Youth Unlimited Magazine | Summer 2017

SUMMER 2017 ISSUE

YOUTHUNLIMITED.ORG

YOUTHUNLIMITED STUDENTS | CHURCHES | FAITH-FORMING EXPERIENCES A L S O I N S I D E : S E E I N G J E S U S I N T H E B R O K E N N E S S | PA R K R A N G E R S | S P R E A D S H A LO M S T E P P I N G U P | 2 0 1 8 S E R V E P L A N N I N G C A L E N DA R

YOUTH UNLIMITED | Summer 2017 Youth Unlimited has a rich 90 year history of assisting churches ministering to youth. Birthed out of the Christian Reformed Church, Youth Unlimited remains committed to the reformed perspective while serving alongside congregations of any denomination. We strongly believe that the local church is the tool God is using to reveal himself to this world, and we are blessed to partner with congregations to offer faith-forming experiences that reach this generation of youth for Jesus Christ!

This informational magazine is printed in the United States as a free resource to churches across North America. It is published triannually

by Youth Unlimited, Grand Rapids, MI.

Design & Publication | SDPcreative Contributing Writers | Annika Bangma and Don Koops

Contents from the director.. .................................................................. 1 Connecting students with Christ: seeing Jesus in the brokenness.........................................2 Connecting students with the church: park rangers . . .......................................................................... 4 Connecting students with the community: spread shalom. . ........................................................................6

Editor | Mandi Grasmeyer

Where will you serve in 2018?......................................... 8

USA | Postmaster, please send undeliverable

FACES OF YOUTH UNLIMITED: stepping Up.. ........................10

Youth Unlimited 1333 Alger Street SE Grand Rapids, MI 49507

Let’s Connect. . .........................................................................12

copies and address changes to:

Canada | Canada Post International Sales Agreement #41124116.

resources. . ................................................................................13

Please send undeliverable copies and address changes to: Youth Unlimited PO Box 1100 Norwich, ON N0J 1P0

THE YOUTH UNLIMITED TEAM: Executive Director:

Jeff Kruithof 616.241.5616 ext. 3043 jeff@youthunlimited.org

American SERVE Coordinator:

Seeing Jesus in the Brokenness –Page 2

Amanda Roozeboom 616.241.5616 ext. 3038 amanda@youthunlimited.org

Canadian SERVE Director: Ron DeVries 780.619.6566 ron@youthunlimited.org

Canadian SERVE Coordinator: Elizabeth Bosscher 616.241.5616 ext. 3039 elizabeth@youthunlimited.org

Communications Coordinator: Mandi Grasmeyer 616.241.5616 ext. 3046 mandi@youthunlimited.org

Where Will You SERVE in 2018?

–Page 8

FROM THE DIRECTOR

I

’ve heard the saying, “You work like it depends on you and you pray like it depends on God.” I’m not sure about the theology of that statement, but it sure does reflect the past nine months of activity for Youth Unlimited.

The Youth Unlimited staff and our 28 SERVE teams are in full preparation mode for SERVE 2017. 1,500 students and leaders will converge at 28 host churches to serve their communities on behalf of God and that local church.

Throughout their week, students will worship, study scripture, see a broken world in need of Christ and love the people in those communities. In the process, they will discover the Holy Spirit is also wanting to connect with them, often times changing the course of their lives forever!

When SERVE is done right, it is a win/win/win scenario for students, connecting them to Christ, the Church and communities. In this issue of the Youth Unlimited magazine, you will read stories of God’s blessing on each of those. You will also get a behind the scenes view of the preparation being put in by our SERVE teams in order to better create a space for those connections to be made.

Though I am already looking forward to sharing the amazing stories that develop through SERVE 2017, between now and then, would you join me and the Youth Unlimited team in praying for the participants, churches and communities involved this summer?

Would you pray for the participants to remain safe and in good health, for local churches to build lasting bridges to their communities, for spiritual growth and maturity of everyone involved and, most importantly, for Jesus Christ to be glorified through SERVE 2017?

