Contact: Louise Ward, YouthWorks!, Inc., 612-746-6412

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., Dec. 17 /Christian Newswire/ -- On December 16, 2009, YouthWorks!, Inc.® completed the acquisition of Youth Specialties (YS) from Zondervan. YouthWorks' purchase includes the entire YS brand and the events division; however, the publishing division will continue to operate under Zondervan.

The acquisition blends the ministry of YouthWorks--a multi-denominational family of ministries that plans and implements life-changing, Christ-centered missions trips and ministry experiences--with the complementary work of YS--the international leader in training and equipping youth pastors and youth ministry leaders.

This move realigns YS under the umbrella of the youth ministry-minded organization of YouthWorks, which honors the legacy of the YS founders, positions YS for new success and significantly expands the reach of the YouthWorks family of ministries. YouthWorks currently operates in more than 80 U.S. cities and Canada and has served more than 400,000 participants through 10,000 churches. YS serves more than 10,000 churches and 100,000 youth ministry workers worldwide.

"Both YouthWorks and Youth Specialties were founded to serve the Church by serving youth," said YouthWorks founder and President Paul Bertelson. "We are excited about the complementary aspects each offers and believe the acquisition will enhance both ministries."

For more information on the acquisition visit www.youthworks.com/ys.asp

About YouthWorks!, Inc. (YW)
YW was founded in 1994 as a youth missions ministry with a goal to become a broader resource for the Church--to "Help the Church Be the Church." In 2008, YW expanded its ministry vision to include planning and facilitating ministry experiences for children, youth and families. Today, YW is a family of ministries--YouthWorks Missions, SportsLife Camps, GreaterWorks, YouthWorks Foundation and Recharge. With the addition of Youth Specialties, YW is poised to serve children, youth, college students, multi-generational families of all ages, and youth workers. Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN--with regional offices in Chicago, Philadelphia, Birmingham, AL, and an affiliate in Vancouver, BC--YW operates in more than 80 cities and has served more than 400,000 participants and 10,000 churches since its inception. www.YouthWorks.com.

About Youth Specialties (YS)
For nearly 40 years, YS has worked alongside Christian youth workers of nearly every denomination and youth-serving organization. Each year, YS serves more than 100,000 youth workers worldwide through training seminars and conventions, resources and the Internet. YS produces the YS National Youth Workers Convention for more than 15,000 youth workers each fall; and in the spring hosts the YS One Day(tm) training day for 20,000 youth workers. www.YouthSpecialties.com.