Relationships Fall 2010

Relationships FALL 2010

A son and his father connect through Young Life. pg.5 Military kids serve in Poland during a time of tragedy. pg. 9 Three men put down roots in one community for more than 50 years. pg. 13

CONTENTS

FALL 2010

HELPING HANDS Young Life Military – Club Beyond hosts a service project in Poland in the immediate aftermath of a national tragedy.

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FEATURE

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PUTTING DOWN ROOTS How three faithful men planted a legacy of Young Life in Springfield, Ore.

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SERVING AND SEEING CHRIST Kids from Georgia and Costa Rica experience Christ in a new way after a week together.

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THEY CALL HIM MR. PAUL Following his calling, a leader literally runs to reach kids.

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SON TO FATHER Kirk and Ken Willms find common ground through Young Life.

ALL OF THE ABOVE A phone call, frisbee, credit card and community of caring adults lead to a new life in Christ.

EVERY ISSUE

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2 From the President 3 In Your Own Words 4 Young Life Lite 8 Young Life Online 11 From the Grapevine 18 Passages 22 Parting Shots

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ABOUT THE COVER Impacting two lives at once – that’s what a YoungLives mentor does. YoungLives, our ministry to teen moms, is full of mentors who care for these new moms as they care for their children.

Mentors offer these teens ears to listen, shoulders to cry on, arms to rock babies and hearts of wisdom. Communities of women (like this one at Young Life’s Lost Canyon camp in Arizona) rise up and give these moms what we’re all looking for: time, acceptance, guidance and the love of Christ.

Photo by Rachel Archer

FROM THE PRESIDENT A GOOD REPORT “With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus.”

— Luke 1:3 “When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done.”

— Luke 9:10 “When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.”

— Acts 15:4

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eporting on what has happened is part of the fabric of what it means to be involved in the Lord’s mission.

Dr. Luke, who authored both Luke and Acts under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, did so because he wanted to present an orderly account of the life of Christ and the beginning of the church. When Jesus sent out His apostles, they returned and reported to Him. And, from time to time, the earliest missionaries (e.g., Paul and Barnabas in Acts 15) returned from their journeys to keep the rest of the leadership informed and encouraged.

Reporting on what has happened is part of the fabric of what it means to be involved in the Lord’s mission.

In that spirit, I’d like you to see this article as a group of men and women who are on a quest to introduce more kids to Jesus Christ and help them grow in their faith, coming to you and reporting what has transpired over the last year.

But first a little background. In the past, I have mentioned Reaching a World of Kids. That is an initiative which we in Young Life believe has been given to us by God and which is fueled by the power of the Holy Spirit. If we didn’t believe this, we would never engage in it because it is overwhelming in its scope. The goal is to double the number of kids we reach each year from one million (our base line in 2008-09) to two million a year in just seven years. Why do we want to grow so fast?

Because there are so many lost kids around the world who

need to hear the life-changing and liberating news that Jesus loves them, that He died for their sins, and that He wants to give them abundant life now and eternal life forever. We are involved in a life-and-death struggle for kids who deserve to hear the Good News of Jesus.

Reaching a World of Kids focuses on three main components: • Leadership Development • Sustaining and Starting Ministries • Camp Impact And there are two other key factors in this vision: • Volunteer leaders. We know that to reach two million kids a year, we need at least 80,000 volunteers.

• Seed money to fuel these efforts. The cost: $260 million — the largest campaign we’ve ever undertaken.

We’ve almost completed year one of this seven-year journey and we, like Paul and Barnabas, have come to you with a report that is both strong and encouraging.

• Last year, we increased the number of kids we reached by almost 100,000 and went over the 1.1 million mark, a gain of almost 10 percent. This is beyond anything we imagined in the first year and we are so thankful that many more kids had a chance to hear about the life-changing relationship they can have with Jesus.

• Volunteer leaders increased by almost 9 percent.

• Our Texas Latino Initiative, which comprises four places in Texas where one million Latino kids live (Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley), is off to a stunning start.

• Our Developing Global Leaders program (where we scholarship university students in Third World countries who are mentored by Young Life leaders and required to minister in a Young Life club in their country) was a success. We had 96 students in the first year of the program and will have another 100 enrolled in the new college year.

• Camping will involve significantly more kids. We are finishing one new camp in the United States which will open next year, planning to build another one in the United States and three in Europe.

• More than $61 million was given by generous donors toward the $260 million mark.

• And at the foundation of all of this is a concentrated prayer strategy as we seek to fulfill what we believe God has called us to do.

If you’d like more specific information on Reaching a World of Kids, please visit www.younglife.org/RWOK. In the meantime, continue to pray and watch God at work.

Denny Rydberg Young Life President 2 / FALL 2010

IN YOUR OWN WORDS Our readers share their thoughts

Quite a Response Dear Editor, You’ll be pleased to know that Donna Hatasaki’s article about me [“A Man for All Seasons,” in the Spring 2010 Relationships] has generated quite a response. I’ve received letters, e-mails and calls from all over the country about it, including folks over the age of 40 who’ve been inspired and encouraged by the message of getting involved with teens.

Young Life continues to thrive at Pasadena High School and we hope to take several boys and girls to Woodleaf in August. It is amazing what the Lord has done and is doing with kids and adults at PHS and I consider it a joy and privilege to be involved. Everyone I give the article to has been blessed by it. What an incredible job Donna did. Thanks again.

— Myron Salisian, Sierra Madre, Calif.

A Lesson for Life My children are in Cambodia working on an orphanage with Young Life. I am proud of both of them for giving up their spring break for a second year in a row to help children who are less fortunate than they are. Young Life has taught both of my children so much since they have been living in Japan. They have two great Young Life leaders who are very involved with the group. Thank you.

— Darian Dinsmore, Danville, Ky., on Facebook

EDITOR’S NOTE Leadership. A critical component in Reaching a World

of Kids (our seven-year initiative which Denny discusses on page 2) is leadership. Young Life has always been a leaderbased mission because of our emphasis on relational ministry. Our leaders build relationships with kids in countries like Costa Rica, cities like Minneapolis and small towns like Tullahoma, Tenn. They reach out to college students struggling with what to believe, freshmen in high school dealing with pregnancy and kids with disabilities longing for friendship. Some leaders are brand new to this special calling and many have been doing this long enough to see the kids they work with become grandparents!

Wherever our leaders are, in regards to geography, age, background or experience, we dedicate this edition of Relationships to them. Thank you for sharing with kids, “not only the Gospel of God, but [your] lives as well!”

is a publication of Young Life, a mission devoted to introducing adolescents to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith. younglife.org P.O. Box 520 Colorado Springs, CO 80901

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You receive Relationships because of your support of the ministry.

If you haven’t been able to give in a while, or would like to know how to support Young Life online, you can go to younglife.org and click on the giving tab at the top of the page. Thank you for your partnership in caring for kids!

Publisher/President Denny Rydberg Executive Editor Terry Swenson Lead Editor Jeff Chesemore Coordinator Donna McKenzie Copy Editor Jessica Williams

Designer/Illustrator Luke Flowers Contributing Photographers Rachel Archer Kathi Inglesby

Young Life is a Charter Member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

YOUNG LIFE LITE

By Stacy Windahl

Sharing the love of Christ through laughter

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hat can turn off a lamp, silence an alarm clock,

In club, the day after Davis recounted the price that purée a muskmelon and make a pair of unicycles Jesus paid on the cross for us, Hank and Tank bemoaned from a bicycle with the swing of an arm? Why, their plight. A million-dollar mortgage? It was a debt they the Hatchet-All can. The Hatchet-All can because — the could not pay.

