Teen Mania International

Two of my daughters have been at Teen Mania for the past two years and have receive incredible experience, great motivation, wonderful insight about of they are and who God is in them.

It's a safe, yet real world environment that prepares them for the rest of their lives.

My two youngest daughters will be heading soon also.

This is a must for any young people that are seeking God's face in their future career choices.

Thanks Tenn Mania and Ron Luce and the rest of the staff...

This will be the second year that I have been with Teen Mania, I have seen some things which I don't agree with, but I wholeheartedly agree with the vision this ministry has for the Teens in this world, and the Lost who they can reach. I have been transformed in my own walk with them as a continue to learn how to draw closer and closer to the Lord. Here I have Learned to strive after the heart of God before I strive after my own righteousness and turn towards God whenever I feel wrongly about myself or anyone else. i have been To Acquire the Fires, on Global Expedition Trips, and through the internship programs.

I have interned with Teen Mania for 2 years and now I am on staff with them. They have their faults like any organization, but those faults are outweighed by the impact they have made on my and many other peoples lives.
While being here, I have solidified my relationship with God and learned what it means to be a true leader - to serve. It has given me the perfect platform to learn on my own and with their direction. I can honestly say that without Teen Mania I know where I would be but I don't think I would like it. I would be doing what I thought I was supposed to do, but I would be empty inside and missing something. And I might be trying to fill that hole in so many other ways than in the way that it is supposed to be filled - with Jesus.

I've gone to an Acquire the fire, through the internship program, and on a Global Expeditions trip. This ministry has encouraged my faith and growth as a believer and I've loved my time here. It is very inspiring to see eighteen-year-olds running much of the ground work of the ministry. There are always mixed reviews because you can't satisfy everyone, but after working with the leadership team the last year, I'm convinced that they try to do what is wise and best in God's eyes and for the good of everyone around them.

I came to Teen Mania as an intern and it was the best experience of my life! They taught me how to live out what the Lord was teaching me and trained and equipped me as a leader. I stayed a few more years as a leader on the campus and got to know the leadership and really respect and trust them. Ron is a great man and is running Teen Mania in a great and honorable way. I trust him completely and know that they are making every effort to be wise with their finances and go out of their way to be honest and transparent with those who are donating as well as anyone with questions or concerns.

The creepiest, most extravagant, useless, and ridiculous organization I've ever encountered. They do not use money wisely. They do not respect interns and volunteers. It turns normal human beings into over-emotional Christian robots and have I mentioned brainwashing? Yes. That too.

One of my favorite ministries out there. I went on 2 missions trips with them, worked as an intern for 2 years, worked on staff for a year, went to over 17 Acquire the Fire events, took my youth group to 2 ATF events, and pretty much love everything about it. Going from donor, to volunteer, to participant, to staff, and then back to donor, I've seen all aspects of this organization. The leadership is trustworthy and empathetic, and the ministry makes a serious impact. Want your donation to go a long way? Donate to Teen Mania.

Teen Mania has changed my life. I have been to this internship, and I have sent many kids from my own church to partake in this amazing life changing program. Teen Mania is cutting edge, and the leaders of youth ministry international, I think we could all use a little more Ron Luce in our church's.

I do not trust Teen Mania after what happened this week. I participated in two Teen Mania mission trips in the past. Now as a 30-something adult, I have concerns about this organization. On my personal blog, I posted a link to the MSNBC documentary "Mind Over Mania." I also wrote in general terms about some of my concerns. I received 2 critical comments on my blog from a woman who represented herself as a neutral third party on my blog. She works for Teen Mania and I traced her IP to Teen Mania. It is a violation of PR code of ethics to represent yourself as a neutral third party when you have a material connection. Their social media manager also has been caught doing this. It is unethical. When I discovered she worked for TM, I told her I would speak with her over the phone about my concerns. I haven't heard from her in close to 48 hours. To read more about this, go to: http://www.recoveringalumni.com/2012/01/teen-manias-communications-consultant.html

