Relationships Fall 2016

Young Life in ECUADOR » 11

Teachers bring hope to kids IN SPRINGFIELD, MA » 13

The best day of THEIR LIVES » 16

Fall 2016 | Vol. 30 Issue 2

An interview with presidents COMING SOON

Relationships on your TABLET

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DENNY RYDBERG AND NEWT CRENSHAW

CONTENTS | FALL 2016

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PASSING THE BATON!

Two presidents discuss Young Life’s past, present and future.

9 AN OPPORTUNITY AT LIFE

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

A caring adult introduces a high schooler to hope and a future.

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SPRINGING UP IN SPRINGFIELD

First-rate teachers help bring Young Life to the “City of Firsts.”

#younglife Young Life Lite Pictorial Young Life Spoken Here Celebrating 75!

ABOUT THE COVER

A TIME TO DANCE

A Capernaum leader and her friend revel in the best day of their lives.

17 ONE BIG EVIDENCE Young Life makes Jesus real for a Czech teenager.

22 THANK YOU, DENNY! Saying goodbye to our fearless leader.

Publisher/President Denny Rydberg Newt Crenshaw

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is a publication of Young Life, a mission devoted to introducing adolescents to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith. Relationships magazine is published three times a year (spring, fall and winter) by Young Life.

Executive Editor Terry Swenson

If you’re receiving duplicate copies or would like to switch over to the electronic version, please contact the Young Life Mission Assistance team at 877-438-9572. We can also help you with the change of address or giving information.

Coordinator Donna McKenzie

Senior Editor Jeff Chesemore

Copy Editor Jessica Williams

Perhaps you’ve already noticed a new look to the magazine. We hope you enjoy our redesign of Relationships as well as new features like “#younglife” on page 2. Inside these pages, though, you’ll find we’re still committed to highlighting the joy God is bringing to kids throughout the mission; kids like this happy camper at Lost Canyon in Williams, Arizona.

Cover photo by Meaghan O’Connor

Art Director Isaac Watkins Designers Joann Oh Diné Wiedey Laura Flack Contributing Photographers Wes Broadhurst Brent Dey Mallory MacDonald Eva Rettig

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

younglife.org P.O. Box 520 Colorado Springs, CO 80901

#YOUNGLIFE

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Frolicking and frolfing between the clouds and Canadian inlet with some spunky island boys.

Camp is in full swing at Lost Canyon!!! #younglife #yl #lostcanyon

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Another fun picture from this past weekend: The lovely YoungLives leaders!

Hey friends, I have the incredible opportunity of being an intern at Saranac this summer. If you feel led to send me Spicy Sweet Doritos or Watermelon Sour Patch kids, I wouldn’t protest it one bit.

This is one of my dearest friends, Hannah. She loves Sam Hunt, laughing, Starburst jellybeans, and hugs. ... She teaches me so much about unconditional love. #younglifecapernaum

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Young Life

Young Life

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Passing

the Baton Two presidents discuss Young Life’s past, present and future.

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As the mission’s leadership transitions from Denny Rydberg to Newt Crenshaw, we didn’t want to pass up what is certainly a first for Young Life: the opportunity to hear jointly from an out-going and incoming president. Recently, the two men reflected on their roles in the mission with Relationships Senior Editor Jeff Chesemore.

Denny, you must be “downloading” a lot of information for Newt, about leading Young Life, what to expect his first year, etc. What can you share with us about those insights and advice?

First, we tried not to download too much in April, May and most of June. Newt was finishing up at Eli Lilly and we wanted him to take his time, get ready for the move/new job and come here somewhat refreshed.

In late June, we did a deep dive with all our department heads, U.S. and International Field representatives, etc. Marilyn and I also had time with Newt and Susan, and Newt and I had opportunities to meet one-onone as well. The dive lasted a week and was not the endgame, but just a start on learning the people and complexities of this great mission.

Prior to the dive and in the days after, different staff have kept him abreast of key issues, events, any personnel changes, etc.

My basic advice to him is that this is the Iron Man Triathlon, not a sprint, and he needs to give himself time to learn the mission. He’s a smart guy and a quick study and over time, he’ll get to know us well.

Newt, what have you learned from Denny already?

Keep your eye on the prize of reaching the next kid, the next school, the next town, the next country with the love of Christ and utilize Young Life’s God-given resources to accomplish that mission with a sense of urgency. Thank you, Denny!

You already know Young Life pretty well, but have made it clear you have a lot to learn. What’s your plan for better understanding the mission, opportunities and challenges ahead?

Listen. Watch. Learn. Repeat. Like Phillip said to Nathaniel in John 1, I want to “come and see” what amazing things the Holy Spirit is doing through our incredible team at Young Life as we introduce young people to Jesus Christ and help them grow in their faith. This is my primary focus for the first 90 days on the job, and will also become the foundation of my leadership for as long as the Lord has me here at Young Life — which I hope is a long time.

Denny, how has the president’s role remained the same since Jim Rayburn’s days and how has it changed (even during your tenure)?

What’s the same is that every president must have a great love for Christ and kids and for kids meeting Jesus and growing in their faith.

The president must be focused on evangelism and discipleship. The president must be able to create a vision and articulate it. The president must work well with the board of trustees. He/She must be able to see the needs of the mission and make hard decisions. The president must care about people, money and prayer — three ingredients the Lord has tied together in ministry. Aspects of this include selecting the right people in the right seats on the right bus and working closely with these bright leaders for the health and growth of the mission. In addition to being a minister, the president must be an entrepreneur and business person. And he/she must have a great appreciation for the history of this mission.