Hatchet-All does it all.

Poage knew where this was going. But she delighted

At least that’s how lumberjack brothers, Hank and in watching the kids’ reactions as these stories intersected Tank, pitched their cutting-edge tool to middle school and became real, as so often happens at Young Life camp. kids attending Timber Wolf Lake’s WyldLife camp. Hank As a youth minister at a Catholic church she appreciates the and Tank were forced into salesmanship to save Timber way Young Life and churches can partner to reach kids with Wolf Lake from bankruptcy. Their father, Pa, willed the the Gospel. family property to them, but having exhausted both their

“Here we say that the church provides the education managerial and about God and Young financial resources, Life can provide a new the brothers were experience of Him.” desperate. First Poage continued, “As National Bank and children, many of Mistrust of Lake City, our kids learn about Mich., was poised to God as Father and repossess the camp.

Lord, but Young Life

The Hatchet-All camp is the perfect was more than a opportunity for moneymaker for Hank them to meet Jesus and Tank; it was also as personal savior. the tool that program All this knowledge staff Mark “Hank” of God becomes so Brown and Anthony intimate, they just “Tank” Taylor used to say ‘wow’ when it illustrate the camp becomes their own.” speaker’s weeklong Meanwhile, Gospel presentation. back at the camp, the

“As we created Hatchet-All had done The brothers and Timber Wolf were doomed everything but raise our run-on skits we wanted to communicate — until they discovered the rope trailing from cash. The brothers redemption and God’s and Timber Wolf were Pa’s final resting place. deep love for us so doomed — until they it synced with Justin Davis’ message,” said Brown. “We discovered the rope trailing from Pa’s final resting place. recognized that some kids are cerebral and understand the When camp speaker Davis encouraged Hank and Tank to message they hear, others are visual learners, and there are give that rope a yank, they unearthed the check Pa had others who are more entertainment-oriented. We saw this written to them before his death. It was a check inscribed as an opportunity to create another level of understanding for a million dollars, “in case of bankruptcy.” He bequeathed of the Gospel.” a sum to satisfy their debt. Their father had paid it all.

Kellye Poage, Young Life leader and youth minister

Hank said, “Tank, isn’t it amazing how our father loved at St. John Bosco Parish in Mattawan, Mich., was at us so much that he gave everything he had to save us?”

Timber Wolf that August week with 18 middle school kids, Just then, in a moment of startling clarity, a wide-eyed including one named Charlie. All week Poage, Charlie and Charlie turned to Poage and said, “No — Way.” his friends watched Hank and Tank’s drama unfold, while

Yup, Charlie. Way. daily, and on a seemingly unrelated path, Davis retold and

In fact, the Way, the Truth and the Life — made clearer unpacked the story of Jesus. and more personal for another WyldLife camper.

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By Jeff Chesemore

Kirk and Ken Willms find common ground through Young Life.

FALL 2010 / 5

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his summer, a rarity in Young Life occurred. A father and his adult son spent a week caring for kids at Young Life’s Washington Family Ranch. The son, part of the program team for the month, did so mostly from onstage. The father was there as a volunteer leader who brought kids to camp. The week was a special one for the two men, allowing them time together as they shared the love of Christ with kids.

“Time together” has not always been what the two men desired, however. Twelve years ago neither could envision such a joyous week, because they couldn’t even coexist under the same roof. This is their story.

Three pivotal weeks

Growing up in Yakima, Wash., Kirk Willms suffered from depression for as long as he could remember. Even though his father, Ken, mother Joyce and sister Becky, along with professional counselors, did everything they knew to care for him, Kirk’s depression grew worse. “I got very good at hiding it as I got further into high school. I figured out that I didn’t have to deal with it, if I was drinking or smoking weed.”

About this time, Kirk first encountered the mission of Young Life — in the person of Pat Garretson. “At lunch there was a table full of kids like me that most adults weren’t excited to be around and Pat showed up, introduced herself, plopped down at our table, slapped some camp flyers in front of us and told us we were going to camp that summer!

We were completely blindsided, but saw the pictures of kids wakeboarding on the Malibu brochure and thought it looked pretty awesome. Next thing I know I’m at a McDonald’s washing cars to raise money for camp.”

That summer of 1998, Kirk experienced the best week of his life at Malibu. “I felt love like I never had before.”

Although he had grown up in a church-going family, he wasn’t ready to embrace the spiritual message he heard at camp. “I knew about Jesus, I knew about faith, but I rebelled pretty hard against it.”

Returning home from Malibu, Kirk’s hard times increased. He continued to struggle with drugs and depression, which hurt his relationships with friends and family. “Life at home continued to be challenging. My father and I didn’t get along — I didn’t agree with him, he didn’t agree with me. If it weren’t for my mom, I’d have been kicked out of my house.” Eventually, Kirk did leave home, living instead in his car and on friends’ couches and floors.

This downward spiral came to a head later that fall.

Returning home to pick up some things, Kirk was desperate.

“I was either going to Portland to see a friend or I was going to drive off the freeway. But my parents would not let me leave the house. I knew the only way I was getting out of there was if I was arrested, so I scared them enough for my safety and theirs that they called the police. I remember being walked to the police car and watching my parents ‘die’ right in front of me. I went from having the greatest week of my life to the worst within a few months.”

“I knew the only way I was getting out of there was if I was arrested, so I scared them enough for my safety and theirs that they called the police.

I remember being walked to the police car and watching my parents ‘die’ right in front of me. I went from having the greatest week of my life to the worst within a few months.”

— Kirk Willms

A third week would change Kirk’s trajectory once again.

As he struggled through his junior year, Kirk received a call from Garretson, letting him know an anonymous donor would pay for him to return to Malibu that summer. On this second trip to camp, Kirk “felt the same love as the previous summer, but this time I realized it was God. What I had never really put thought into is that there’s God and me, and an opportunity for relationship between us.”

Once home from camp, Kirk decided to follow Christ.

“I called Pat to tell her and she’s quite a risk taker. Within weeks she had me at a leadership camp at Washington Family Ranch, made me a student leader and had me share my testimony at the first club.”

New eyes

These changes were not lost on Ken Willms. “I was growing pretty complacent in my faith. [Kirk’s troubles] really shook us up as a family, because we thought we had it all together.

It was a real wake-up call.”

As Kirk’s involvement with Young Life leadership grew during his college years, his parents began to see the ministry with new eyes. In 2001, Kirk was on summer staff at Malibu and his parents visited the camp as adult guests.

“I didn’t see what I was going to do at camp for a whole week!” Ken said. “I wasn’t excited about going. But you get up there and it really is the week of your life. It was eyeopening to see Christians having that much fun and how they reached out to non-churched kids.”

The kids weren’t the only ones undergoing change that week. “Where that week changed me was the 15 minutes of silence. Sitting on a rock at Malibu, the thought hit me, ‘What am I really doing that’s important in life? God, what am I doing for you? I’m just going through the motions here,’” recalled Ken.

Time for change

In 2002, after seeing Kirk hang out with kids at their house, Ken was asked to lead kids at camp when other male leaders were unavailable. Ken graciously accepted, assuming this would be a one-week commitment. Little did he know that the week would change the next eight years of his life.

