How To Teach Teenagers About Love and Relationships
If there’s one topic that never stops dominating your students’ thoughts, conversations, and social media feeds—it’s love and relationships. But
If you’re feeling conflicted, hurt, or even a little lost about what’s happening with Orange, you’re not alone. If you’re not aware of what’s happening with Orange right now, here’s the overview:
Last year, it came out that there was sexual misconduct and abuse between Orange’s Founder and the President of Orange. Both leaders resigned when the news broke. The new, interim leadership of Orange steadied the ship over the remainder of 2024, but there were questions about the future of Orange with the sudden departure of its core leadership. In January of this year, Orange merged with a company based out of Texas called Amazing Life.
Leading up to the merger, Amazing Life set the expectation that in order to remain on staff, every Orange employee would need to, within seven days, sign a non-compete agreement—signing away their ability to earn a living at another church resourcing company for at least a year after their departure from Amazing Life—whenever that departure may be. Several key leaders within Orange felt uncomfortable signing the document, and were fired or forced to resign. The remaining employees did sign the non-compete agreement.
A few weeks later, Orange leadership under Amazing Life fired 25 Orange employees (a large percentage of their remaining staff) with no warning.
This was a legal move, but for a Christian company to operate this way is unsettling. And it leaves questions about whether or not Orange should be the presumptive go-to youth ministry curriculum anymore.
I’ll be honest with you—this is difficult for me personally. I’ve benefited so much from Orange over the years. I’ve walked away from their conferences refreshed, inspired, and better equipped to minister to students. Back in 2018, as I was on the verge of launching G Shades, several leaders in Orange played a key role in my story.
A few Orange leaders invited me behind the curtain at their conference, sitting in their VIP section, watching the team run a world-class event. I got a peek into what it takes to resource the church on a large scale—and it was both humbling and inspiring. I couldn’t believe these amazing leaders saw me as worthy of hanging out with them. And at the very same time, I felt for the first time that perhaps it wasn’t so crazy for me to believe that someday I would have a seat at the table.
My only complaint about OC was that the lines to meet Andy Stanley were always too long. So one year I just did this instead.
That experience helped me believe that I could do this. It gave me confidence, vision, and a sense of belonging in a space where I was just getting started. For that, I’m deeply grateful for Orange the organization and several of the Orange leaders who were behind it.
But since spring of last year, all of those leaders have been let go or painfully forced out. And, I get it, most people don’t stay at one organization forever. But when you follow the thread and do the math, something’s up. Something has gone wrong. So as much as I appreciate the company, I can’t ignore how it’s treated its people.
I don’t think the rest of the youth ministry community should, either.
This is the question a lot of youth pastors are wrestling with right now. Many of us have seen the Facebook threads, heard the conversations, and felt the unease. Although perhaps you’re reading this and processing it freshly for the first time. It’s possible that you may decide the right move for your church is to stick with Orange through the difficulties of this transition. Maybe for you and your ministry, that’s the right move.
As you process your way through this, if you’re considering whether Orange youth ministry curriculum is still the right fit for your ministry, here are a few steps to help you process this decision:
Sometimes, though, when something unexpected and difficult happens in life, it gives us space to pause, take a step back, and reevaluate some things as a whole. I believe we would be wise to take a step back here and reevaluate what the next generation needs in their teaching as a whole.
For a long time, I think many of us have settled when it comes to curriculum. We’ve accepted a teaching model that feels safe but doesn’t always dig deep into the gospel. We’ve leaned into resources that focus on character development, but not always on heart transformation.
And I get it. Orange’s resources have always been easy to use. They’ve always been polished, packaged, and ready to go. And when it comes to integrating developmental psychology into youth ministry practices, Orange has been top notch for quite some time. But now more than ever, our students need more than that. They need teaching that doesn’t just make them better kids—they need teaching that helps them see the world through the lens of the gospel.
I’m not here to tell you what to do about Orange youth ministry curriculum. But I am here to challenge you: Don’t settle. Your students deserve gospel-centered curriculum.
If you’re feeling the weight of this transition, G Shades is here to help. The X’s and O’s of transitioning resources can be tricky and financially burdensome. Please reach out via Contact Form or Zoom Call. We’ll figure it out together.
In everything we do here at G Shades, we like to throw on a gospel lens for it. So I’ll allow a gospel lens to have the final word.
All throughout human history, God has taken broken things and woven them into something beautiful. From the garden of Eden to the life of David to the story of the early church, God has consistently brought redemption and renewal out of even the messiest situations. Each and every one of us is so deeply imperfect, and yet He uses us every week to help students follow Jesus.
The situation with Orange is a reminder that God often works through imperfect people and organizations. There is so much grace for shortcomings, both on an individual and corporate level.
But we must also have discernment. Something is wrong at Orange, and Orange youth ministry curriculum may not be the right fit in this season.
I believe God is at work, even in the mess of this situation. I’m praying for healing, for wisdom, and for a renewed sense of calling for all of us who get to serve students. I’m praying for my church resourcing friends and mentors who experienced hurt at the company they loved and faithfully served. I hope you’ll join me in praying for them too.
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