praise God!

STEP began in 2000 to provide our mature, professing high school students with an opportunity to participate in local evangelism. Almost 100 students participated in the program which lasted 11 years.

RYS has held high school retreats in the states of IA (discontinued) MI, WA (discontinued), CA, PA since the late 1990s, plus a Midwest Junior High retreat. I would estimate approximately 7,000 youth and leaders have attended these events.

History of RYS

Reformed Youth Services has been serving its member churches since May 1, 1996. The concept of RYS originated at Seventh Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, MI in the mid-1990’s. At the time, many Reformed churches in the midwest were concerned that their young people were lacking youth ministry from a distinctly Reformed perspective. A variety of different Reformed churches were contacted about supporting this new endeavor and an encouraging number pledged their support, both spiritual and financial, towards the ministry of RYS. In October of 1995, Cornerstone URC agreed to be the supervising consistory for the ministry. A steering committee was set and a six-person board was subsequently elected. The pastor of Cornerstone was appointed the chairman. Our first director, Ed DeGraaf, was appointed by the RYS board on April 17, 1996. Thirteen charter member churches committed to supporting the ministry. Since the ministry’s inception, our member churches have emphasized the necessity of the organization functioning under the authority of a specific consistory.

Membership in RYS is by church, not youth groups. RYS views its member churches as partners in its ministry. Every member church is eligible to nominate potential board members, who serve designated terms. No more than one person from a church is permitted to serve on the board and/or committee at a time to encourage widespread participation from our member churches.

We confess, in accordance with Belgic Confession Article XXX (published 1561) that God has established officers in the church to see that “true religion may be preserved, and the true doctrine everywhere propogated, likewise transgressors punished and restrained by spiritual means.” While RYS is certainly not a church, neither are we a parachurch organization. The founders of this youth ministry recognized the benefits of having someone ensure that true religion and doctrine would always be the marks of RYS and who could provide spiritual correction if needed. No better overseers could be found than the overseers Christ himself appointed for the government of His church. Our hope is that such oversight will ensure that our ministry will not be “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine.” (Eph. 4:14 NKJV).

To those ends, the founders of RYS desired to have the overseers Christ has appointed at Cornerstone URC to oversee Reformed Youth Services also, so that RYS might be a work that would always edify the covenant youth and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. Opinions may differ about whether such rigorous accountability is necessary. But this organizational structure, with God’s blessing, has served RYS well since its inception and by God’s continued grace has resulted in consistent, reliable and orthodox teaching.

In 2001, RYS held its first national youth convention at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, PA. Since then, more than 16,000 youth, sponsors and staff have attended this signature annual event. Regional high school retreats are held in the states of California and Pennsylvania annually with member pastors speaking on a variety of biblical topics. RYS has held a Midwest junior high retreat since 1999, attended by sixth, seventh and eighth-graders and their leaders. The STEP (Summer Teen Evangelism Project) program was hosted by member churches from 2000-2011, with almost 100 professing high school students participating in this two week evangelistic program. A total of approximately 30,000 youth and adult leaders have attended RYS events since its inception. We praise God for using all these vehicles to build up the faith entrusted to us by the saints of old.

On October 2, Paul Van Dyke replaced Ed DeGraaf as the Director of RYS after Ed had served the ministry for 27-plus years. 

Since 1996, our membership has grown from 13 to more than 85 member churches in 23 states and provinces in the United States and Canada. A majority of our member churches are United Reformed congregations, but we also have members from the CRC, RCUS, OPC and other independent reformed churches. We thank the Lord for leading these like-minded congregations to partner with us and pray that RYS and its member churches will always be used to bring God glory. Soli Deo Gloria!

Member Church Benefits

RYS Member Benefits include:

Member churches enter into a network of youth leaders and speakers committed to a common Reformed heritage.

RYS has produced a variety of lesson material since 1997, written by member pastors and youth directors which includes helpful leaders guides. This material is available only to member churches and is not for public sale. Check out the link to new lesson materials to view and download the titles of our most recent lesson material booklets.

Member churches are invited to send their covenant youth to RYS sponsored events including: Middle School retreats, High School retreats, single adult post-high retreats (LOGOS) and our national summer convention. Upcoming Events

A quarterly newsletter keeps member churches and leaders informed about past and upcoming events, new resources, and leader lesson materials.

Membership in this website is free to all members or regular attendees of RYS member churches.

If your church is not a member of Reformed Youth Services and is interested in more information about our organization, please have your pastor, elder, deacon or youth leaders contact RYS Director Paul Van Dyke at rysdirector@gmail.com or (360) 842-1130 for a RYS membership packet.