“That was the number one week for me. When we arrived, Kirk was there and all these kids ran up to him. That was pretty emotional for me. Those were the best cabin times I’ve ever had.”

Ken returned home and immediately began leading Campaigners. When some other commitments cleared, he jumped on board as a full-time leader and has been working with kids ever since.

Ken also grew closer to those at home. As their faith grew, Ken and Kirk’s relationship healed. Ken said, “If I want to see a miracle I just look at Kirk. From someone who back in high school would have said he hated me, to now, where we both consider each other our best friend, it’s pretty neat.”

Talking shop

Today, Ken continues to lead kids in Yakima and adults on (Continued on pg. 7) 6 / FALL 2010

(Continued from pg. 6)

Clockwise from left: Kirk and Ken share a moment at Washington Family Ranch; Kirk in full program mode; Ken recuperating from a shaving cream facial.

the regional finance team, while Kirk is on Young Life staff in Skagit Valley, Wash. The two share a bond not too many fathers and sons can claim — one that includes phone calls on topics such as skits, club talks, Bible studies and budgets. Ken said, “That’s been the highlight. We’ll call each other late on Monday nights and see how club went or I’ll ask him what he’s leading on in Campaigners or he’ll run things past me in regards to finances.”

Joyce Willms, too, has joined in on the conversation, by taking an active role in direct ministry with kids. Ken said, “Joyce became involved with YoungLives (Young Life’s ministry to teenage mothers) several years ago as a mentor.

One of the girls moved in with us and has been living with us for five years, and Joyce is mentoring another one right now as well.”

“The family that does Young Life together stays together,” said Mason Rutledge, Evergreen regional director.

“It’s true of the Willms. They show up at each other’s fundraisers, clubs, camps, etc. It must be in the Willms family DNA.”

Judy Klaustermeyer, Inland Northwest regional director who has worked with Ken over the last eight years, echoes this sentiment. “Their family is one of my favorite families in the mission. Ken’s been a leader, area and regional finance manager, donor, regional board member and husband of a dedicated YoungLives mentor. He’s a multitalent guy and invests his talents freely. His heart is huge.

He’s seen much fruit, but I am sure that seeing Kirk grow into a minister of the Gospel through Young Life is one of FALL 2010 / 7

“The family that does Young Life together stays together. It’s true of the Willms. They show up at each other’s fundraisers, clubs, camps, etc. It must be in the Willms family DNA.” — Mason Rutledge the richest rewards he’ll ever receive.”

Through it all, the family has drawn closer to one another as they’ve drawn closer to Christ. Talk to the two men today and you’ll experience a mutual admiration society. “Dad’s my biggest role model now because he worked so hard on his relationships with my mother, my sister and me,” Kirk said. “He’s always letting me know how proud he is of my work with students and I’m severely moved by the way he’s faithful to God’s call, and seeing the way that ‘Papa Willms,’ as the kids call him, is changing kids’ lives.”

Ken is just as enthusiastic. “I’m living my dream through Kirk. I don’t know where he or I would be without Young Life. We’re all in this together, whether you’re on the front lines or in a back room accounting office. Just recently, I saw a kid from that 2002 trip and suddenly it just makes it all worthwhile. I hadn’t seen him in a couple of years and just to see him again reminds you of why you do this.”

YOUNG LIFE ONLINE Connect with the mission @ younglife.org Find Us on Facebook!

These friends did: Susan Bailey McKisson: I still get the songs they had us singing as work crew, stuck in my head!

“Saranac, you’ll never want to leave again. Welcome, welcome, welcome to ... Saranac!!” or perhaps, “Spaghetti, spaghetti, spaghetti, meat and sauce. Spaghetti, spaghetti, our sauce is really boss …“ LOL Jacob Lynch: I flippin’ freakin’ fun-filled frigtastik love Young Life! Get some!! Woot wooooot!

Trish Caballero: I was on work crew at Saranac in the early ’70s — Young Life was an important turning point for me when I was a teenager in the Philadelphia area and when I helped out with Young Life in Danvers, Mass., while I was in college!!

Read and Receive Relationships Online Each issue of Relationships is recreated in a digital format, complete with all the great design and photography, and posted to the Young Life website. Just go to younglife.org, select “Relationships Magazine” in the “Take me to …” drop-down menu and click on the “flip through this issue” graphic. If you would like to begin receiving the magazine in this format rather than as a hard copy, just send an e-mail to younglifecommunications@sc.younglife.org with “subscribe to online magazine” in the subject line.

Introducing the Developing Global Leaders Program Website Developing Global Leaders (DGL) is a college scholarship and leadership development program for students involved with Young Life in developing countries around the globe (see ad on p. 21). As a way to spread the word about this program and invite support for and engagement with our global leaders, Young Life has created a website — ylgloballeaders.org. Here you can read profiles of future leaders from around the world. You’ll have the opportunity to sponsor (either as an individual or as part of a group) a Global Leader for as little as $10 per month. The website also enables sponsors to receive regular updates from and communicate with their Global Leaders.

Moved Recently?

If you’re one of the many who have moved to a new city, state or even country over the summer and are looking to reconnect with Young Life in your new location, please click on “Find Young Life” at the top of the home page (younglife.org). From there, you can search for the nearest Young Life club or office.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, AND TO SIGN UP, CONTACT YOUR

8 / FALL 2010

By Aimée

Kessick

nd Club Beyo – y r a it il nd eM Young Lif ice project in Pola v r e math hosts a s iate after d e m im e y. in th nal traged of a natio Above (from left): Stephany, Andrew and Paige, student in Alconbury, Engla s involved in Youn nd, take a break du g Life Military ring their recent se Below: Like other rvice trip to Polan students on the tri d. p, Ashley grew in he in need. r faith as she helpe d strangers

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or teenagers whose parents serve in the military or have careers tied to the military, life is often about making sacrifices. It may not come as a surprise then, that each year since 1989, teenagers living throughout Europe who are involved with Young Life Military – Club Beyond volunteer to give of themselves through participating in a weeklong service project, which combines community service work with opportunities to deepen their faith.

This year’s trip to Poland, however, would be unlike any other because it happened in the midst of major world news events — a plane crash and a volcanic eruption.

Just hours before groups arrived to begin working, Polish President Lech Kaczynski was killed in a plane crash, bringing the country to a standstill. “We waited, with respect for our Polish hosts, for information on how the country’s mourning and services would affect our mission here,” said Shannon Pitzer, whose husband Jim oversees Young Life Military in Alconbury, England. They traveled to Poland with 41 Alconbury kids, almost double the number that participated from their club the year before.

Thankfully, most of the week’s plans would remain unchanged, and there were plenty of opportunities for 220 Young Life Military teens from around Europe to become part of Polish communities that needed to see and experience the light and love of God and His people.

And kids were eager to dive in.

“I think this generation of kids really wants to be doing something for people,” Pitzer said. “They see value in that.”

FALL 2010 / 9

Getting to work

The first part of the week began with a bit of a history lesson. Kids and leaders toured the Auschwitz II – Birkenau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. “While it is not a ‘fun’ place, it served a purpose in showing what humans are capable of when they turn their backs on God,” Pitzer said.

“They also get a better sense of what their parents are fighting against. I think that encourages them.”