Teen Mania has been an integral part of my life since I was 14 years old. I began as a teenager, simply attending their Aquire the Fire conferences, which changed my life, encouraged me to stay on a course that would keep me out of 'trouble' and uplifted my heart. Then, at 15 I went on my first mission outreach with them in the summer of 92. My life was changed forever. That trip was not perfect, as most things in life, BUT it was perfect for me and I had the opportunity to experience first-hand a renewed relationship with God, and how I could tangibly love people. My eyes were opened. I continued to go on summer missions outreaches with Teen Mania for years after that, serving the people of other countries, growing in my faith in God, and growing as a young leader. The leadership examples provided by Teen Mania were stellar and set an example for me of the type of person I wanted to be when I 'grew up'. I was challenged, I was trained practically in leadership, and I was encouraged as a person to pursue the dreams for my life stored up in my heart. Now, as an adult, I continue to serve Teen Mania in various roles as time and my job permits. My husband and I serve in a role called Project Directors, where we now get the chance to influence young people for good during the summer mission outreaches. I highly recommend Teen Mania Ministries to anyone- whether they are considering going on a summer missions trip/outreach, working on staff, or attending the Honor Academy. I have worked in over 50 countries so far in my short life and worked with over ten short-term Christian mission agencies, and my honest assessment is that Teen Mania ranks as top 3 in the world as far as short-term missions outreach agencies are concerned. Again, they are not perfect by any means, but then again, who is. No one. But, they are stellar at what they do, and the character, integrity, and motive you will find 'behind the scenes' of the organization are first-class. Go on a trip with them, attend the Honor Academy, become a Donor, ... I recommend it all. If you have a hungry heart to love the Lord and serve Him, a heart to contribute to and change the world through your life, a desire to invest in something that is changing the world for good and positively influencing America's young people at the same time, then Teen Mania Ministries is definitely the ministry to join hands with.

Teen Mania has played a vital role in my adult life. I was an intern with the ministry from 2000-2002, I felt that Teen Mania did a amazing job at equipping me for adult hood. There were so many invaluable lessons that I learned while working with this orginization, from the basics of how to balance a check book to how to be a leader in the work place. I feel that the staff are invested in training young adults to be sucessfull in the real world. As a Mother of 4 children I can not wait for the day that my children are old enough to participate in the Honor Academy or with Global Expeditions. I also feel that Global Expeditions does an amazing job teaching teens how to serve and make an impact in the world they live in. I have seen how the staff value safety of the teenagers and as a Mother I appreciate their dedication and wisdom they use while on mission trips

Teen Mania has become so dear to my heart in so many ways. Through their Acquire the Fire events I came to the Lord. Through their internship program I have grown so much closer to Him. Through everything they do, Teen Mania represents Christ and goes after His purpose and not their own. I completely trust the leadership at Teen Mania and know that I can always seek guidance and wisdom from them. Working for Teen Mania has been an incredible opportunity for me to grow in professionalism, generosity, love, character, and in my relationship with Jesus. Teen Mania has taught me how important it is to always be ministry minded, and to always have the interest of those around me at the forefront of my mind. I have never met people so focused on the Lord, and I have built some of the strongest friendships at Teen Mania. It is my second home!

Im honestly not happy with Teen Mania. I have seen many videos and heard many stories about Teen Mania. I have a close friend who went there for a program where you have to go through physical harm. She suffered from food posioning from catfood, severe body exhaustion, and was minutes away from kidney failure. It was a horrible experince for her. We all have out opinions about things, and this is mine.

I went to an Acquire the Fire in 2003, then attended the internship in 2004. This organization has been foundational in my life and to who I am am today. God used this organization to build a solid biblical foundation in my life and understand my calling in life. I have been blessed because of this organization and would support anyone who wants to get involved.
Check out Acquire the Fire conferences, Global Expeditions missions trips, or Honor Academy internships.

I attended ATFs as a High School student and was truly blessed. After recently committing my life to the Lord, I felt "alone" at my school, as if I were the only Christian. When I went to the ATF I felt so encouraged and inspired. I went back to school, started leading in my school Christian Club, and led several of my close friends back to the Lord.

I also traveled on several mission trips with Teen Mania. Those experienced changed the way I looked at life, and have changed my life forever.

Teen Mania has not only impacted my life but had been an outlet to impact hundreds of thousands of other teens in my generation. I'm so grateful for Ron & Katie Luce as well as all of the others on the leadership team at TM. I support them & I thank God for their obedience to His leading.

At the end of the day, it's not about TM and what they can do right or may have done wrong. I'm grateful that TM is more worried about promoting the things of God than itself! This is seen in the GE trips that minister to the youth just as much as the nationals as well as the ATFs that are centered around youth having encounters with God rather than just a fun concert event.