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As far as what’s different, Jim was the founder. He wasn’t working from a blueprint.

He had to develop the very basics of Young Life.

I came to this mission almost 30 years after that. My job was to build on what Jim and the other presidents and leaders had developed and to move us forward. Much is the same; some is different.

What do you see as milestones during your 23-year presidency?

First, any milestone reached was not based on me. It was because of the grace and favor of the Lord leading a team of thousands of people — staff, volunteer leaders, donors, committee people, students.

Greatest milestone: We did not drift. We stayed focused on the purpose, principles and approach God had developed and to which He had called us. We’re still pursuing and impacting adolescents. We’re still introducing them to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith. We’re still going where kids are, winning the right to be heard and sharing the Gospel in a captivating way and in terms they can understand and relate to.

I love that we’re reaching many more kids than we were 23 years ago. We were not afraid to have great dreams. So we doubled during the Recruiting-Training-Deploying years, and we doubled during our Reaching a World of Kids initiative. I love that. More kids got to say, “I’m so glad Young Life didn’t stop before they got to my high school and community.”

I am thankful camping continued to be strong and, over the last 23 years, we started or completed 15 camps in the United States and four other countries. Plus, we started the use of COWs (Camp On Wheels) and other creative camping opportunities.

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Brothers in arms!

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• I love the way we exploded internationally.

We’re now in over 100 countries.

• I’m so thankful for Developing Global

Leaders — a revolutionary scholarship and training program for students in developing countries. We’ve also seen the impact of this.

I’m thankful we’ve pursued every kid. That we’ve seen substantial growth in Capernaum, YoungLives, Multicultural and Urban, rural ministry (with an emphasis on Jumpstarts and Teachers in Mission), military ministry, Young Life College/University, and in schools and communities all over the world.

I’m thankful we now have 250,000 donors who generously give millions of dollars so more kids can know Jesus.

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Newt, we know you’re one of those thousands who have been involved with Young Life during Denny’s tenure and your involvement has been significant. Tell us about your journey in the faith.

I met Jesus when I was 11 years old when a neighborhood family invited me to come to a revival at their church. The Gospel — what it meant to trust only in Jesus for my salvation and to follow Him — was presented in a crystal clear manner by the speaker, and He also painted a vivid picture of the alternative of being under the dominion of the devil and subject to God’s wrath. Needless to say, I walked the aisle and gave my life to Jesus! My faith lay dormant for a couple of years until our family started attending a Bible-teaching church. Since those days, I have walked with my Lord Jesus — or rather He’s walked beside me — and I am blessed to have always been a member of a body of believers committed to God’s Word and the transforming truth of the Gospel. I have served in various capacities in the local church and also in ministries like Young Life, InterVarsity

Christian Fellowship and Twelve Stones. God has blessed me with my wife, Susan, with whom I have served side-by-side for 29 years. To this day, God does not treat me according to my sins, but according to His great mercy. I look back on my life, through the good times and especially the hard times, and am deeply grateful the Lord of Creation has called me to Himself in Christ, asking me to abide in Him by the power of His Spirit.

Please share about your history with Young Life.

In the summer of 1981, after graduating from high school, my family went to Trail West’s family camp. My mom and dad were thinking of starting Young Life in Newburgh, Indiana, and they wanted to experience it firsthand. To quote the movie, Jerry Maguire, Young Life “had us at Hello!” While I was away at college, my mom and dad chaired the local committee that started Young Life, and I served as a volunteer leader while interning at Lilly in Indianapolis. I later served as a volunteer leader in Charlottesville, Virginia, while on my first assignment with Lilly, and have been a leader, donor, committee member/chair in Zionsville, Indiana, and Kobe, Japan. I also had the privilege of serving on the Young Life Board of Trustees from 2004 to 2009.

I’ve been blessed by every minute I’ve served the Lord through Young Life, and I’m more than confident I won’t be sorry when I see Him face to face on that great day.

Denny, how long have you known Newt?

About 15 years. Newt served on our board, I’ve been in Newt and Susan’s home, met their daughter, Jensen, and look forward to meeting their three sons as well. One time Newt and I even did a donor call together. I also knew

Newt’s mom and dad who have been great supporters of the mission in so many ways over years and years. The loss of Newt’s dad (Newt Sr.) was a big blow to their family and Young Life.

From left to right: Newt and Susan Crenshaw; Denny and Marilyn Rydberg.

What would you like people to know about Newt and what he brings to the position?

He loves Christ, kids and our mission. He’s relational. He knows Young Life — he’s been a volunteer leader, a committee person and has served on our board. But he’s not been a “total insider.” He hasn’t been on staff. He hasn’t led this mission. He’s making a huge transition so please pray for Newt and Susan and be patient as he learns. I believe he will be a great leader.

Newt, how would you describe your leadership style?

In Mark 10, Jesus responds to the request of James and John (or their well-intentioned mother, according to Matthew 20) to sit at Jesus’ right and left hand in glory. The other disciples didn’t take too kindly to the brothers’ perceived “power grab,” and Jesus used this teachable moment to share with them all the nature of authentic, kingdom-oriented leadership: “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be the slave of all.

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:42b-45).

Since all who belong to God are “to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29), my leadership needs to be like what Jesus taught and exemplified — a servant, even a slave, who gives his life in service to others.