Kids were then organized into four large work teams and bused to local sites. There they were put into smaller groups so they could do multiple projects within their communities — landscaping, cleaning neighborhoods, helping with gym class and after-school sports, hosting Vacation Bible School, building or remodeling playgrounds, renovating a Christian camp and even teaching English in a few of the local schools.

Ashley, who was in the group working on the Christian camp, loved seeing the difference she and her peers were making as the week progressed.

“It’s hard to imagine how long it would have taken for the people [at the camp] to get all the work done if we hadn’t been there,” she said.

And as she worked hard to improve the camp, God was doing some renovations of His own in her heart.

Ashley came to Poland with an optimistic and hopeful perspective on her relatively young faith, but as she listened to talks given by the speaker each night she had a revelation about God’s love for her.

One reality that is familiar to Ashley and many of her

peers is that the demands of military jobs often take parents away from their families for long periods of time. But as the speaker talked about God being a perfect, heavenly Father, Ashley was assured of God’s consistent presence for the rest of her life. “I will always have God,” she said.

Pitzer said she knows other students like Ashley who carry similar burdens as military teens. “Because their own fathers are gone a lot, they can view God as caring, but distant and far away,” she said.

Active heart

There was a time for Andrew, another student from Alconbury, when God did not seem connected to his everyday life either.

“I went to church just about every Sunday, but then, it really didn’t have a large impact on my life,” Andrew said.

But being in Poland would mark the end of Andrew’s days as a passive person in a pew. At the camp, Andrew worked at clearing old furniture and debris, scraping paint off the walls, and removing tree stumps outside to clear the way for new construction. All the toiling also made room in his mind for the messages the speaker would share with the kids each evening.

“The more I exerted myself physically, the more I felt prepared to hear the speaker,” Andrew said. “The speaker opened my eyes to God and helped foster a stronger relationship with Him. Whenever I go to church now, every sermon has a meaning. Every word preached has a lesson to it.”

And these days, Andrew has deeper friendships with peers who help him live out what he learned in Poland and at home.

“I think thi s kids really w generation of ants something to be doing fo They see va r people. lue in that.”

— Shannon

Pitzer

“My friends see a different me and I’ve created a bond stronger than friendship with my roommates from Poland, it’s more like we’re brothers now,” Andrew said.

Long road home

Just as the project began with unexpected news, so their journey home was altered by another major event — the eruption of a volcano in Iceland clouded most of Europe’s airspace, grounding all flights. Like several of the other Young Life groups, the Alconbury team would need to get home another way. Thankfully, God is always in the detours.

The 24-hour wait for a bus meant time for one more club, which they held with kids and leaders from Lakenheath, England. It turned out to be one of the most meaningful nights of the trip, Pitzer said.

A bus finally arrived from Germany and the Alconbury group began a 25-hour ride across Europe. What would seem to be a burden, was an immense blessing, Pitzer said.

“Twenty-five hours on a bus gave us a lot of chances for conversations that wouldn’t have happened,” she said.

Memories of those conversations and other parts of this trip will be encouraging reminders to help these teenagers continue to grow in their faith at home.

“No matter what happens, God will never give up on me, because I am His treasure,” Ashley said. “It’s nice to remember sometimes.”

For more information about Young Life Military, please contact Marty McCarty at mmccarty@military.younglife.org.

Top: Claire and Maria were among the 220 teenagers from Europe who participated in this year’s service project in Poland.

Bottom: A volcanic eruption changed travel plans for the Alconbury students on their return home, but the 25-hour bus ride provided ample time for kids and leaders to share with each other what the week in Poland meant for them.

10 / FALL 2010

FROM THE GRAPEVINE A fruitful selection of stories from the field

Leading for the Long Term

“I noticed that the issues that kids were dealing with in high school back in the ’80s and ’90s, they were beginning to deal with in sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade. We needed to reach these kids at a younger age.”

By Cory Bordonaro

When Steve Garnier walked into a Fairfax, Va., Young Life club one April night in 1985, he didn’t know what he was in for. He was about to graduate from college and, up until that point, — Steve Garnier had no prior experience with the ministry. But, after one taste, he was hooked. He became a leader that spring and DeButts, area director in Western Loudoun was at Saranac Village, Young Life’s camp in the County. “It’s been really neat to be able to Adirondacks, with kids that very summer. capitalize on what his team built at the

“I was amazed at the opportunity middle school level. Those kids come to that Young Life presented to gather high school looking for Young Life.” a group of kids and give them an

Still heavily involved in the environment that was fun and exciting,” organization, Garnier began to focus on he remembered. “And, it provided us setting his high school leaders up for the opportunity as leaders to present relationships with middle school kids. the Gospel in a non-threatening way.”

He has also had the unique opportunity

Over the last two-and-a-half to involve his entire family, most recently decades, Garnier’s involvement has leading with his wife and oldest daughter. varied, but his heart for the vision is just “It’s been a family event for the last as big as ever. Eight years ago, he shifted seven years at least. It’s actually meshed into a role leading Leesburg WyldLife.

Leesburg, Va., beautifully with our family life. It’s a ministry that

“I noticed that the issues that kids were WyldLife kids we can all share in. In 1985, I certainly didn’t envision dealing with in high school back in the ’80s and ’90s, and their faithful that, 25 years later, I would still be leading club, and they were beginning to deal with in sixth-, seventhleader, Steve. with my kids. It’s been a blessing from a parent’s and eighth-grade,” he said. “We needed to start to perspective to have Young Life reach these kids at a younger age.” and to see them come up

“I think Steve really believes that Young Life works, through it.” and that it’s a good thing to give his time to,” said Beth

Belonging Before Believing

By Jeff Chesemore

While just another day to most students, the organization sign-up day at Grays Harbor College in Washington was a pivotal moment in Jorey Phelps’ life. Walking through the different club offerings, he came upon the Young Life College booth and recognized some of the leaders from his days at Hoquiam High School. While he didn’t come out to club much in high school, he had a familiarity with the leaders and knew Young Life to be a safe group, and signed the interest sheet. After talking with the leaders there, Jorey spun around, approached the booth directly across from Young Life College’s and also signed up … for the Atheist club.

After a month of faithfully attending both clubs, Jorey stopped going to the Atheist club. When Pat Farmer, the area director, asked him why, Jorey replied, “The Atheist club is just really angry and I got tired of it, so I’m just coming to Young Life College now. It’s a lot more fun.”

As the months passed, Jorey jumped into several of the different groups Young Life College offered. He started attending planning meetings, a small group on cooking, band practices and general hangout times. “Jorey was becoming immersed in the FALL 2010 / 11

community of the group,” Farmer said. “He was belonging before he ever believed in God.”

In March, another leader, Tim Orrin, invited Jorey to come to church with him. At the end of the service Jorey Phelps there was an invitation for those who would like to begin a relationship with Christ. Jorey went forward, responding to the months of love and care he received from those around him.

“If it wasn’t for these last four months of loving Jorey where he was at, he would never have gone with Tim to church,” Farmer said. Jorey’s life is indeed a new creation — from inviting his friends and older brother to Young Life College to putting the Bible on his iPod, to leaving the party scene to jumping with both feet into the community at the church. “With the Lord in my life I can do anything, but I don’t do anything without my heavenly Father’s consent.”

(Continued on pg. 12)

(Continued from pg. 11)

Young Life College is custom made for kids like Jorey — kids who, for a number of reasons, may have never connected with Young Life in high school, or upon entering college are now beginning to ask questions on the subject of faith. For more information on Young Life College, go to younglife.org and click on “college.”

