Christian Youth Theater (CYT) is an after-school theater arts training program for students ages 4-18. Since its founding in 1980, CYT has grown to be the largest youth theater program in the nation, with Branches across the country training thousands of students a year.

Each Branch’s yearly calendar is made up of three ten-week sessions: Fall, Winter, and Spring. These session involves after-school classes in theater arts and the opportunity to audition and perform in a Broadway-style musical or work behind-the-scenes. Additionally, CYT offers a Summer session consisting of camps, workshops, and performance opportunities.

CYT stands in the forefront in its commitment to the highest ethical, moral, technical, and artistic standards of excellence. Instructors are professionals, qualified in teaching and/or performing, who understand our mission statement, values, objectives, and goals.

Mission Statement
Christian Youth Theater develops Christ-like character and creativity in kids through quality theater arts training that brings families and communities together while reflecting Jesus.

Values​​​​​​

• Character over competition: Our intentional focus is on knowing Jesus and becoming more like Him. We earnestly desire growth in love for God, in the knowledge of His love for us, and in a humble life that pours out love towards others.
• People over programs: We exist for our communities: those we know and those we have yet to meet. The people. We were created for companionship, and at CYT, we long to see strangers become neighbors and neighbors become community. This is our calling. We love God, and we love and value His people. We see and welcome people for who they uniquely are and not just what they can do for our organization.
• Service over spotlight: We believe in serving others in sacrificial and tangible ways. CYT exists for opportunities to know and see needs, and to meet them as the body of Christ. We see leadership through the lens of servant leadership, as best demonstrated in the person and work of Jesus. We aim to work slowly and mindfully to see the needs that walk through our doors. We would take servanthood over spotlights any day.
• Excellence over ego: We value giving God our first and our best. Excellence is our simplest expression of giving the gifts and talents God has blessed us with back to Him. We don’t seek perfection as a means of outward praise, but excellence as a form of worship from a heart of gratitude and diligence. Being excellent in all we say and do is a way we can be faithful to God’s calling on our lives and in our work.

Paul and Sheryl Russell were both teachers at Christian High in San Diego when they began a community theater from their family garage. It was the summer of 1980 and the show was The Sound of Music. The purpose was to provide a vehicle for talented aspiring performers in San Diego’s local churches.

The families involved in this newly-founded organization, Christian Community Theater (CCT), asked Paul and Sheryl to start an after-school theater arts program for their children. Paul and Sheryl, with two small children of their own and another one on the way, founded Christian Youth Theater (CYT). CYT began with 24 students producing the show You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and continued to grow throughout San Diego County.

In 1997 families from San Diego moved to Chicago, IL and Spokane, WA. Their desire to have CYT in their communities motivated them to start their own local branches under the CYT umbrella.

CYT has now grown to be the largest children’s theater organization of its kind with branches in 17 states. CYT trains more than 20,000 young people annually (as of March 2018).

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