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I think our collective leadership at Young Life should manifest itself in the ways Paul describes in Ephesians 4:1-16. I have been meditating on this passage in the past weeks and would commend it to all of us.

Denny, what challenges do you see for the mission in the years ahead?

Here’s what I believe:

• There’ll be an intense spiritual battle as we

seek to reach every kid, everywhere, for eternity. Satan will increase his attacks.

There’ll be huge cultural changes. It may be extremely difficult and we’ll have to be amazingly creative to minister in the midst of these changes. But God will not be surprised by what happens and He will give us direction and power.

At some point, there may be no tax breaks for missions and for those who give to these organizations. I’m hopeful this will not impact Young Life because our investors are so committed. But it will pose a financial challenge in other ways.

As we grow, we’ll have to be better equipped to minister in more countries setting up nonprofits, hiring staff, training, etc.

The best Young Life work is yet to be done.

I’m convinced this is the Lord’s team and He desires every young person have an opportunity to know Him. I’ve been bullish on Young Life for 23 years.

I continue to be positive, hopeful and confident. I’ll be cheering all of you on.

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Finally, Denny, how can we be praying for you and Marilyn?

Like everyone else who makes this kind of decision, we have zero experience in what retirement means and how to do it. So pray we may hear clearly the voice of the Lord and obediently follow where He leads.

We’ll spend more time with our kids, grandkids, my dad and friends. Please pray for these relationships.

We want to use our gifts and experiences to further the kingdom, so pray we might seize opportunities that come our way.

We’ll face the challenges of getting older, saying goodbye to loved ones who are “promoted to glory.” Pray we might face change with abundant grace.

One of the greatest gifts Young Life has given us is the community of those who pray for us daily or weekly. Pray for Newt and Susan as much as you’ve prayed for us. But every now and then, remember to pray for the Rydbergs. We’ll be eternally grateful.

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What are you most excited about, Newt, in regard to leading the mission?

I look forward to seeing God glorified through us by the work of the Holy Spirit to transform lost kids, lost families, and lost communities into followers and lovers of our Lord and King, Jesus Christ. As Paul says in the Ephesians 4 passage, we are called “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ (v. 12) … and when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (v. 16).

How can we be praying for you and Susan and the kids?

Please pray we would stay close to the Lord Jesus in this transition and be patient and kind toward one another. Pray for traveling mercies for me and God’s protection from the evil one as we begin this new work and are away from one another over the next several months.

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YOUNG LIFE LITE

Thursday Nights at Momma’s ( Waffle) House

By Stacy Windahl

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I just love these boys so much ... they all know how to laugh along with me. I can tell them what I need prayer for. They light up my week!”

In college towns across the United States, the weekend begins on Thursday. Usually after classes, but that’s not set in stone. And after midnight, a visit to the local Waffle House is the perfect remedy for what ails (or ales) you. One reviewer of a college campus Waffle House said you never know what will break out — “a serenade from a frat boy, or a fight,” or just “passed-out college students … in pajamas or dirty sweatpants.”

Who would want to work the graveyard shift at a 24-hour campus eatery, especially on the weekend?

Rachel Lee would. (But the Young Life guys in High Point, North Carolina, just call her Momma.)

Rachel met her boys just before her birthday during the storms of 2014. The sleet and snow that fell in early February were more than enough to paralyze the southern city. At 2:00 a.m., after officials had declared the following day a snow day, Young Life leader and High Point University student Craig Linder, two buddies and a high school friend decided to gather for some cheap eats. The guys enjoyed that early morning fellowship and the food Rachel served up so much, they decided to meet again at midnight on the following Thursday. Five gathered that time, and, again, their server was Rachel, a hardworking mother of four. Together, they began to wonder how their visits could allow them to serve the server.

“We began thinking about how hard it would be to work Thursday nights,” said Craig, “when there were drunk, inconsiderate college kids coming in.” That night they decided to “get to know Rachel and hear about her life.”

Over the following months, Thursday meetings at midnight continued. More and more guys joined the group. By the end of the school year, 10 were meeting regularly, and Rachel had become more than a server. She was now “Momma” to a group of guys who “prayed for her, rejoiced with her and even became Facebook friends!”

Momma remembers it this way: “When they first started coming, it was just four young men.

After long talks, I told them I would be their mom away from Mom. They kept coming. And they brought more with them. My sons live in Texas, and I don’t get to visit with them. So I get mom hugs, and play around with them, like I would if I had my sons around.”

When the school year and Thursday nights at Waffle House resumed in the fall of 2014, Rachel was there. A group of high school guys had continued to gather during the summer even without their college-age leaders. That year, about 20 guys were meeting regularly, studying the Bible and “praying for the restaurant and the people in it.” They considered it an opportunity to show a different way of living college life.

On the second anniversary of meeting at Momma’s, a record number gathered. This time, they brought the food to the table, and Momma was their guest. At midnight on this Thursday in February, 33 guys presented Momma with a cake for her 40th birthday. Craig said they “sang loud and proud as we celebrated! God is so good!”

Momma agrees. “I just love these boys so much. They have always been so patient, polite, kind and they all know how to laugh along with me. I can tell them what I need prayer for. They light up my week!”

That’s the funny thing about Thursday nights at college-town Waffle Houses. You just never know what will break out.

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Mariah and Tauna.

