Volunteer with Freedom for Youth
Live out God’s word as you teach, lead, and encourage young Iowans. With locations across the state, we have a volunteer opportunity
just for YOU.
If you like getting silly, having fun and answering unfiltered questions from K-5th grade students, Whiz-Kidz is the spot for you! In this program, our students are introduced to Jesus Christ — often for the very first time — and learn of his love through the love of volunteers focused on helping them build confidence in academics and growing as young leaders. Volunteers see students thrive as they gain healthy friendships, grow in their knowledge and confidence, and develop their personal faith in Jesus Christ through song, craft, small group lessons, and more! Whiz-Kidz is our foundational program so there are volunteer opportunities at nearly every location in the state.
Volunteer opportunities include:
Craft Leader - Help provide a craft for K-5th to help engage in their lesson or verse for the week. This could be as a station during free-time or in small groups.
Educational Support - Help a specific student reach an academic goal/milestone by assisting with homework or working through different educational worksheets and games.
Guest Speaker - Come share a fun, engaging activity that will help our younger students grow in knowledge, explore something new, and have fun!
Meal Ministry - Provide a meal or help ensure food and supplies are in place for program. Help recruit others to share a meal
Music Leader - Share your gift and talents with our elementary group by bringing or presenting music to help engage students with song to help memorize their verses, drive a Bible story home, or simply to have fun!
Reading Buddies - Engage one-on-one or in small groups with students during weekly program to progress through Freedom’s reading program materials.
Small Group Leader - Help lead a small group through the Bible curriculum and activities such as an object lesson, skit, memory verse, game, and more, ensuring the Gospel is presented at every program opportunity.
Things get serious — but not TOO serious — in our Discovery program, where 6th-8th graders begin to learn more about who they are and why God made them. Volunteers get to walk alongside students, helping them explore God’s unique purpose for their lives. Discovery volunteers support students as they grow in their faith, prepare for the future, and become young leaders in their families, communities, and schools.
Volunteer opportunities include:
Educational Support - Help a student with their homework or provide other tutoring as needed for specific topics and classes. What is your expertise?
Guest Speakers - Share about a profession, a life skill, testimony, or devotion on your heart to students eager to hear from you as you help them discover career opportunities, new opportunities and skills while meeting new people!
Life Skills Instructors and Assistants - Share your God-given talents, hobbies, or skills with students giving them opportunities to discover new things in a weekly class or bt hosting a workshop.
Meal Ministry - Provide a meal or help ensure food and supplies are in place for program. Help recruit others to share a meal.
Music Leader - Share your gifts and talents with our middle-school group by presenting or performing music during worship.
Small Group Leader - Help lead a small group through the Bible curriculum and activities provided, engaging each student, sharing the hope of the Gospel, and providing a time of prayer.
Volunteers in Journey are there at another critical moment in the lives of our 9th -12th grade youth, often acting as a safe source of information and support when they’re beginning to build a solid foundation for a bright future of purposeful employment and financial stability. Volunteers help Journey students graduate with a plan by working through MY Achievement Plans that point them to Jesus while establishing future goals and dreams.
Volunteer opportunities include:
Educational Support - Help assist with homework or provide other tutoring as needed for specific topics and classes. Help students study for ACTs, driver’s license, and more! What is your expertise?
Guest Speakers - Share about a profession, a life skill, testimony, or devotion on your heart to students eager to hear from you as you help equip high schoolers for the next step in their life.
Life Skills Instructors and Assistants - Share your God-given talents, hobbies, or skills with students finding direction and focusing more on their own unique purpose and gifting. Take students to the next level to help master a skill or form of art through a weekly class or workshops.
Meal Ministry Teams - Provide a meal or help ensure food and supplies are in place for program, and may help recruit individuals or groups to provide meals.
Mentor - Walk through students’ My Achievement Plans to ensure each student has a plan when they graduate, and identify any roadblocks that may be keeping them from reaching their goals. Build meaningful relationships through communication; invite them to your worship services; and encourage them in their spiritual development.
Music Leader - Share your gift and talents with our high-school group by presenting or performing music to engage them in worship. Include students who desire to participate and lead in worship.
Small Group Leader - Help lead a small group through the Bible curriculum and activities provided, engaging each student, sharing the hope of the Gospel, and providing a time of prayer.
Elevate is a personal and professional development program that equips young adults to confidently step into their futures. By intentionally encouraging empowering them through personal and professional development, they begin to discover their worth in Christ, and become better equipped to step into their future with confidence and hope.
The program offers different perspectives and opportunities, giving particiants tools for improved personal and professional living. By uncovering daily influences, unhealthy behaviors, and persistent roadblocks, this program equips young adults to confidently pursue their future with purpose.
The modular training is delivered in two different training formats to fit participants’ busy schedules and life commitments. A concentrated schedule of two two-hour sessions per week over 10 to 12 weeks covers subjects across a broad spectrum of topics for focused, integrated learning. Stand-alone evening three-hour workshops focus on specific subjects at a more relaxed pace. Both approaches intentionally cover topics such as healthy conflict resolution, interviewing strategies and skills, parenting and nutrition, values, goal setting, budgeting, time management, U. S. Citizenship prep, and more.
The program leaders can’t make healthy behavior choices and use new support systems for any young adult, but they can provide a safe and non-judgmental space to process and learn, the truth about their value and worth in Jesus Christ and to others, and tools to build healthy foundations for life.
Life skills are a key component of every program, no matter the age of the students because we want our young people to explore their God-given talents and expand their interests in hobbies and dreams. By offering different volunteer-led hard and soft skills classes and workshops, students uncover their value and discover new skills that may last a lifetime.
Volunteers lead a variety of skills classes that fall into the following five: categories: construction & trades, fine arts, home & hobby, health & fitness, and business.
Other Opportunities (one time or ongoing)
If you’re looking to volunteer for one-time, group, or ongoing projects we still have a place for you! Our other opportunities include community outreach efforts, administrative tasks, work groups, or maintenance teams. Just let us know how you’d like to serve!
Advocate and Community Connection - Help spread the word about Freedom at any event with your church and help develop relationships and connections with potential community partners.
Freedom Quest Outreach - Help deliver Bible studies, games, crafts, and fun during Freedom Quest events and build relationships to launch new locations around the state.
Prayer Partners - Lift up and intercede on behalf of the ministry students and young adults in our programs, staff, and volunteers. Join our quarterly night of prayer and receive specific prayer requests to be incorporated in your daily prayer.
Administrative Teams - Keep communications, behind-the-scene tasks, records, and supplies organized, processed, updated, and inventoried. From logging attendance to organizing books.
Cleaning and Sanitizing - Help maintain safe and clean meeting spaces for our students with routine cleaning and periodic deep cleaning of program meeting locations.
Maintenance and Work Groups - Youth groups, Bible study groups, families, school groups, coworkers, etc. help with one-time, monthly, quarterly small projects or one big project at our centers, that could include but not limited to painting, weeding, yard work, cleaning, etc.
At Freedom for Youth Ministries our desire is to empower and equip people as they are called to reach youth across Iowa. To become a Freedom volunteer please review our core ministry values and statement of faith, then complete and submit a volunteer application! For more information, email info@freedomforyouth.org or call (515)282-4822. (We require that volunteers are at least high school age)