Earning the Right to Hear

By Bethany Bradsher

The 17 Young Life leaders in Hays County, Texas, have never led a club or taken kids to camp, but they are becoming experts in the most vital work of the mission: relationships.

For evidence, look no further than Todd Farnsworth, a student at Texas State University and a leader at San Marcos High School. When Farnsworth was placed on his new team in this startup area, he heard Area Director Ryan Hammett lay down a bold challenge. Before starting club or talking about camp, Hammet encouraged the leaders to spend time just meeting kids in the community.

So Farnsworth started visiting the San Marcos High lunchroom three times a week. On his first visit, he approached a big table of guys and made some small talk until, one by one, each of the guys made an excuse and walked away. All except Jacob, who stayed to talk longer than his friends.

Farnsworth kept showing up at the school, and every time he would stop and talk to Jacob and his girlfriend. The conversation stayed at the surface, until one day when Farnsworth sat down and Jacob said, “I have something I want to tell you.” Farnsworth leaned in, but Jacob hesitated until his girlfriend encouraged him to tell him news that Farnsworth

never expected to hear from two freshmen: Jacob’s girlfriend was pregnant. Farnsworth Todd Farnsworth responded with love and encouragement.

A few weeks after that conversation, when Farnsworth approached Jacob, he could tell something was wrong. This time Jacob didn’t hesitate to share the thing that was closest to his heart with this college student who had so recently been a stranger.

“He told me that they had had a miscarriage,” Farnsworth said. “He was just really brokenhearted. I said, ‘Hey do you mind if I pray for you?’ and they said, ‘That would be great.’”

Jacob was one of 580 new kids that the Hays County leaders met in just three weeks this spring. But to Farnsworth, he is a friend, and a very real reminder of the significance of just showing up and viewing every lunch period as an opportunity to join in God’s kingdom work.

A Great Pursuit

By Cory Bordonaro

“What my heart was searching for, God worked through him to help me find.”

— Andy Hunt

Andy Hunt did not go looking for Young Life.

It came to him.

Kevin (left) with Contrary to the Andy Hunt, typical order of the leader he operation, he was, in recruited! fact, hunted down by a high school student. “A lot of people have told me that being invited to become a leader by a student is somewhat rare,” Hunt said.

After graduating from college in 2008 with a degree in real estate and finance, he moved back to his hometown in Minneapolis. “Looking at what I wanted to do, I felt more and more called to return home, number one to be close to my family and to see [my brother] Nathan go through his senior year of high school.

“I knew early on that I was very focused on my career,” he said, “but I was really looking for something more that I could be truly passionate about.”

When asked to assist in coaching his brother’s lacrosse team, Hunt agreed, soon learning God’s heart for, and his calling to, high school kids. “I realized that I was enthusiastic

about coaching,” he recalled. “It wasn’t the wins and the losses. It wasn’t the getting outside and getting fresh air.

That stuff was fun, but what I loved the most was interacting with these high school kids, who I felt a connection with and who I wanted to see succeed. The relationships I built with them were way more rewarding than anything else I could’ve experienced.” Hunt’s position led him to several solid friendships with players. Kevin was a senior defensive player and an active Young Life club kid. Noticing Hunt’s natural leadership skills, Kevin suggested he look into joining the ministry as a leader.

Andy Swanda, Southwest Twin Cities area director, was a little hesitant. “When selecting leaders, we look at people’s faith, calling, availability and lifestyle. How was a high schooler going to gauge that?” he said. But when Swanda met Hunt he knew within a couple of minutes that “Kevin had nailed it.”

“He is a solid man of faith,” Swanda said. “He really loves teenagers beyond the lacrosse field.” Within a couple of weeks, Hunt was pursuing kids as a leader in the Private School Young Life area. “Kevin’s invitation was in hindsight just so perfect,” Hunt said. “What my heart was searching for, God worked through him to help me find.”

12 / FALL 2010

How three faithful men planted a legacy of Young Life in Springfield, Ore.

PUTTING

1978

1957

2010

DOWN ROOTS

By Leslie Strader

T

rees have been the livelihood of generations of families in Springfield, Ore. Inside the noisy mills of this timber town, sturdy fir trees are refashioned into pages in a novel or walls in a home.

Over the last 53 years, another kind of transforming work has planted itself firmly in the rich west Oregon soil — the ministry of Young Life.

Today, the ministry’s roots run deep, thanks to three dedicated men. Jack Loy, Ron Sauer and Joby Jarvis have, over time, taken their turn shaping teenagers in this community for Christ using the tool of discipleship. In a culture easily swayed, their faithfulness stands firm.

1979

1991 Clockwise from top: Clowning around in the ’70s; Jack Loy just starting out in Springfield; Ron Sauer leading Campaigners in the ’70s, Loy and Sauer 34 years into the ministry; Loy, Sauer and Joby Jarvis today.

FALL 2010 / 13

A vision for discipleship

It all began in 1957, the day Jack Loy drove into Springfield with one big idea: get to know high school kids and shape them into disciples for Christ. And for nearly 20 years, that’s exactly what he did — all of it as a volunteer.

“Over the years I had the opportunity to go on staff, but never felt like that was what I was supposed to do,” Loy explained. “When I went to Springfield to start Young Life it was not with the idea of running a Young Life club. The idea was to build disciples. That was the goal from day one.”

For 19 years, Loy taught school, ran his own construction company and oversaw five Young Life clubs within a 40-mile radius of each other. And his discipleship strategy worked — kids met Christ, grew in their faith and led others to do the same. For years, his clubs were the largest in Oregon.

One of those kids was Ron Sauer. Sauer and Loy met in the spring of 1968. Loy was his baseball coach. Loy began to build a relationship with the teenager, who became a faithful club and Campaigner kid.

In 1976, after years of pouring into Sauer’s life and then leading Young Life as volunteers together, Loy handed Sauer the reins of the ministry.

“Ron did the things I couldn’t do. He was the quintessential contact work guy,” Loy said. “My legacy is in guys like Ron. They’re the reason it’s all worth it.”

Sauer said, “Jack believed God raised me up in his footsteps. You have to continually build leaders to replace you.

That’s part of effective ministry. Since I stepped into the role, my prayer was, ‘Who are you going to give me, Lord?’”

Home-grown leaders

Joby Jarvis was a freshman at Thurston High School in 1992 and met Sauer at the first club of the school year. Jarvis said from that time on, Sauer was intentional about inviting him to Campaigners and camps.

After high school graduation, Sauer recruited Jarvis to volunteer at Thurston High. He also met with Jarvis every Sunday night for Bible study. From sapling to maturity, Sauer cultivated his relationship with Jarvis over 13 years. By 2005, he knew Jarvis was his replacement.

Alumni and Friends:

Relationships Don’t End at Graduation!

Jack Loy, Ron Sauer and Joby Jarvis have created a 50-plusyear legacy in Springfield, Ore., that literally stretches around the world. Many of the kids they once worked with now have marriages, children (and grandchildren!). Because of their heart for these former kids, the three men are passionate about a vision that the mission of Young Life also holds sacred: caring for the alumni and friends who have come out of their ministry.

Young Life Alumni and Friends has made great strides this year in its ongoing commitment to live out Young Life’s mission statement of “introducing adolescents to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith.” As kids mature and move into their adult years, we want to stay connected with them and continue to be advocates for their “spiritual best.”