By S. Michal Bennett According to Young Life Area Director Mariah McCleary, Tauna Nelson was “my first-ever Young Life kid … ever. I only knew one Bible verse. I was pregnant. I was crabby. I would tell her when she made me mad.”

Tauna admits that didn’t make it easy when they first met during her freshman year in high school. “I pretty much avoided Mariah. The Young Life leaders would meet in the parking lot before they came into the high school. After they were done praying, they would rock-paperscissors to decide who was going to talk to the blonde spiky-haired girl that day.”

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Tauna grew up in the small town of Rainier, Washington, knowing nothing about Jesus. “All I knew in reference to Him was Young Life, and it was positive. And I hated all things positive.” She used anger, drugs and alcohol to mask her emotions, but one day, during her sophomore year, she hit rock bottom. As she stood swearing and punching her locker, the one person standing in the otherwise empty common room was Mariah.

And Tauna had to walk by her to leave. Mariah asked if she was OK, and inexplicably, Tauna unloaded all her pain.

“There was nothing about her that was afraid of me,” said Tauna. “This was the first time in my entire life that I had ever verbalized my emotions.

It wasn’t when I gave my life to Jesus, but that was the first time I met Him, through Mariah.”

A few months later, Tauna did experience that moment when she gave her whole self and life to God. “I literally cried for 10 straight minutes,” she said. “From there, God completely healed me of everything. I never drank again. I never touched drugs again. I went from being this kid who was always in trouble to reading my Bible in my room every night.”

Throughout the rest of high school, Tauna was fully involved with Young Life. During her senior year, God gave her a picture of a house full of kids who were alone, misunderstood and had no one to love them. “All I knew was that God had created me to fight for those kids and be someone who would give them a place.” After graduation, she became the first person in her family to attend college. At Northwest Christian College in Eugene, Oregon, she continued leading with Young Life, became the “crazy, small-town white girl” who started a Young Life club focused on the Latino kids at the high school, referred to as Vida Joven. But she also held on to the dream God had given her.

This was the first time in my entire life that I had ever verbalized my emotions. It wasn’t when I gave my life to Jesus, but that was the first time I met Him, through Mariah.”

Fifteen years later, Tauna is walking out that dream. As the program director at Hosea Youth Services in Eugene, she goes beyond developing programs for marginalized, chronically homeless kids, and creates relationships that address the real stuff. “The way that Young Life does incarnational ministry and the emphasis on relationship above everything else ... that’s what Young Life has given to me,” she said.

Tauna and Mariah have stayed close, although they haven’t lived in the same town together since Tauna’s freshman year in high school. “She’s busy,” said Tauna. “But if I need her, she is there at the drop of a hat. She gave me the opportunity at life. I didn’t have life before she dropped into my life. She’s my family.”

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YOUNG LIFE ENCOUNTERS IN ECUADOR Galapagos Islands and Quito, Ecuador, June 4-14, 2016 Young Life Alumni & Friends and Young Life Expeditions have teamed up to offer Encounters — spectacular excursions to give folks who’ve had a touch with Young Life past or present the opportunity to go, see and engage with Young Life in a bucket list destination.

“My favorite memory of our time was Tom [Lutz] standing in club, his arm draped around the shoulders of one of his Galapagos friends, as this young man heard his first talk about Jesus given by a Young Life leader.

“I believe each person returned home with a deeper amazement of God and His creation, as well as a better understanding of how Young Life is introducing kids to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith on a global level. I also imagine they returned home excited to take their relationship with Young Life in their local community to a deeper level.”

— Jeff Tait, Young Life Expeditions Coordinator, Latin America Division

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Top left: Tom Lutz playing games with kids at club.

For more information about upcoming Encounters, visit ylencounters.com and see our ad on page 19.

Top: Blue-Footed Boobies.

Right (clockwise): Straddling the equator; the Expeditions team with Young Life leaders in Quito; Hanging with a sea turtle at Kicker Rock; Rachel Penafiel, wife of Ivan, the Young Life Ecuador national director, prepares to snorkel.

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By Chris Lassiter

First-rate teachers help bring Young Life to the “City of Firsts.”

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In 2002, Gary Bernice was a college student double-majoring in economics and business management. He turned in a paper for a business law class about his passions. First on that list was God. Second was education. The paper, which received a B, only mildly impressed his professor, but it changed Bernice’s life forever.

“It was a kind of a lightning bolt moment,” said Bernice, the director of bands at the Springfield (Massachusetts) High School of Science and Technology (Sci-Tech). “At that moment, I knew I needed to be a teacher. I left the class. I gave my family a call, and said, ‘Hey, I need to be a music teacher.’”

In 2008, Don and Glenna Ryan were dropping off their youngest daughter in Washington, D.C., to start her first semester of college. Glenna’s cell phone rang. It was an administrator from Springfield Central High School, offering her a teaching position.

“I was going to go back to school to become a physical therapist,” said Glenna, who had passed her teaching certification exams and reached out to a few area schools. “No one hired me that summer, but we got a call the week before school was going to start. The principal at Central offered me a job. I had never taught high school before.”

Fast forward to 2016. Not only are Bernice and Ryan decorated teachers at neighboring high schools — Central and Sci-Tech are one and a half miles apart — they are also Young Life leaders.

The two educators are having an eternal impact on students like Princess Gomez and countless others in the Springfield area.

“They’re both very talented in different ways,” said Don Ryan, the committee chair. “They know they are not just there to teach their subjects.

