Dennis DeAngelo: a helping hand

When it comes to being a youth pastor, Dennis DeAngelo does much more than just preach sermons and arrange fun outings.

He graciously steps into dunk tanks and allows students to soak him. He plays dodge ball with kids and is inevitably targeted to be pummeled with a ball. And he even organizes competitions and lets the winner smash chocolate cream pies in his face.

“Once, I challenged the kids to a task and offered to shave my head if they could complete it,” he says.

Dennis is youth pastor of Family Christian Church in Clermont. He is 47. At many churches around the country, youth pastors typically are half his age. Yet, that has not hindered him from having a unique ability to relate to today’s youth.

“I always tell people that I’m a 19-year-old kid trapped inside a 47-year-old body,” he says excitedly. “I also raise two teenagers of my own, so I have my finger on the pulse of today’s pop culture.”

His youthful and boyish spirit has made him a rock star of sorts among the 130 middle school and high school students whom he ministers on a weekly basis. Many bypass their parents and approach him to talk about personal issues such as sexual abuse, cutting, and homosexuality. Even though he has never been a fan of Facebook, he recently created a personal page so kids can have another means of communicating with him.

“When I talk to these kids, I bring a parental, nurturing side to the table that 20-year-old youth pastors could not give these kids because they do not have children and are barely adults themselves. Younger youth pastors simply do not have the life experience that I do.”

That unique combination of youthfulness and wisdom helps him effectively relate to kids and successfully compete for their attention against video game systems, computers, cell phones, and other technology. Most importantly, he exhibits a genuine love for each child who is part of his ministry.

“It hurts me a great deal to see fear in the eyes of a teenage boy and girl,” he says with sadness filling his voice. “Sometimes I just go home and cry because it hurts so much. I wish I could build one big compound and bring them home with me.”

Sometimes, he hears horrifying situations. Such was the case of a 15-year-old boy who was being sexually pursued by an adult male. Twenty minutes after the boy told his father about the situation, they drove to Family Christian Church to talk with Dennis. Even though Dennis is a kid at heart, he shows a mature side when handling pressure-packed situations like these.

“When they told me about it, my first thought was that I would like to find that perpetrator and give him an old-fashioned beat down. But then my spiritual side takes over, and I remind myself that God died for that man as much as He died for me. My spirituality helps me get over the initial anger in a situation like that.”

That spiritual side is something Dennis discovered in his 20s as a truck driver who delivered lumber throughout Florida. He joined a gospel quartet. On days when he was not driving, the quartet would visit nursing homes, jails, churches, and hospitals to sing the gospel and cheer people up.

“Another thing we’d do is sing on some of the most dangerous streets in Sanford and Orlando at night,” he says. “It was a little scary at first, but the people in those neighborhoods accepted us and appreciated the message we were delivering.”

Single at the time, Dennis met a woman who invited him to attend Wednesday night services at Calvary Baptist Church in Orlando. “I figured if I went to church with her, she might want to go to dinner with me. We dated for a while and then broke up.”

Even after saying goodbye to the woman, Dennis continued attending the Wednesday night services because “the messages gripped my heart.”

“One night, the pastor said if you want to develop a relationship to God to please come forward. I stood up, came forward, and the rest is history. Even though I had selfish motives for initially attending the church, God had other plans for me.”

Dennis entered the ministry and has spent the majority of his career serving as worship leader of various Central Florida churches. Four years ago, he accepted the position as youth pastor of Family Christian Church. As he talks about the joys of interacting with today’s youth, excitement surfaces.

“I’ve seen so many kids pulled out of the hands of the enemy and now living a fulfilling life,” he says. “God has helped deliver them from drugs, pornography, violence, and other things. The victories that He helps them achieve are incredible. That pumps me up to no end.”

Now more than ever, teenagers need someone from the adult world who will listen to their problems and help steer them down the right path. They know they can trust Dennis to do exactly that.

“They come to me looking for order in their lives. Sadly, in many cases, their parents simply do not put the necessary energy in becoming engaged in their daily life. Most of the teenagers who come to me are experimenting with drugs and alcohol, or they are into pornography. When talking with them, I always remind myself to remain calm and remember I made stupid decisions when I was 14.”

She has a special spark and dynamic energy that lights up a room. She speaks with a sense of confidence and clarity that reaches the hearts of her audience. She educates and entertains while making a special connection with everyone inside the room.

Betsy Barbieux, 61, possessed these qualities long before she became a certified professional development coach and image consultant.

In the mid-1980s, Betsy attended a series of workshops and learned how scriptural principles can help people cope with life’s everyday challenges. Betsy, who at the time worked as a legal assistant for a local attorney, informed her friends at First Baptist Church about the workshops. They asked her to begin teaching.

As a result, she began conducting support group meetings for mothers on

Wednesday nights. They would talk about pertinent issues relating to a woman’s life. Before long, as many as 40 women would attend the meetings, including females housed at the church’s Women’s Care Center ministry.

Although Betsy was not paid monetarily, she felt compensated in other ways. “I loved doing this,” she says. “We’d laugh together, cry together, and openly talk about problems such as dysfunctional relationships, addictions, and sex. We truly enjoyed each other’s company.”

Because Betsy had such a special knack for helping women cope with problems, she began for would be retiring, she was encouraged by friends to pursue a career where she could continue offering advice and helping people. Since she could not find a paid position within the church, she earned certifications as a professional business; all clients are referralbased.

One aspect of being a professional development coach is helping minimize tension within the workplace stemming from personality clashes. Using the DISC can trace where the personality conflicts are coming from and why productivity levels are not where they should be,” she says. “Even though a company may be experiencing tension and pain, I make these workshops fun. I share funny stories and make them laugh. When you can laugh and learn at the same time, you learn a lot better. Also, by incorporating funny stories and laughter, I move them from back-brain thinking to front-brain thinking and get them intellectually interested.”

Betsy is equally passionate about her role as an image consultant because she can help a client achieve increased self-esteem, land a job, receive a promotion, or find a soul mate. First-time clients of Betsy’s receive a full-day consultation. Perhaps the most important step is color matching, which consists of analyzing a client’s skin tone, eye color, and hair color to determine the most flattering clothing colors and styles for his or her new wardrobe.

Holding Private Meetings

with fellow churchgoers on Monday evenings and Friday afternoons. “I discovered that I had a special ability to see behind their words. Oftentimes, their problem stemmed from a motive, attitude, or false belief about themselves.”

For Betsy, this paved the way for a career change. After receiving a five-year notice that the attorney she worked development coach and image consultant. She then opened Leesburg-based Image Inside and Out in the mid-1990s.

Her business has blossomed. Both small and large companies have sought her services as a professional development coach. On one occasion, three friends flew down from Tennessee seeking her image consulting services. She does not advertise her personality profile model, she helps employees gain valuable insight about the characteristics and communication styles of themselves and their co-workers. Having a better understanding of various personalities helps resolve conflict, resulting in a more productive, efficient workplace.

“I am a very good troubleshooter, and if I spend enough time with a company, I

“I work with the physical features a person is created with and make that person look better. I am not trying to fix something that is wrong; I’m looking for what is right about a person and building on that.”

Even though Betsy loved being a legal assistant for 28 years, her career as a professional development coach and image consultant is much more gratifying.

“I love being around people who like to learn and grow,” she says. “I wake up each day excited and passionate about doing my job.”