My life was changed because TM created an atmosphere for me to encounter God back in 2004 on my first GE trip. It's because of the impact that TM had then and since then that I have been an intern and still work with the HA today after 3 years of being here! I'm committed to inviting my generation to experience the same thing that I did --- regardless of if it is through TM or not! I've just found that TM is a great outlet to do it and I love TM's heartbeat to 'provoke this generation to passionately pursue Jesus Christ and to take His life-giving message to the ends of the earth!'

Praise God for organizations like TM! My generation needs more like it!

I've been connected with Teen Mania since 1997. I love the vision of Teen Mania, especially their missions department, Global Expeditions. The peopel on staff and those volunterering in the organization serve and love teenagers more than many organizations out there. They take serious Christ's commands to make deciples of all nations, and give teenagers a spectacular experience that brings about change and healing in their own lives, while allowing them to impact hurting people around the world. They make safefy and quality ministry a priority while on the field. You cna trust their heart and decisions.

This is a great organization with a dynamic vison that is making a highly positive and significant impact on our world. Its core values of integrity and honor have provided it with a platform to make a difference in countless lives. I highly recommend this organization. I have been involved with this organization since 2004 and have personally seen the integrity and high caliber in its leadership.

They treat their animals better than they treat their interns, at least the ones they don't drown in the pond. The sleep deprive their interns and expect them to pay around 8 grand for the opportunity to work for them! The interns are served poor quality food and are yet told their body is a temple. The leadership is defensive and will not make any changes although year after year they spirituals, emotionally, and psychologically abuse their interns and a good portion of their staff. This "ministry" is all about padding the pockets, and not about God... if this ministry were legit, don't you think a revival like no other would have hit the local area? its all about the charisma and little about the people involved. Once they have you "saved" they could care less about you. They are emotionally burning their interns. So yes... their interns do "acquire the fire" and learn to be just as legalistic and compassion-less as their leadership.

I attended Acquire the Fire the youth conference that Teen Mania puts on around the country. It was there that I learned about he internship that God used to change my life. I spent two years there and it was the best financial and spiritual investment could have ever made. Because of what I learned there, I left a strong professional at a very young age, a better woman for the man that I would marry, but moreover a.stronger Christian ready to be a part of advancing the Kingdom. since my time at Teen Mania I have donated regularly and received financial updates, donation records and even phone calls just to see how my family is doing. I would never have a second thought about
this ministry's spiritual or financial soundness.

I've been studying and researching religious abuse for seven years, and I have never heard of a more abusive group than Teen Mania Ministries. I've heard firsthand accounts of near-sadistic levels of physical, emotional, mental, verbal, and spiritual abuse. The group's teaching methods are authoritarian, harsh, controlling, bullying, and manipulative. The culture and doctrine actively promotes works-based righteousness through legalistic rules, elitism, self-righteousness, and false interpretations of Scripture. The leaders (including Dave Hasz and Heath Stoner) are on record lying to the media and to parents.

Teen Mania manipulates its interns with mind-control methods such as sleep deprivation, verbal abuse, malnourishment, strenuous exercise, double standards, Scripture twisting, and bullying, all of which have a lot in common with brainwashing done by the most extreme cults. Interns must promise never to speak ill of Honor Academy or its leaders, and are taught that if they leave early, God hates them.

In "Life-Transforming Events" such as the infamous "ESOAL," teens are subject to extreme situations that result in many recurring injuries. They are told that this will help them achieve "Burial and Resurrection" of their sinful flesh to make them able to live for God. The Bible, on the other hand, says "Severity to the body is of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh"(Colossians 2:23). This is just one example of Teen Mania's blatantly false and destructive doctrines.

This group bears more resemblance to a cult than to any form of biblical Christianity. I'm deeply sorry for anyone who went here, and I urge everyone to get the facts before considering working with them in any way. Anybody who would consider sending their own kids here either doesn't know all the facts or is a sadistic bully. Don't be fooled by the facade!

I first attended a Teen Mania/Acquire the Fire event my junior year in high school and it was something I wish every high schooler could experience. The thoughts shared that weekend made me really look inside at who I was, and prompted me to continue making the right choices. In 2002 I participated in Teen Mania's Honor Academy internship for a calendar year and the leadership growth was excellent. It truly has shaped my life, character and professional career choices.