They are there to reach out to kids.”

Change of (Lesson) Plans

Don recently finalized orders for two buses to transport all the Springfield kids signed up for camp this summer.

“A few years ago,” he said matter-of-factly, “we could have all fit in one van.”

The camp trip isn’t the only sign of growth.

Club, which regularly consists of 40 to 50 kids, has finally outgrown the Ryan home.

Much like the mustard seed parable, Young Life in Springfield had extremely modest beginnings, but things have exploded quickly.

In 2000, Don was serving as a Young Life committee chair in Rhode Island, when he followed his job 90 minutes west to Springfield, Massachusetts. With no Young Life in his new city, involvement with the ministry seemed like a door that was closing.

The Ryans’ newest Young Life journey, however, was only beginning.

In Springfield, Glenna began working as a youth director for a church. The pastor of the church became a Christian through Young Life on the West Coast, and he suggested sending a couple of the kids to Young Life camp.

“Those two boys came back saying, ‘Mrs. Ryan, we have to start Young Life here,’ even before I started working at Central,” Glenna recalled. “So we started doing clubs.”

Don and Glenna went out to dinner with a couple to pitch the idea of Young Life teacher staff to them. The man they were considering for the position informed the Ryans that he had just turned in his letter of resignation to the school.

Ironically, that teaching void opened up the door for Glenna to teach at the school.

“There’s just no way Glenna could be a teacher and just leave everything there at the end

of the day,” Don said. “She’s going to get to know the kids and she’s going to care for them.”

Glenna’s own struggle in navigating the teen years well has created a great compassion in her heart for teenagers.

“I made most of my mistakes as a teenager,” she said. “I understand the pain from those choices, and it’s such a critical time in your life.

It made sense to work with Young Life, because of the aspect of fun. And it made sense to do it where I worked, because I’ve always said I want to minister where God puts me.”

More than the Music Man

On Jan. 22, 2007, new band director Gary Bernice walked into a classroom of 20 kids. He wrote a single word on the board: ownership.

“This isn’t my band,” he told the students.

“This is your band.”

Seventeen kids ignored him. But three kids listened.

This would begin a remarkable journey where the band would grow exponentially from 20 kids to 500 kids under Bernice’s guidance. The astonishing story of the band has been turned into a national documentary, SCITECH BAND: Pride of Springfield. The band program has been featured on the local ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX news channels, and the band received a personal handwritten letter from President Obama.

Awards like the 2012 Yale Distinguished Music Educator award have flown in for Bernice. He was a Grammy quarterfinalist for the inaugural music educator award in 2013.

And as much as he has poured into the kids at Sci-Tech, he still felt like there was more he could offer students.

That something turned out to be Young Life.

Four years ago, Don Ryan was trying to drum up interest for a Young Life committee at his church. One church member in particular, Bernice, perked up at the idea of Young Life, but not in the way Don and Glenna expected.

“Gary goes to our church, and kids would go to camp and come back and tell their story, but Gary never said much to us about Young Life,” Don said. “I invited him to a committee meeting, and we start to talk about Young Life. I was hoping to recruit committee members. Gary looks at me and says, ‘Don, I’m not interested in your committee. I want to do Young Life.’”

Regional Field Developer Dave Wintsch secured six spots at camp for Sci-Tech kids.

With Bernice just having fathered twins, Don took the initial group of six kids to camp three years ago. That initial group has grown into a club with as many as 60 to 70 kids, as well as a Campaigner group.

Fifty Sci-Tech students signed up for camp this summer. Bernice treasures his time with kids at Young Life camp.

“Other than being with my family, those weeks have been the most special weeks of my life,” Bernice said. “Watching the students bond with each other, and watching them be able to share things they have never shared before, watching them push themselves in ways they never would have had the courage to do and to see them smile at the end of it. Then we use that comprehensive experience at the end of the day to share about life and share about God.”

“

It made sense to work with Young Life, because of the aspect of fun. And it made sense to do it where I worked, because I’ve always said I want to minister where God puts me.”

The Princess Diaries

Gary Bernice (top in black) with kids dressed as “minions” at camp.

Springfield is known as the city of firsts. It’s the place where basketball was invented, and it’s the city where the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame resides. It’s also where the first commercially produced automobile (Duryea) and motorcycle (Indian) were manufactured, and the first board game (Milton Bradley’s Game of Life) was created. And it’s the hometown of Theodor Geisel, affectionately known to a world of young readers as Dr. Seuss.

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Don and Glenna Ryan (far right) leading kids at camp, including Princess (in red blouse at left).

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Despite its rich history, the city hasn’t been exempt from many of the social ills plaguing inner cities across the nation. Wintsch happened to be present at a meeting where a half dozen of the Springfield kids were giving their testimony.

The kids’ stories brought tears to Wintsch’s eyes.

“They were stories of abandonment, social services coming and separating siblings, moms and dads in prison, hard-working moms just trying to keep the families together,” Wintsch said. “Other stories were even harder to hear.”

Brokenness wasn’t the only theme running consistently through their stories.

“At the conclusion of each one of these stories, you could count on a kid saying, ‘But then I walked into Mr. Bernice’s band room. Then I walked into Mrs. Ryan’s science room, and I felt like I had family,” Wintsch said. “To a kid, that’s what they were all saying.”

That was Princess Gomez’s story. Princess was one of Glenna’s first students at Central, but the relationship got off to a shaky start.

