November 3, 2025
Youth For Christ Military honors Veterans Day and recognizes military-connected young people
Military Executive Director, Nick Kmoch: ‘We get to play a role of stability of presence, reminding them of God’s presence in their life’
DENVER — On Veterans Day, November 11, Youth For Christ (YFC, www.yfc.net) honors the brave men and women in America’s military, and their families, highlighting the unique social challenges faced by their children.
For over 40 years, YFC has been honored to serve and encourage the children of military families. YFC Military was created at the request of U.S. Army Chaplains to minister to teens who face the struggles and issues inherent in military living.
According to YFC Military Executive Director Nick Kmoch, “A family that loses the active presence of a parent through deployment faces significant challenges and stress. Family members often feel isolated, unsupported and anxious. Some families must also deal with the unthinkable trauma of having a parent seriously injured or even killed.”
Kmoch understands the distinctive world of military life. After spending 18 years working with YFC’s Greater Iowa chapter, he joined YFC Military following the passing of Kurt Anderson, who spent 20 distinguished years serving in the role of YFC Military Executive Director.
“Military life is unique. Military families move, on average, every two-and-a-half years. My family is a military family. In addition to my role with YFC, I also serve as a chaplain in the United States Army, so my family knows all too well the pressures of deployments, moves and being gone for long periods of time. It’s the normal experience you have as a teenager, but ramped up because your world gets shaken up a lot,” Kmoch said.
To support this unique dynamic, YFC Military partners with local chaplains, churches, schools and other like-minded organizations to reach military-connected young people. While the ministry utilizes YFC’stime-tested mentor approach to cultivating unconditional, authentic Christ-sharing relationships, Kmoch notes the challenges in ministering to a community that’s continually changing.
Kmoch observed, “Many of these young people are continually experiencing life transitions. On average, a military child is going to move between seven and nine times before they graduate high school. So, as you can imagine, there’s a lot of new community, new friends and new places as they move around. We get to offer a stable presence, while reminding them of God’s presence in their life.”
But despite the external differences of living in a military base, Kmoch says military-connected young people also face the usual challenges of being a teenager.
Kmoch shared, “Our Campus Life staff is doing the same thing that other Campus Life staff are doing across the country. They’re going on campus, connecting with kids, learning their story and getting to share a little bit of their story and God’s story alongside it. And while many of these military installations have big walls with guards and guns that stand on the outside, on the inside, there are kids who are just looking for a connection. Our staff meets these young people wherever they find them. Whether that’s at the bowling alley, at the school, in a chapel program or at a camp, the location doesn’t matter. We go where kids are.”
No matter the situation, and no matter the parents’ station, YFC Military remains committed to meeting the unique needs of service members’ children.
Kmoch said, “YFC Military understands the challenges of military life, and we meet military-connected youth where they are to help them give life to their story. Our vision is that all military-connected youth can be engaged in authentic Christ-sharing relationships, regardless of where their families serve!”
To learn more about YFC Military, click here to watch this powerful video.
Youth For Christ (YFC) has been a leader in missional youth outreach for 81 years and is dedicated to uncovering God’s story of hope in the next generation that desperately needs it. YFC reaches young people everywhere, working together with the local church and other like-minded partners to raise up lifelong followers of Jesus who then lead by their godliness in lifestyle, devotion to the Word of God and prayer, passion for sharing the love of Christ, and commitment to social involvement.
YFC chapters impact thousands of communities across the nation, seeking out and serving youth from all walks of life. Young people are silently struggling through a wide variety of challenging issues — and through the YFC ministry, God empowers them and they see the living power of a loving God. YFC trains its leaders in a proven, relational ministry model called 3Story®, which encourages staff and volunteers to be the good news while also sharing the stories of the Good News of Jesus. It involves building relationships through the ups and downs of everyday life to lead people to Christ.
YFC has been a pillar of missional ministry since 1944, when Dr. Billy Graham served as YFC’s first full-time staff member. Since then, Youth For Christ has continued to be both a rural and urban ministry on mission, and it is always about the message of Jesus. Youth For Christ USA has over 113 chapters that impact communities across America and is one of over 100 nations within Youth For Christ International.
Learn more about Youth For Christ at its website, www.yfc.net, Facebook and Instagram pages or on Vimeo.
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To interview a Youth For Christ representative, contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096, ext. 105, Dawn Foglein, ext. 100, or Daniel Moyer, ext. 104.