In 2006 I went on a mission trip with Global Expeditions to India. The thoughtfulness and preparation put into training, safety, and quality was above and beyond my experience with two other mission organizations.

I was an intern with the Honor Academy back in 1994. I was in college during the time I heard of it and dropped out of college to attend. It is one of the best decisions I have ever made. The year in the Honor Academy was transformational for me in my love for God and love for people. I was inspired to grow in my character and discipline. My vision for my life was clarified through the great classes that were offered. The relationships I formed during the Honor Academy with other interns were so life-giving. These inspired me in my walk with God and over 17 years later, we are still in contact and spurring each other onward.

I have three children of my own and look forward to the day that they each, God willing, attend the Honor Academy.

After attending several "Aquire The Fire" youth conventions and hearing their pitch for their year-long internship, I decided to drop out of college to attend Teen Mania's Honor Academy. I really wanted to build discipline, character, and honor in my life, and to find God's true purpose and calling.

What I experienced was much different than what I was sold. I worked 60+ hours a week for a verbally abusive boss who would publicly berate me for leaving my desk to go to the bathroom or make copies. We were all housed in tiny rooms with 6 people total, no access to fresh veggies and limited fruit. We were extremely sleep deprived because in addition to being completely overworked, we also had 4 classes with homework every week, a mandatory hour of devotionals every morning, meetings and conventions on the weekends, mandatory fasting, and required exercise for 60 minutes, 5 times a week. We also had mandatory retreats with role playing that at times became violent and abusive. This is all while WE paid Teen Mania to WORK for THEM. There was very little spiritual mentoring, but there was a prevalence of spiritual abuse and manipulation. We were told that if we left the internship before our 12 month commitment was up for any reason that God would be displeased with us and that we would never be entrusted with His work or commitment again.

My experience as a former intern at the "Honor Academy" was anything but honorable. I think they may have started with good intentions, but what this organization has evolved into is nothing close to a positive experience for young people. Ron Luce is a charismatic speaker who is very convincing, but when you really dissect some of the things he's saying you'll find it's very works driven. Once students begin the Honor Academy there is even more intense pressure on students to measure up and be perfect in order to be acceptable to God. As a result of this pressure to be perfect, the mandatory fasting, and excessive exercise I developed an eating disorder that took years to recover from. Teen Mania uses its interns as free labor in order to fund their "ministry". As a parent and wife of a youth minister, I would NEVER send my daughter there, and I would do anything I could to keep the students in our church from getting involved with this organization.

I worked/volunteered for Teenmania for 2 years. Teenmania is a "christian factory". They take kids and give them an [inaccurate] academic understanding of who God is. The emotion/relational aspects that they do hit on are based on hype and shame.

I spent many summers in my youth hawking Teen Mania wears only to discover that, honor, and passion and zeal for God is nothing more then a marketing ploy to fuel the 'great machine' that Luce built.

Abuse is rampant in every level of the organization, interns ( the heart of the operation, i.e.free labor) live in cramped quarters are deprived of adequate nutrition, sleep, and access to basic medical facilities, and are treated as disposable products instead of people.

They have no problem lying or manipulating to have their needs met so long as it means money in their pockets.

I wouldn't send my dog to teen mania, let alone a teenager.

Wonderful organization in which I originally was a volunteer as a teenager. I was involved in their Honor Academy for 1 year and volunteered for several years with their missions trips through Global Expeditions. Now I have become a donor because I believe in the work of this organization. My life was personally impacted through this organization as a teenager. I know that the staff and the volunteers are still making an impact on youth and evangelism throughout the world. I strongly recommend this organization.

I love Teen Mania!! They are a non-profit organization that focuses on reaching out to young people in America through events called Acquire the Fire and BattleCry that take place throughout the school year. Teen Mania also has a worldwide missions program called Global Expeditions that empowers teens and young people to go out into the world and help people in need. I was an intern at Teen Mania for 12 months at their Honor Academy campus which is the base of operations for the ATF events and GE mission trips. While at the Honor Academy I got to help plan mission trips and go on a few myself. It was awesome to see hundreds of American teens go on these trips and have their eyes opened to the conditions of people around the world and also for them to see that they could make an impact in the lives of those people.