We know SERVE can be an integral part of a student’s faith formation, and we look forward to the countless opportunities ahead for students to find God at their SERVE experiences. This is why we take our work so seriously, and, more importantly, this is why we depend on God. Grateful to partner in ministry with you,

Jeff Kruithof Executive Director Youth Unlimited

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STUDENTS+ CHRIST

Seeing in the

BY LAURA

Jesus

Brokenness

High River SERVE Participant, 2014

I

n the summer of 2014, a group of students from my church, Maranatha Christian Reformed Church in Edmonton, Alberta, embarked on a SERVE mission trip to High River, Alberta. High River had been hit with a disastrous flood one summer earlier, and as a result, the entire city had to be evacuated for 10 days. Our mission on the SERVE trip was to assist the town in cleaning up any damage that had come from the flooding… and there was a lot of it!

We painted battered fences, rebuilt decks and houses, landscaped, built gardens, etc., but we did so much more than just the physical labour. We also listened.

We listened to numerous accounts of disaster and strife, and we listened as locals cried when they recounted the emotional aspect of the flood.

One of the most amazing parts of the trip though, was when we were honoured with the opportunity to listen to the

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miraculous things that Jesus had done during the flood. Amidst houses being torn to pieces, and lives being turned upside down, it was beautiful to see that people were so aware of what God was showing them and what he was accomplishing in the storm.

A particular story that stuck out to me was told by the pastor of a local church. The church had been hit just as hard as every other building, so when Pastor Paul was allowed back into it, he expected to see everything in the basement in disarray. As predicted, everything in the room had been knocked down, forced into different places or broken, but the table that was holding the Bible was solidly standing where it belonged.

For me, this was an incredible and direct message from God. When you feel knocked down, like you’re in the wrong place, or when things in life seem broken, God is never failing. He doesn’t

leave us when our lives overflow with sin or when we keep falling down. When I heard the story, and was reminded of this aspect of God, it made me feel so secure in my relationship with him, like I was seeing Jesus in a very direct way.

I look forward to hearing, experiencing and sharing many more miracles as I daily strive to live for Christ, and I’m so thankful that one of the places I could do that was on my SERVE trip to High River.

When you feel knocked down, like you're in the wrong place, or when things in life seem broken, God is never failing.

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STUDENTS+ CHURCH

PARK RANGERS Holland SERVE, Park Christian Reformed Church

T

he opportunity to have been part of the “Park Rangers” group at my church has drastically changed the way I look at and interact with my church today.

Planning to host a SERVE trip with a congregation of our size didn’t seem possible, but I was amazed to see the abundance of support from the members of our church and community. People were signing up to lead games, cook meals, help out with job sites and be a part of the main Host Team. The Park Rangers group, in particular, became a very tight knit group as we spent the whole week on site together. We ate together, worked together, organized together and if we were ever seen without the others it was very rare!

Being at our church for a week straight was odd at first, but that mentality quickly changed as we made new relationships within our church community. As a group, we got to know many of our staff members better. For example, our cook on site, Donna, became like a member of our family after the week was over. People we never used to talk to at church were quickly becoming people we wanted to be around all the time.

Hosting SERVE was a huge undertaking, but the reward was well worth the effort put in. For the Park Rangers, our group walked away from a week of SERVE with a feeling of genuine community, and many new relationships formed within our own church walls.

-Park CRC Student

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A

s a volunteer youth leader and a member of our SERVE Host Team, it has been such a blessing to work with our Park Rangers and watch them develop into team members and grow as church volunteers.

The experience has been incredibly positive in that the students were able to use their talents and energy for God. Relationships between the “Park Rangers� grew and friendships that were not there before blossomed.

As the week progressed and everyone became tired, I was able to see them dig their heels in even deeper to make sure the experience for those at our site was

not just good, but great. Members from our church who volunteered throughout the week were able to see our Park Rangers in action, setting things up, tearing things down, playing games, cleaning bathrooms, hauling food, carting supplies, motivating students at worksites and enjoying serving others.

This has allowed many other relationships within our church to grow. I often see our youth talking with some of the people that volunteered in the kitchen or at the worksites. A sense of community has grown that spans all ages. I believe it is so very important that the youth feel valued as church members and I think Park Rangers helps them to be just that.

By using their gifts to glorify God, they are a valued member of the Body of Christ.

-Park CRC Volunteer Youth Leader

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STUDENTS+ COMMUNITY

Spread Shalom I

BY ANNIKA BANGMA Whitinsville SERVE Host Team Coordinator

n June of 2014, our town of Northbridge (of which Whitinsville is a village) had just voted down a hefty tax override that would give the local public school additional resources.