“When Ron asked me if I wanted his job, I knew that my gifts and passions lined up with Young Life and that I was supposed to be doing ministry in Springfield,” Jarvis said. “I attribute my growth to my discipleship relationship with Ron, just walking through life together. Unless the Lord tells me to do something different, I see myself staying right here.”

Come to stay

Today, Jarvis is area director of Greater McKenzie Young Life in Springfield, Sauer is regional developer for Young Life in Oregon and Southwest Washington, and Loy lives a few hours away in Washington.

Throughout these transitions, the goal hasn’t changed: longevity in Springfield Young Life.

“I feel called to be in this community for the long term, to put my roots down deep and see how the Lord moves,” Jarvis said. “Just because a kid accepts Christ doesn’t mean you’re done with that kid. It’s just the beginning. The history of relationships Young Life has here is pretty powerful.”

“Just because a kid accepts Christ doesn’t mean you’re done with that kid.

It’s just the beginning.”

— Joby Jarvis

While not every area needs this kind of constancy, Sauer believes everyone should begin with the end in mind. Don’t just plant seeds and pray for the best, he said. Stick around and watch it grow.

“My challenge from when I was a young man was, what would it look like if I planted myself in one place and developed leaders to do that too?” Sauer explained, “Our vision is for the high schools and middle schools, and by focusing on schools and students, we see families touched. Through these, we see neighborhoods touched and the city touched.

“Young Life areas need to have a long-term vision that impacts every day of your ministry. Then, your best days are always ahead.”

Alumni and Friends is committed to ...

• Helping those currently involved with Young Life stay connected to each other and the mission • Seeking out and reconnecting with those who were once involved in, or impacted by, Young Life • Seeing the mission reach a world of kids by informing alumni and friends of meaningful ways they can engage at the local level page: Lucho stands hisYoung home in Lima, ToOpposite ensure the success of this outside program, Life hasPeru. hired a Below: Lucho riding bike with his leader, Carlos Rojas, by his side. full-time director andhisdeveloped a state-of-the-art database — factors that will make this initiative a success.

If you’d like to go to the website, join, update your information and reconnect with your Young Life friends, visit the Alumni and Friends section on the younglife.org home page.

14 / FALL 2010

Kids from Georgia and Costa Rica experience Christ in a new way after a week together.

Brooks, Jeff Tait, Alex, Justin; Top: The team Sharon Acon, Jean Carlo and lo’s newly painted Car Jean of t celebrates in fron tackle the ceiling. rew home; Above: Ivan and And

Left: (clockwise from left)

N

By Jeff Chesemor

e

ot all Young Life trips lead to camp. For kids from Norcross, Ga., the greatest week of their lives occurred in March and involved (among other things) airplanes, paintbrushes, drywall, sweat … and an education in love.

One of Young Life’s “hidden treasures” is its Expeditions Program, which enables groups to help Young Life ministries throughout the world (see sidebar on next page).

The Wesleyan School in Norcross sent students on two Expeditions trips this year. The first took female students to work with YoungLives, Young Life’s ministry to teen moms and their babies, on an American Indian reservation in New Mexico. The second brought 16 guys, three teachers and two Young Life staff due south to Costa Rica.

“The whole program hinges on local staff recognizing the benefits of having a group come for a week or so,” explained Jeff Tait, on staff with Young Life Expeditions. “They decide how to best use this resource we’re sending. So in Costa Rica that looks different than in the Dominican Republic or Africa.”

For this trip, that meant going to the home of Jean Carlo and his mother, Liliam.

Walls down, ceilings up

Jean Carlo lives in a small town in Cedros, San Jose, and, like many kids his age, he’s funny, joyful and loves to dance. Jean Carlo also happens to have Down syndrome, which is how he became involved in Young Life Capernaum, a ministry for kids with disabilities.

Allen Dixon, area director for Greater Johns Creek in Georgia, knew the trip would stretch students. “At the beginning of the week, they didn’t know how to react to a FALL 2010 / 15

kid with Down syndrome — they hadn’t experienced that sort of thing — and they’d never seen a two-room house, with no ceiling and just a tin roof.”

As the week progressed, however, barriers fell as Jean Carlo and the kids from Georgia spent time together. Tait witnessed the transformation. “The first day (traditionally a non-work day) we went to the hot springs. Jean Carlo came and was very quiet on the way out, but after he swam with us all day and spent time with us on the bus, the walls came down. He began to win over their hearts that day.”

Sharon Acon, on student staff with Young Life Capernaum in Costa Rica, also saw the tentativeness between the students and Jean Carlo melt away. “The group fell in love with him. That was one of my favorite things; they started loving him and what they were doing for him.”

And what they were doing was giving the family a

phenomenal home makeover. The work included hanging a drywall ceiling, tiling the entire floor, sanding and painting the front of the house, rebuilding their fence, installing new gutters, and working on drainage issues in the back of the house.

Another part of the project was more spontaneous. Nate Rupp, an art teacher at the Wesleyan School, asked if he could paint murals in Jean Carlo’s room. Rupp took it upon himself to give Jean Carlo two perfect images — the local Capernaum logo and a “window” opening out to a view of the beach.

Tait said, “Jean Carlo didn’t know what to do when he saw the murals, he was so excited. He had no words — all he could do was dance for 20 minutes!”

Leaving and loving

“The group really put their heart in the house. But the best part was creating that relationship with Jean Carlo,” Acon said.

Through tears, Jean Carlo’s mother, Liliam, thanked the team for all they had done. “She said, though, that the care and love the guys showed to Jean Carlo was more important to her than all the work we did on her house.”

“I think Jesus led us down there certainly to work on and invest in the house and Jean Carlo’s family, but I think Jesus brought Jean Carlo into their lives to teach them how to love and be loved.”

What did Jean Carlo take away from this week? A month after the trip there was a Capernaum club, where the skit featured superheroes. These characters, with names like “super soccer player” and “super friend,” each came out and talked about their super powers. Then, another “superhero” entered — Jesus. The leaders asked the kids to name some of the powerful things Jesus has done. One kid raised his hand and cried out, “He fed people!” “He healed people!” another offered. After a few more responses, Jean Carlo smiled and said, “Jesus fixed my house.”

Short-Term Mission with Long-Term Vision

— Allen Dixon

Coming home, Dixon witnessed the impact the trip had made in the Norcross community. “Since we’ve been back, two of the guys are super excited about doing Young Life Capernaum in Gwinnett County. Adults in the community came up to me and said, ‘Whatever you did in Costa Rica, thank you. My son came back with a different mindset.’

“My favorite part was watching kids see relational ministry happening inside a community. They went in feeling sorry for Jean Carlo, but as they got to know him, they fell in love not with a Down syndrome kid, but Jean Carlo himself. I think Jesus led us down there certainly to work on and invest in the house and Jean Carlo’s family, but I think Jesus brought Jean Carlo into their lives to teach them how to love and be loved.”

“How can you see the world as Christ sees the world unless you’ve seen the world Christ sees?”

THE YOUNG LIFE EXPEDITIONS team helps leaders craft and implement the great discipleship experience of a short-term service mission. Most Expeditions trips are international, but more and more are taking place in the United States as well: on American Indian reservations and in inner cities.

“This really is a win-win all around,” said Hunter Lambeth, Young Life Expeditions director. “We’re doing this in more than 30 countries around the world, and this year we’ve sent 81 groups to 25 countries. We truly believe in the equation: Resources + Relationships = Regeneration.”