“Glenna comes home every night that fall, and it’s tough,” Don said of his wife’s initial teaching experience. “And one name that I keep hearing a lot is this girl, Princess; always getting detentions. Always getting Saturday School.

Of all the kids I heard about, I heard the most about Princess.”

Looking back, Princess knows she didn’t make it easy for the first-year teacher.

“It was very rocky,” Princess said. “I didn’t get along with her at all. I was a troubled kid. We would bump heads.”

It was an act of incredible humility on Glenna’s part that began to restore the relationship with Princess, and that act had a significant-sized ripple effect in the high school.

After a verbal exchange in the classroom, Glenna sent Princess out of the room. Later, the teacher went and found Princess and apologized.

“It felt like I was acknowledged in some way, like, ‘OK, she respects me,’” Princess said.

Glenna invited Princess to Young Life, and Princess took her up on the invite. Then she came the next week, and the week after that as well.

In fact, she never stopped coming.

“I liked all the games and stuff that was happening,” Princess said. “My relationship with my teacher was getting better. It was like, ‘Oh, I have a cool teacher now.’”

Slowly, the changes in Princess’s life were becoming evident to those around her.

“My principal that knew me very well — because I wasn’t the best kid — noticed that I had changed,” Princess said. “I wasn’t getting suspended any more. It was just like all this good stuff. He said if something can change her, it could change any kid.”

Princess believes Young Life ministry could change any kid, too. That’s why she started on staff in August.

“Where I live is an urban area, and our kids need it,” Princess said. “There’s a lot of kids like me or even worse. I’ve been through what they’ve been through, and I can help them.

There is a better path. It doesn’t have to stay in the same circle. I just want to open kids’ hearts to, ‘Hey, there’s a God that loves you. There may not be people in your life that love you, but we love you.’”

That is the message that’s springing up in Springfield through the work of Glenna, Gary, Princess and, now, a team of over 20 other teachers and volunteer leaders.

A Time to

By Lucy Parker

A Capernaum leader and her friend revel in the best day of their lives.

Last November I was able to take one of our girls, Jules, with the rest of the Young Life kids from Boston North Shore on our fall weekend to Lake Champion. Jules has a sensory processing disorder, which means her brain is in a constant state of “traffic jam.” She has trouble with the information coming in — figuring out what it means and what to do with it. That said, she’s not supposed to understand anything that isn’t physical or tangible.

As we walked back to the cabin after each club, we would spend a little while processing the talk we just heard. It started small, with tiny realizations. First, sin is a bunch of little things, not just killing somebody, or robbing a bank.

Second, you didn’t have to be in church to pray, you could talk to God whenever you wanted to and it didn’t even matter how many or how few words you used when you talked to Him. As we were walking back to our cabin after the final club on Sunday morning, just as we were about to cross the covered bridge, she said, “Thanks so much for taking me this weekend; it really changed my life.” Little did she know that one simple sentence changed mine. Because of the nature of her disability, Jules was never one to initiate a conversation. This was the first conversation she had ever begun with me; I was blown away by that in and of itself. I asked her to explain how it changed her life. She told me she knows she’s going to sin all the time, because she’s not perfect, she’s not God. But, when she did sin (for instance, curse) she could just pray to God and ask Him to forgive her, and He would. Even more, she shared that anytime she was lonely, or sad, or even happy, she could talk to God and tell Him what was going on. A girl whose brain, according to doctors, wasn’t “wired” to understand the Gospel just explained the entire Gospel to me. I had no words. I had never seen such a big glimpse of God in my life. She wasn’t supposed to get it, but she did, because the God of the universe created her and loved her. If this isn’t a testament to His greatness and vastness, I’m not exactly sure what is.

Jules has some trouble balancing, so we took a break for a minute to sit down on a rock after we crossed the bridge. While we were sitting, we prayed, and she accepted Christ into her heart. She said she was going to start going to church with her mom (and she has been).

Through my tears, I attempted to share how grateful I was for her, and what a joy she was to me, though I didn’t do a very good job of it. She asked why I was crying, and I told her all of the angels were throwing a party for her in heaven, and I was imagining them rejoicing over her. She started to dance, because “it’s not a party until you start dancing” (her exact words) and we both agreed it was the best day of our lives.

A girl whose brain, according to doctors, wasn’t ‘wired’ to understand the Gospel just explained the entire Gospel to me.”

Lucy (left) and her friend Jules.

16

er ie Strad

By Lesl

From left to right: Young Life leader Nathan Crighton with Bárča, his wife, Luci, and Kelly Gaudreau.

17

When Bárča (pronounced Bar-cha) Klečková met Jesus at Young Life camp, He wasn’t quite what she expected. She imagined a booming voice or maybe a bolt of lightning from the sky. Instead, He worked side by side with her in the kitchen, laughed with her during club, absorbed complaints, embodied kindness and stayed up late to patiently answer her questions.

The teenager was captivated by Jesus before she knew it was Him. She saw Him first in the Young Life volunteers who showed her the Savior through their very lives, moving her toward the Truth that would set her free.

Looking for Answers

Bárča has lived her whole life in Ostrava, Czech Republic. She first heard about Young Life five years ago from her high school English teacher (and Young Life teacher staff), Nathan Crighton, and his wife, Luci, who is on full-time

Young Life Czech staff. They were leading the Hladnov English Drama Club, another avenue Young Life uses to reach teenagers in that part of the world.

