Our Story

1972

After several years of dreaming,  planning, and praying, 3 seminary students in Jackson, MS organized and held the first ever RYM Summer Conference at King College in Bristol, TN, After praying for 50 students to attend, the organizers were thrilled when 125 showed up!

2005

After 30yrs+ of having the RYM Board plan and run RYM conferences (which by this time had grown tremendously and were attended by over 1,000 students each summer), the Board voted to hire Rev. Joey Stewart as its first Executive Director.  Joey began to cast and build out a vision for RYM beyond its conference ministry

2006

Though it had long offered elective classes for Youth Leaders at its conferences, RYM officially started its signature Youth Leader Training conference as an effort to provide philosophical, theological and practical youth ministry training for Youth Leaders.

2016-2019

These years were years of tremendous growth for RYM, as it hired Michael Hall as its Director of Training, John Perritt as its Director of Resources, and Joe Deegan as its Worship Resources Coordinator. By this time, RYM had added a second YLT offering, and was hosting 6 summer conferences around the country.

2020-2021

The period of time leading up to and during the pandemic were tough years for RYM, as for everyone. Conferences were cancelled, Training Events operated at severely reduced capacity, and finances were tight. Through this time, the Staff and Board continued to ask "How do we serve the Church in all of this?" RYM pivoted in many ways and explored new ways of doing digital ministry - of which several efforts continue today!

2022-Present

The Lord continues to strengthen and bless RYM with ministry opportunities after Covid-era challenges. In 2022, RYM hired its next Executive Director, Brent Corbin, to prepare for a new season of growth. In 2025 RYM will host over 300 ministry leaders at its Training Events, 5,000+ students and leaders at its National Summer Youth Conferences, and will reach 100,000+ people through its various Resource offerings.

Expanding the vision...

RYM is praying about ways to grow and expand its service to the Church all across the US. If you are interested in partnering with RYM in expanding our mission and ministry into new places, or if you are a Church looking for ways to connect with RYM toward these ends, contact Brent Corbin and he will be in touch with you about RYM's future!