Although there are many reasons why the override failed, a writer in the opinion column of our local newspaper argued, “The major obstacle we continually face is that an “organized” subgroup of voters does not feel the civic need to invest in things that enhance our public school system and town services. This subgroup of voters isn’t the only obstacle, but certainly the major one…. We understand that this subgroup has their own private school in town and does not rely on the public school system to educate their children. But we also know that it is our moral obligation to care for the concerns of others in a community.”

He goes on to suggest, “They also own many great businesses that we enjoy spending our hard earned dollars at. Let’s work diligently to bring this relationship to a win-win for everyone, so those of us who want the town to invest in our children and the public school system don’t have to become an “organized” subgroup of buyers and take our business elsewhere.”

Although many believe that the writer was looking for a scapegoat during a frustrating time in our town, it was not difficult to read between the lines of his insinuation. There is one private school in our town: the Whitinsville Christian School, founded by Pleasant Street Christian Reformed Church. Our church.

Essentially, our church was being accused of not caring for the concerns of others in the community, of not investing in things that enhance our public schools and town services and, in general, neglecting our civic duty. There was a clear misconception in our town about our church and our care for our community and town. We had an image problem on our hands.

“They came to visit, not to stay, 6 | SUMMER 2017

Fast-forward to January of 2016. During our very first Host Team meeting, our leaders spent time talking and praying about what we hoped God would do through SERVE. Looking through the list of possible outcomes supplied by Youth Unlimited, we took particular notice of using SERVE to grow “personal relationships in the local community with gospel centeredness” and “Organizational/government relationships [thereby] expanding the congregation’s reach into the community.”

Consequently, we made a very intentional decision to partner with as many town services and organizations as possible throughout our week of SERVE.

Our worksites would include the Police Department, the Fire Department, painting fire hydrants for the Northbridge Department of Public Works and the Northbridge Senior Center. We made the decision to use the showers at the Northbridge Public Middle School, instead of using the facilities at Whitinsville Christian, and worked to expand our relationship with the Superintendent of Northbridge Public Schools. In addition, we worked with the Blackstone Heritage Corridor, Inc/ National Park Service to tackle one of the biggest jobs they have ever had volunteers take on.

After our week of SERVE was over, the front page of the local paper headlined: “Teens ‘SERVE’ a Week in the Blackstone Valley” – complete with a color photo, and two-part article about the “scores of students” that had been at work in town during SERVE, while being hosted

by Pleasant Street. The town manager was quoted as saying “I can’t say enough about these kids. It’s been a real positive experience. All the department heads were positive about it. Oftentimes you hear the negatives; this puts hope back in what youth can do.” In addition, at least four other newspapers ran the photo of the signing of a three-foot-wide check, made out to the National Park Service’s Volunteers in the Parks Program as a symbol of the 3,168 hours of service that the Blackstone Valley received on behalf of SERVE, which the NPS considered to be worth a dollar value of $73,085.76.

Just as our Host Team was starting to regroup to start meeting regularly again to plan 2017, we received a phone call inviting us to an awards night in December, hosted by the Blackstone Heritage Corridor Inc/ NPS. At the awards, we were blown away to be designated the “Outstanding Special VIP [Volunteers in the Parks] Project Award” for 2016.

On the award certificate, Suzanne Buchanan, NPS Volunteer Coordinator, had scribed “They came to visit, not to stay, but their impact is felt here every day.” Those words, which were written to acknowledge the drastic results that the visiting students had achieved on the worksites, are more true than Suzanne Buchanan will ever fully understand.

The impact of SERVE is not just felt through the physical work the students and leaders accomplished on the various worksites. It is felt every day in the way our church is understood in our community. It has enabled us to continue to grow relationships with town department heads, the Police Chief and the public school system. It has helped us to learn, communicate effectively our motives and efforts, further recognize gaps in the way our town is run and help fill them. It has helped set a trajectory of spreading shalom within our local community, and gaining momentum in other year-round efforts that our church seeks to follow Christ into. It has been the definition of a “win,” and we feel we cannot thank the visiting churches, leaders and students enough for helping us transform our community, and the role we, Pleasant Street Christian Reformed Church, have in it.

