Dr. Jim Oraker

Dr. Jim Oraker, a man who was instrumental in the healing of so many hurting lives, is now himself in the presence of the Great Physician. The gentle counselor with the title “Young Life’s staff psychologist” was best known for his work with troubled adolescents, most notably through the ministry of The Dale House. Moreover, he freely shared the results of his research and expertise with staff in several of Young Life’s publications, so that they too might know best how to care for these dear kids.

Jim’s connection with the mission dates back to his high school years in Bremerton, Washington. “I’d become a Christian through Young Life in the 10th grade.” From that moment on, he was all in. “I organized the club; I did contact work. I was on work crew at Malibu for three summers. For seven summers I cooked there.” And it didn’t stop there. According to a 1963 copy of Young Life magazine, “Besides his culinary talents, Jim also played trombone in the Malibu band and guitar in the folk singing trio so popular each week.”

Jim met Judy Raikko at Young Life club in 1958, and the high school sweethearts married in 1960. As the decade progressed, Jim received his B.A. degree from Seattle Pacific College, his Masters of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary, and his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the Fuller School of Psychology.

It was during this time, according to the book It’s a Sin to Bore a Kid with the Gospel, that Jim and Judy “had been praying about a place in the Young Life family. With the opening of Dale House in Colorado Springs, they recognized their call and joined the staff shortly after the team started to gather.”

The Dale House Project, begun in 1971, was the mission’s approach to caring for some of the one million runaways in the U.S. ​ Jim helped George, Martie, and George Scheffer III create the program, and served as the first clinical director there. Jim soon joined full-time Young Life staff in 1973 and the family moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where The Dale House is still serving hurting kids today.

Jim addressed the rising epidemic of runaways in the early 1970s. “As kids leave home they really aren’t rejecting the idea of family; it’s just that in most cases they’ve never experienced a healthy family that knows to work on caring about each other. That’s what we try to provide.”

After serving on staff in the 1970s and ‘80s, Jim continued to work out his calling to integrate his faith and his work, i.e., his theology and his psychology. He reached students through teaching at University of the Rockies, Fuller Seminary, and Denver Seminary; met with patients through his counseling practice; ministered to families with adolescents through his book Almost Grown; and also served as an ordained Presbyterian minister.

In one of his many Inside the Mission​ articles to Young Life staff, Jim encouraged his fellow brothers and sisters, “As long as I can remember, Young Life has committed itself to ‘helping young people encounter Christ in a meaningful relationship.’ At no time in the history of the mission have these words been more important to teenagers, and at no time in the history of this mission has our style of relational ministry been more relevant to a society. Let us proclaim the message boldly, but let us also realize that to enter the world of a teenager today could very well mean to enter a tough tangle of emotional difficulties.”

Jim led the mission beautifully by entering into these tough tangles with grace, compassion, and truth, modeling it in both word and deed to his co-laborers around the globe.

A Memorial Service will be held on November 22, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs. Donations in honor of Jim can be made to The Dale House Project, 7 W. Dale Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80903.