history of klife

KLIFE was started in 1979 in St. Louis, MO by a group of families who sent their kids to a summer camp in Missouri called Kanakuk. These families approached camp leadership to see what could be done to continue the experience their children had during the summer, all year round. In the fall of 1982 a second location of KLIFE was formed in Kansas City. In subsequent years, with the continuous outpouring of God’s blessing, KLIFE now has locations that reach students across the nation.

In the early years of development under the leadership of Doulos Ministries, KLIFE grew to the point of requiring its own parent organization. In the fall of 1989, KLIFE Ministries, Inc. was formed. In 1996, a permanent National Board was added to the structure of the National Support Center, and in 1997 KLIFE HQ was established in Conway, Arkansas.

In the summer of 2002, KLIFE Ministries, Inc. moved its headquarters to Branson, MO, where it exists to serve the local chapters, staff, boards, students, families and communities in the mission, “To point students to Jesus so they will know Him, love Him, walk in surrender to Him and be equipped to point others to Him also.”

History of Kirksville KLIFE

KLIFE, or K-Klub, as it was first known dates back to 1993 when a group of high school students started meeting in the basement of Ben and Betsy Hickman’s home. With the help of several Truman State University volunteers and the group of dedicated parents, the K-Klub started to grow. 

In 1994, 12 families concerned with the void in appropriate youth activities in our community came together in search of solutions. That year the group determined they needed to offer youth a safe, supportive recreational environment and programming for youth ages 6-18. After careful consideration it was decided that an affiliation with the national organization of KLIFE would be pursued. 

The national KLIFE organization came to visit Kirksville to determine if a KLIFE chapter could be successful. The national organization was not very optimistic as they told the Kirksville families they did not feel like Kirksville could handle such an undertaking. The Board felt differently, especially in light of the number of potential student volunteers at Truman and because of the number of Kirksville students who were going to Kanakuk Kamp during the summer. It took 6-12 months, but the Kirksville families convinced the national board they could make a chapter successful. Kirksville is now one of 44 KLIFE chapters nationwide. 

The first official Junior High Klub was held on Sept. 17, 1996, with 12 kids and seven leaders. Now the Middle School Klub – as it is now called – averages 45 students and has 15 leaders.

The first official Senior High Klub was held on Sept. 19, 1996, with 23 kids. Now the Senior High Klub averages 20 students and has 15 leaders. 

In addition, the KLIFE organization added a Little K Klub in 1996.  The Little K Klubs average 65 kids students and 12 leaders. 

One of the key components of KLIFE are small group activities which involve staff and Truman volunteers meetings weekly with groups of 3-10 youth to have more one on one discussion about making good choices and showing the youth how they can have fun without using drugs or alcohol. Currently there are over 230 youth involved in one of twenty-four small groups which are led by a college age mentor.  Kirksville KLIFE has 30 college students leading small groups.

KLIFE’s newest out reach program began in January of 2010.  KLIFE has partnered with Preferred Family, a rehab program for youth, to help at risk teens to make better decisions.  In each month, KLIFE staff and volunteers offer bible studies and monthly events to as many as 25 high school students who are in the program.  In a year’s time, KLIFE is in contact with over 120 from across the State through the Preferred Program.   

Since the early days, there have been several different meeting locations. The Hickman basement location gave way to various rental houses on Jefferson Street, Normal Avenue and Osteopathy Street.

With the rising numbers of participants, the Board decided to purchase land in 2001 to build a KLIFE House. Ground was broken on Sept. 9, 2003, and the new KLIFE facility at 1200 Jamison Street opened their doors in January 2005. The 5,000 square foot youth activity center created adequate space to safely accommodate the increasing numbers of youth participants. The facility includes a “Club Room” that provides a stage for skits and role-playing activities as well as seating that will allow each participant to view the stage. The facility houses “Small Group Rooms,” and it offers a space for kids to “hang out” on the weekend. 

During the summer of 2007, the KLIFE Board concluded that building an additional KLIFE facility would be beneficial due to the large increases in the number of youth participating in the program. The new construction consists of two- 2 bedroom apartments and a girls club room. Each apartment is 900 square feet. The “Club Room,” also 900 square feet, is designed as a meeting room for small group meetings and get togethers.

The staff members are assisted by about 50 volunteers. 

For more information, contact Devon Coulson at devon.coulson@klife.com