And this was only the first year.

but their impact is felt here every day.” youthunlimited.org | 7

WHERE WILL

YOU SERVE NEXT SUMMER? SITES ANNOUNCED SEPTEMBER 1 YOUTHUNLIMITED.ORG/SERVE

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SERVE 2018 Planning Calendar o September 1, 2017 2018 SERVE Sites announced at youthunlimited.org! o September/October 2017 Choose a SERVE experience. Invite input from fellow leaders, students, parents and church leadership. There are sample letters in the Digital Resource Box to assist you in your planning and communication. o November 1, 2017 Register your group by placing a deposit. You will only need to indicate the number of youth and adult spots at this time. Sites are filled on a first come, first served basis! o March 31, 2018 Complete your registration forms online by March 31 to lock in the early bird rate. o May 1, 2018 Final balance due and last day to register for June SERVE Sites. o June 1, 2018 Final balance due and last day to register for July SERVE Sites.

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FACES

OF YOUTH UNLIMITED

Stepping Up So many times

BY DON KOOPS

at SERVE I have

D

encountered projects that appeared overwhelming, and each time our God has shown up to accomplish his plans and purposes.

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Youth Unlimited Board Member

uring my years of youth ministry, I helped take groups on 12 SERVE trips to the states of Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota and Virginia, as well as three trips to Ontario, Canada. I’ve also coordinated seven weeks of SERVE at my own church.

The church I attend is a relatively small fellowship, so when we have hosted SERVE we have enlisted the services and assistance of churches in a broad range of denominations within a 25mile radius. This has brought us all closer together for a united purpose and opened our eyes more fully to ministry opportunities around us.

My time spent on SERVE has enriched my life so much, as I have met a lot of great committed people, who have a passion for teenagers. In those times, I have seen the transformations of many students in one short week that have been life changing and I’ve grown in my own faith walk as well.

I have also had the privilege of experiencing so many varied cultures through SERVE. Even though I come from a rural background, I’ve noticed more similarities than differences in life experiences and people. It has been a real blessing for our youth group and myself to assist others in need through the different worksites we have encountered.

Over the years there are several SERVE experiences that stand out in my mind.

My first SERVE experience was in Battle Creek, Michigan where my group, along with another work group, led by a Canadian leader, dismantled a large roof and rebuilt it for an elderly gentleman.

When we started to take off the roof in the reconstruction phase, we noticed that there were Rubbermaid pans everywhere to catch the rain water that still managed to filter into the home, which was badly in need of repair. It was more of a challenge than anyone of us had ever imagined taking on, as we needed to rebuild rafters, re-sheet the roof and shingle it all in the space of a week. The high humidity and temperatures of the season made it an even larger undertaking. Obviously, it was a bigger job than we could accomplish by ourselves, so prayer for God’s leading and wisdom was enlisted many times throughout the week.

As I have been made aware of time and again, the themes for the week of SERVE fit the circumstances, and God places just the right people in his timing and place within the group. So many times at SERVE I have encountered projects that appeared overwhelming, and each time our God has shown up to accomplish his plans and purposes.

The theme for our week in Battle Creek, was “Stepping Up,” and it definitely called for that mindset. Most importantly, we were able to complete the project just as late Friday afternoon arrived, which was no small miracle in itself.

This and many other moments from my SERVE experiences will forever be etched in my mind as reminders of what SERVE is all about! God’s plans and purpose always prevail.

As the newest member of the Youth Unlimited Board, I’m now looking forward to the opportunity to serve in the broader scope of the organization.

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LET’S CONNECT

YouthUnlimited yuorg youthunlimited yu_youthunlimited youthunlimited videoYU

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RE SOURCE S DIGITAL RESOURCE BOX

Youth Unlimited’s Digital Resource Box helps you prepare for your faith-forming experience. Four easy-touse categories with downloads will make planning your SERVE trip even better: Promotions, Registration, Leader Helps & Pre/Post-Trip Resources.

YOUTHUNLIMITED.ORG/SERVE/ RESOURCE-BOX/

BLOG Are you keeping up with Youth Unlimited? Be sure to check out the Youth Unlimited blog to read up on powerful testimonies, get the latest Youth Unlimited updates and share youth ministry ideas.

YOUTHUNLIMITED.ORG/BLOG

E-NEWSLETTER Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter on our website homepage to receive monthly updates on what Youth Unlimited is doing.

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