“Bárča was part of a group we started to hang out with, and some of them joined the drama club,” Luci recalled. “She didn’t come to Young Life club or Campaigners, but I maintained a relationship with her. Bárča and her best friend, Eva, were really on my heart.

I cared for them a lot.”

Bárča remembers Luci inviting her to Young Life events, but the whole scene just felt foreign to her. Christianity, she believed, was “not an option.” She grew up among atheists in her home and culture; for Bárča, church was for boring old people.

“I was 16 and going through the rebel chapter of my life,” Bárča said. “I always had something better to do on Friday nights or weekends — mostly going to parties and drinking — than going to Young Life.”

But even as she fought against accepting what these new friends stood for, she admits she knew there was more to life.

“I’ve always believed there is something bigger than us,” Bárča said, “I couldn’t deal with the opinion that once you’re dead there’s nothing more because if this is true, then life has no meaning. I was looking for answers, but I couldn’t find them.”

“

It was Young Life and the people and relationships in Young Life that God used to open my eyes.”

“Too Unbelievable”

It was the search for something more that compelled Bárča to sign up for summer camp in 2013. Through club talks and cabin times, Bárča heard the story of Jesus.

“It was just too unbelievable for me,” she said. “My two best friends and I were mostly making fun of it, but when I wasn’t joking about it I was really frustrated and angry. I didn’t understand how those people could be so sure that what they say is true. It didn’t make any sense to me and, honestly, I thought the speaker and my cabin leader were crazy.”

Still, Bárča wanted to believe, but first needed to be sure. So during the 20 minutes alone near the end of the week, Bárča spoke to God for the first time.

“I said, ‘OK, God, I want to know you, but I need to be sure about it. So if you do exist, give

Adjusting and Abiding:

Young Life in the Czech Republic Work crew is a Young Life camp service opportunity traditionally reserved for high school students following Jesus. But the culture in Eastern Europe compels the mission to expand its borders in more ways than one.

Al Anderson, regional director for Young Life in Central and Eastern Europe, explains the challenge of doing ministry in one of the most atheistic countries in the world: “Coming to believe there is a God takes a long time in Czech Republic, because it is a change in the cultural worldview. If kids have had a deep relationship with one of our leaders for many years, and have been to camp several times, then sometimes we ask them to serve on work crew because through service, they get to experience Jesus, not just talk about Him.” Kelly Gaudreau, regional campaign director for Europe, has served in Young Life stateside and internationally. He says even though some tweaks to methods are necessary for ministry success, the abiding principles hold fast.

“The principles of Young Life are so deeply rooted in Scripture that they work anywhere,” he said. “There are things you have to change in different cultures — even in America with rural, urban or suburban areas. Club and Campaigners are tools we use, but the way we reach kids oneon-one is so deeply rooted in what Jesus did that it works no matter where you are.

“It’s the tried and true idea of pursuing kids, without having an agenda — just loving them where they are.”

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me some evidence please.’ I expected something would happen right away, but it didn’t. So I laughed at myself and decided there’s no God, and they truly were crazy, and I didn’t want to go to Young Life anymore.”

Back home, Luci continued to pursue Bárča.

Bárča kept her promise to avoid Young Life, but stayed involved with Drama Club. Summer came around again, and Luci invited Bárča to be a part of work crew at camp in Croatia.

Both confess they had ulterior motives: Luci was looking for a way to spend more time with Bárča. And Bárča just wanted to be near a beach and work with the Americans she heard would be there.

Bárča made herself one more promise before leaving for work crew: she would stay away from “all Christian things.” And she was pretty good at it. She ducked out of some of the Bible studies and kept herself busy to avoid attending most of the clubs. But while she was avoiding the Christian “things,” the person of Jesus made Himself undeniably real in the people around her.

“

Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

Last September, Bárča became a volunteer leader at her old high school’s drama club. She’ll be on the program team for summer camp this year and is looking forward to being baptized this fall with her two best friends, Kača and Eva. Bárča says the love of Jesus she experienced through the ministry of Young Life is perfectly summed up in her favorite verse, John 8:32: “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

“It was Young Life and the people and relationships in Young Life that God used to open my eyes,” she said. “And it is still very important on my path with God because I learn many things from the leaders and from Luci. I love not only getting but also giving out to students as a volunteer leader.

“I am really grateful for Young Life in my life.”

Set Free

Whether it was an after-hours conversation or an attitude displayed while serving others, Bárča saw Jesus everywhere she looked. Bárča said she again asked God for a sign, something to show her He was real. And again, He seemed to be silent.

It wasn’t until the bus ride back that Bárča found her way home.

“I was talking with my friend Domča [who didn’t have a relationship with God either] about everything that happened at camp, and I told her God didn’t answer me again, and I didn’t know what to think about it. Then she said, ‘And don’t you think that the whole camp was just one big evidence for you?’ After she said it, the most amazing moment of my life happened.

“I don’t know how to explain it other than the work of God and the Holy Spirit, because at that moment everything immediately clicked in my head. I was 200 percent sure that everything I had been told about God was true and will always be true. I knew I could never deny this certainty in my life.”

Luci received a text from Bárča that night and knew right away her prayers had been answered. “Prayer is really important,” Luci said. “We asked our friends and donors to pray specifically for Bárča and Eva to accept Jesus as their personal Savior, and a year later they both did. The main aim is to have real relationships with the students. Even though they might not come to club or Campaigners, you can still be there for them and show them and tell them about Christ however you can.”