Expeditions works by:

• Deploying teams from the United States to serve in practical and beneficial ways alongside international Young Life staff and volunteers in their communities • Connecting individuals in the United States with international Young Life internships

Above: Jean Carlo and Nate Rupp beside Rupp’s mural “unlimited”; Right: James McKeel, teacher and coach at the Wesleyan School, shares a moment with Jean Carlo’s mom, Liliam.

“Most folks who take a trip are ready to sign up for the following year before they even return.

Kids leave with a vision for the world and come home transformed. The impact of teaching about servanthood is good. The impact of doing servanthood and then teaching it is great. Expeditions can help you fulfill your calling to disciple as well as anything I know.”

— Marty Caldwell, Senior Vice President, International South Division

16 / FALL 2010

By Chris Lassiter

THEY CALL HIM MR. PAUL Following his calling, a leader literally runs to reach kids.

P

aul Richard had a crazy idea running through his head.

Oddly enough, it involved running. But when the Western Tidewater, Va., area director laced his Nike Pegasus sneakers and started running with the studentathletes at Western Branch High School, a Group AAA track power in the Hampton Roads area with six team state championships in the last four years, Richard didn’t know God would use those relationships to start a new outreach ministry at the school.

Intent on being where kids were, Richard purposely ran laps while the track team was practicing. “I went down to catch up with these kids and watch them run,” said Richard, who had a heart to connect with the African-American kids at the high school. “Slowly but surely, I met kids. I was on the track at the same time they were, and as I ran with them, I just made suggestions. The kids started saying, ‘Hey, this old guy is pretty all right.’ The track was the natural place to be.”

After three months, conversations began going deeper than sprinting techniques. What started off as an investigative study through the Gospel of John with four student-athletes and some Wawa deli sandwiches has turned into “Chew on This,” a regular Bible study geared toward a previously unreached segment of the school’s population.

Richard and his wife, Shelley, regularly host 35 -40 kids in their home, with about 70 kids involved throughout the school year. Western Branch students get their fill of chicken, chili or other delicious homemade meals — which are always followed by choose-your-own-toppings ice cream sundaes — and the teens leave with more than full stomachs.

“We just eat and hang out and talk about the Word,”

FALL 2010 / 17

said Jarard, a Western Branch student. “It’s given me a better relationship with God.”

Not only does the man the kids call “Mr. Paul” share the Gospel, he also embodies the Gospel message with his lifestyle.

“Mr. Paul is like a mentor to a lot of us,” said Eric, also a student at Western Branch. “He’s the big brother a lot of us needed. I know he’s helped me a lot.”

Brandon, a classmate at the school, agrees. “He’s the best

“We started off volunteering, wondering if kids would like us. As we got to know kids over time, we were able to find that we could have an influence on kids’ lives.”

— Paul Richard cook I know,” Brandon said. “And besides that, he’s a good man.

If you call Mr. Paul, he’ll be right there for you.”

A former Campaigner kid in West Chester, Pa., Richard didn’t become a volunteer leader until he was 39. At age 45, he left an incredibly lucrative vice president of sales position to join Young Life staff. He and Shelley — who estimate they’ve had more than 30,000 kid-visits in the home — have hearts for kids who need the Gospel.

“We intentionally got involved with Young Life because we wanted to be with a mission reaching lost kids,” Richard said.

“We started off volunteering, wondering if kids would like us.

As we got to know kids over time, we were able to find that we could have an influence on kids’ lives.”

Mr. Paul, second from left, and his friends from Western Branch High School.

PASSAGES Honoring those who have served the mission

John Morgan Bradford Jan. 26, 1939 – May 15, 2010

By Terry Swenson Those who knew John Bradford, a long-serving Young Life trustee who went to be with the Lord in May 2010, describe him as a strong leader with a servant’s heart.

According to Steady Cash, longtime friend and fellow Young Life Board member, “When John got involved with an organization, he was incredibly involved and generous.” Early on, that meant volunteering and serving on the Young Life committee in Birmingham, Ala. But while Bradford always stayed involved and connected locally, his involvement with Young Life followed what Cash saw as a pattern of broader leadership in his remarkable life. “John was such a natural leader that when he got involved in an organization — whether his college fraternity, his church or a big mission organization like Young Life — he always ended up in a leadership role.” Indeed, Bradford served as chairman of the Young Life Board of Trustees three times during his 38-year tenure as a trustee.

“John was such a natural leader that when he got involved in an organization — whether his college fraternity, his church or a big mission organization like Young Life — he always ended up in a leadership role.”

— Steady Cash

Young Life President Denny Rydberg is especially grateful for Bradford’s leadership gifts, and for a friendship that began during

“Over the years I relied heavily on John’s guidance and counsel. He possessed a remarkable theological awareness and spiritual maturity.”

— Denny Rydberg

the first Board meeting of Rydberg’s tenure as president.

“We both arrived early for a scheduled prayer time,” Rydberg recalled, “and had about 10 minutes to ourselves to get to know each other. As I look back, I think of that as a quiet beginning to a very special relationship. Over the years I relied heavily on John’s guidance and counsel. He possessed a remarkable theological awareness and spiritual maturity.”

That spiritual maturity was born of a deep and abiding passion for Jesus Christ. Like the blessed man in Psalm 1, Bradford studied God’s Word daily, allowing it to seep into his daily life and conversation as well as his leadership with the Young Life Board.

A gifted leader, dedicated servant and number-one fan of the mission of Young Life, John Bradford leaves a legacy of generosity, friendship and an enduring devotion to Jesus Christ.

Young Life’s Lifetime Achievement Award In April 2010, a special celebration took place at the Bradford home. Denny Rydberg, Steady Cash and John Vicary (senior vice president of Young Life’s Southern Division), accompanied by their spouses, presented John and Martha Bradford with Young Life’s Lifetime Achievement Award. This was a gesture of thanks and recognition for service to the mission that began in the late 1960s with John and Martha Bradford’s early support of Windy Gap, Young Life’s first “ground up” camp project, for which the Bradfords gave funds to build the gymnasium. During this time of remembering

and thanksgiving, John Vicary shared that as a camper at Windy Gap in 1975 he had been amazed to see a gymnasium (Vicary was an avid basketball player) upon arriving at camp. He was just one of thousands who have stepped off the bus at a Young Life camp and wondered to themselves, “Wow, who would do this for me?” It was on behalf of all those kids and all those who labor to share the Gospel with them that Vicary had the privilege of thanking John and Martha Bradford for building that gym and for their faithful service to Young Life.

18 / FALL 2010

By Ned Erickson

T

ullahoma — “a town as unique as its name” — is located between Nashville and Chattanooga. Tilting to the rural side, the town has a population of 17,000, an Air Force base, men and women who work hard to make a living, and kids who need Jesus. And before Aug. 1, 2009, the day Scott and Jennifer Smith moved to town with their family, there was no Young Life.

Paul McCown rolled in with his mom two weeks later. He had grown up everywhere, ping-ponging across America with his mom. Paul remembered, “It was a week before school started; I didn’t know anyone … and not a thing about God.”

Nine months later, he was baptized. A life changed forever. How? God, right? Yes, but that’s who not how.

Answering the how is not as straightforward. However, it’s the how that transports us into the mysterious ways of God and sends us straight to the heart of Young Life.