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Young Life Alumni & Friends and Young Life Expeditions present Encounters — a few spectacular Expeditions planned each year giving folks who’ve had a touch with Young Life past or present the opportunity to go, see and engage with Young Life in a bucket-list destination.

2017 OFFERINGS HOLY LAND (MARCH 3-11) Follow in the footsteps of Jesus in the Holy Land.

ST. PETERSBURG (MAY 5-13) Tour the magnificent city of St. Petersburg, Russia, and witness the 20-year ministry of Young Life Russia.

PERU (JUNE 15-22) Experience the vibrant history of Peru in this eight-day adventure exploring Machu Picchu, Cusco and the Sacred Valley of the Inca.

TANZANIA (LATE JULY) Partner in community outreach with Tanzanian staff, and then enjoy a Safari Trip or climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.

REFORMATION TOUR (SEPT. 20 – OCT. 1) Join Young Life in Germany on this fabulous tour for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

Find out all the trip details at www.ylencounters.com 888-963-4443

YOUNG LIFE SPOKEN HERE

YOUNG LIFE’S MISSION IN

INDIA

EST. 2000

In the middle of India, the largest democracy in the world with a population of 1.2 billion, there are over 226 million young people between the ages of 15 and 24. The major religions here are Hinduism (79.8 percent), Islam (14.2 percent) and Christianity (2.3 percent).

Indian Young Life staff and volunteers are changing the world — one kid at a time. We have 16 full-time staff, two students involved in Developing Global Leaders and 51 volunteers involved in the work. In less than five years Young Life has grown from one city to five: Bangalore, New Delhi, Raipur, Namchi and Siliguri. We’re also developing ministries in the cities of Mumbai, Jaipur and Bihar.

New Delhi Jaipur

Namchi Siliguri Bihar

Raipur Mumbai

Bangalore

*Developing Ministries

BY THE NUMBERS

1,689

266

20

5,176

Average number of kids in club weekly

Total ministries

Average number in Campaigners weekly

Kids reached

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CELEBRATING Jim Rayburn Years as president: 1941-1964

Bill Starr Years as president: 1964-1977

Bob Mitchell Years as president: 1977-1986

Doug Burleigh Years as president: 1987-1992

Denny Rydberg Years as president: 1993-2016

Newt Crenshaw Began presidency July 2016

75

In each issue of Relationships during this historic year, we’ll take a look at how God has provided for the mission over the last seven and a half decades. Here, we recognize the faithful service of Young Life’s first five presidents, while welcoming our sixth, Newt Crenshaw.

As I travel across the country, I feel continually humbled that the Lord would bless me so and bless the work so much. We are utterly unworthy of all of this. It has gone beyond our fondest expectations and now this great growth is pointing us to things that we could not have dreamed of a few years ago.”

— Jim Rayburn, 1953

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

YOUNG LIFE!

To commemorate Young Life turning 75 on Oct. 16, we’ve put together Made for This: The Young Life Story, our 220-page coffee table book celebrating all the Lord has done through the mission.

I congratulate you all. Made for This is beautifully done, the layout, the content, everything was good and very accurate.”

– Bill Starr, Former Young Life President

Made for This is glossy and fun to look through, with lots of facts and graphics, great photos, and a fascinating review on all things Young Life. It’s not only a great book to hold in your hands, it’s important. The story needed to be written down, detailed and shared through the lives of people whose hearts have been changed because of Young Life.”

– Joni Eareckson Tada

It’s not too soon to order for Christmas! younglifestore.com

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THOUS AN A L RE A D S DY SOLD!

THANK YOU, DENNY! As our longest serving president (your term covering nearly one-third of Young Life’s history!), you have led us well.

Encouraged by your vision, wisdom and love, we joyfully continue in our mission to introduce kids to Jesus Christ and help them grow in their faith. You are leaving this mission better than you found it — even though we all know you’ll never really leave Young Life. As you pass the baton to Newt, we want to thank you for being the leader we needed “for such a time as this.”

1993

2015/2016

1,728

4,903

Volunteers

15,986

68,385

Contributions

$35.1 million

$251.4 million

25

101

400,000

2 million

Staff

Countries Kids

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

— Hebrews 12:1-3

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

Give Smart!

✁

It’s not just a financial objective. It’s also the name of a series of informative pieces from the Young Life Foundation designed to address specific opportunities you may have to Give Smart!

Values over Valuables Pass down more than just your possessions.

Continue Your Life’s Story Five ways the average person can leave a legacy gift.

Smart Selling A strategy for minimizing taxes due upon the sale of a major asset.

Life Income Gifts Create a lifetime income stream AND give to charity when you die.

Oil, Gas and Mineral Rights Gifts What to know about gifting these kinds of assets.

Stocks/Bonds/Mutual Funds/Stock Options How to give these assets.

Smart Strategies for Taxable Estates How to give more to your family and charities you care about while giving less to Uncle Sam!

To receive any of the pieces mentioned above, clip this ad, indicate which pieces you would like to receive and send back to Jeff Rudder at Young Life, Box 520, Colorado Springs, CO 80901 or call Jeff at 800-813-1945 | jrudder@sc.younglife.org The information contained herein is for explanatory purposes and is not intended to be used as tax or legal advice.

The Young Life Foundation recommends that you contact a professional tax advisor who can provide you with information on how the use of techniques and ideas in this piece may apply to your personal tax situation.