A. a phone call

Nine years ago, Scott Smith, now the Tri-Lakes, Tenn., area director, was at a crossroads professionally.

“I was seeking lots of advice …

One piece that will always ring in my mind was a question a pastor asked me: ‘What does God break your heart over?’ It was the easiest question I ever answered.

My wife and I instantly said: ‘Teenagers.’”

Through that process, the Smiths began pursuing the possibility of serving with Young Life. But the time was not right in Tullahoma, where they lived at the time. Where they ended up instead was Craig, Colo., and then Tulsa, Okla. “Meanwhile, we continued to pray for Tullahoma. There were 7,000 kids from seventh- to 12th-grade and no Young Life.”

About that time, Rebecca Van Horn and her family moved to town. She had a Young Life background, and, as a mother of five, a vested interest. After a number of inquiries, she phoned Smith and asked how to get the ball rolling. “I encouraged her to pray,” said Smith. “She did. Only a handful of people showed up in August 2008. But they kept meeting and praying. In May 2009, they had their first Young Life banquet. It was quite a FALL 2010 / 19

night. The country club was bursting at the seams.” Aug. 1, Smith and his family moved back to Tullahoma. Two weeks before Paul McCown.

B. a frisbee

“When I was in Tulsa, Lisa Witcher, the principal at Union Intermediate High School, who had been a Young Life leader in Stillwater, Okla., told me: ‘The way kids meet Jesus is by you sitting across the table, listening to their stories and showing them you truly care.’ I never forgot that,” said Smith. Now, entering Tullahoma High School for the first time, he put the lesson to practice.

“I was eating my lunch minding my own business, when this guy goes up to my table and sits down,” remembered Paul. “I was walking home the next day, and I saw him in the parking lot with a frisbee.”

“We ended up throwing the frisbee for an hour,” said Smith. “Paul was very open about his story. He hasn’t had the easiest life. I invited him to come to SharpTop Cove with us.”

“I told him I got like 20 bucks,” said Paul. “He said, ‘Don’t worry about it. I’ll help you raise it.’ I said, ‘Really?’ He said, ‘Trust me.’”

“At camp, the speaker walks up and starts talking,” Paul said. Usually, in situations like this Paul goes to sleep.

But this time he told himself, “‘I guess I’ll take a chance and listen.’ That’s what I did. I kept on listening and listening. He wasn’t one of those long preachers. And one night we left club all quiet. They turned out the lights, and I went outside. I decided, ‘I should start believing. Why wait?’”

C. a credit card

The day Tullahoma High School had its first Young Life club it rained. “I mean, it poured. It was a downpour all day,” said Smith.

“But I was so jazzed. And kids came anyway. They showed up 30 minutes before club began and

they kept coming until the end. Paul and his buddy came in just in time for the cookies.”

“We had truck problems,” Paul said. In fact, that night, both he and his friend were struggling with their vehicles. “I had to keep jumping him, and I had my hazards on so then I needed a jump too.

Next thing I know, my truck runs out of gas.”

Jim Zidan, pastor of Christ Community Church and a member of the Tri-Lakes Young Life committee, had volunteered to help park cars that night. “The house had a long driveway, and after club was over I noticed headlights way down at the end.” So he and Charlie Bair, another volunteer, went to check on them.

Zidan recalled, “The one car was dead. The other was stuck in the mud. After both cars were running, Zidan and Bair followed the boys in another car to make sure they arrived safely. Five hundred yards later, the car went dead again. “There we were, the four of us, on this dark country road covered in mud getting pelted by this cold, driving rain.”

With the truck finally running, Zidan followed Paul to the gas station. At the pump, Paul began rummaging in his pockets for money.

Zidan stopped him, pulled out his church’s credit card and said, “Fill it up.” Tears filled Paul’s eyes.

“He asked me if I had a church home,” said Paul. “I said no. He handed me his card. I looked down. Turns out he was the pastor! The next weekend I showed up with my girlfriend. He and his wife took us to lunch. On Mother’s Day, I got baptized.”

“It was a week before school started; I didn’t know anyone ... and not a thing about God.”

— Paul McCown

D. all the above and more

This is Paul’s take on how it happened: “When I think about it, God was pursuing me way before I realized it. At camp, POOF, He showed up. I took His hand during that 15 minutes. But I’m looking back at everything and I’m beginning to see He was always there. I can’t really say much more than that.”

Top Left: Rebecca Van Horn and family.

Top Right: Tullahoma High School kids at first-ever Young Life event at their school.

Above: Paul McCown and Scott Smith in front of Paul’s truck.

Left: Smith (far left) and Paul (in red in the back row) on Tullahoma’s first fall weekend trip to SharpTop Cove.

20 / FALL 2010

As a 14-year-old in Zimbabwe, Nkosi cared for two younger brothers after his father died and his mother left to find work in South Africa.

Still, he excelled in school and also became involved in Young Life. Upon graduation, Nkosi received a full university scholarship and extensive ministry training and discipleship through Young Life’s Developing Global Leaders program. During his first year in the program, Nkosi recruited five leaders, trained 11, started two clubs and led two Campaigner groups. He is taking advantage of this opportunity and working toward his dream of becoming a human rights lawyer.

There’s Arusik from Armenia who “dreams of being a teacher and sharing Jesus with children … ” There’s Jeison from Peru who met Christ through Young Life and aspires to break the cycle of poverty in his family through education …

FALL 2010 / 21

For as little as $10/month you can sponsor a remarkable young person as they pursue their education, learn and do Young Life, and grow in Christ. Meet your Young Life Global Leader and become a sponsor at: ylgloballeaders.org or call: (316) 681-0756.

PARTING SHOTS A collection of photos from the field 1. Columbus Young Life Metro Developer Julie Guinsler, Ohio State University Football Coach Jim Tressel and volunteer leader Ali Zeigler enjoy a moment after the Columbus Young Life 40th -Anniversary Event and Benefit. As the keynote speaker, Coach Tressel stressed the significance of what Young Life leaders give themselves to every day, and while football championships won’t last, a relationship with the Lord will.

2. Nepali Young Life kids with the Himalayas in the background.

3. Kids from Los Angeles attract passersby for their camp car wash fundraiser.

4. 2-year-old Harrison helps to keep the “young” in Young Life!

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FEATURE PHOTO

WyldLife kids from Colorado Springs enjoy a week of hiking, camping and kayaking in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.

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NONPROFIT ORG

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PAID

YOUNG LIFE

P.O. Box 520 Colorado Springs, CO 80901 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Young Life’s Crooked Creek, Frontier Ranch and Trail West are available to you and your youth group.

They’re the very best venues for a distraction-free presentation of the Gospel during your ski and snowboard trips!

We can even help with some of the logistics.

For reservations, call (719) 381-1839.

Young Life’s Trail West Family Camp in Buena Vista, Colorado, offers a true family vacation, with activities designed to draw you and your family closer to God and to each other, in a fresh, winsome and adventurous way.

Call us to find out why families say it was “the best week of our lives!”

week “This ngthen stre helped ith and our fa resence d’s p feel Go y we never a in a w t before!” el have f West Guest — Tr

ail

Call us for more information NOW TAKING RESE RVATIONS FOR at (719) 395-2477. Or visit SUMMER 2011.

SIGN UP BY DEC. 1, trailwest.younglife.org.

AND RECEIVE A 15% DISCOUNT.