Becca:

"YFCamp, where everything changes definitely says it all. Never did I think that in a week's time I would see the lives of so many students changed forever. Living life with students around the clock for a week, I was able to care for students who not only had broken hearts, but sprained wrists, fevers, ear infections, and even stomach aces. Camp provided an opportunity unlike any other to truly serve students in every capacity and helped them to see and understand that YFC is not just a means of bringing the Gospel, but that we are willing to give up our sleep, our home, a week of work, and the shirts off of our backs to meet their needs. In doing so with patience and a smile, students are able to get a small glimpse of the grace of God. Not only hearing the Word, but seeing it in action from the YFC volunteers, staff, and work crew has given my girls a desire to praise God for Who He is, what He has done for them, and the way that they desire to see their lives transformed.

There is nothing like seeing the once hard-hearted students raising their hands to worship the Lord because He has given them a new hope or leaders encouraged to continue pouring their lives into students because they have been a part of the Lord's work through YFCamp in students experiencing the transforming power of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."

Brittany:

"After camp I had a much deeper grasp of how far God can move mountains. Throughout the summer i interacted with the students... at camp i became apart of their lives. i feel like i literally sat back and watched God move a mountain within their hearts. Suddenly, actions and attitudes began changing. They were beginning to show love and be loved.

Also, I became more capable of showing LOVE to those that God had placed in my life. The relationship that I have with my students is now deeper and meaningful. Camp allowed me to deepen those relationships."

Chad:

"After experiencing middle school and high school camp, God definitely affirmed that I belong in relational youth ministry. Just being with the kids in their own element is so impactful on a leader like myself, you can't help but have the time of your life. I often found myself having more fun with my students, then with the friends I have back home.

Seeing God move at camp is an experience that cannot be put into words, and to be apart of that experience is one that I hope to never take lightly. To put it in simple terms: YFC Camp has changed my life as a student, leader, and a Christ-follower."

Gigi:

"YFCamp is definitely a camp to remember forever. I was a camper at Northbay this summer before I did Work Crew for Southwind, and already being a Christian I didn't expect anything different. That's where I was wrong, going to Northbay brought me closer to God and when I served at Southwind I got even closer to Him. Having all the middle schoolers come up to us and thank us and appreciate what we did for them felt amazing.

They didn't just see what we did they saw what Jesus was doing through us and these experiences are forever with me. I can't wait to go back next year to serve the Lord again!"

Taylor:

"Serving at YFCamp was definitely a life changing experience. Before I served, I was actually a camper, and being a camper changed my whole perspective on life and God, for the better. I didn't know what the Work Crew had to go through throughout the days they served us, but now I can say I do! Seeing all the endearing middle school students brought me overwhelming joy. To know that they want to change their life is so incredible.

Throughout the week I bonded with many students, and staff and I will never forget these people that YFCamp has brought into my life. YFCamp turned my life around for eternity, and I will give everlasting thanks to the Youth For Christ team!"

After one of our summer meetings I was talking with a group of guys when the conversation turned spiritual. After several months of spending time with these guys I finally had an open door to share how God wants a relationship with them.

Nothing.

That idea really didn't resonate at all. And yet, the concept is something so common we almost take it for granted. That is when it hit me. These guys have no idea about what a real relationship even looks like!

None of them have a father at home. Mom has to work overtime to support the family. One of the guys has a girlfriend... but he doesn't know her last name or her phone number. Communication comes through a 3x5 touchscreen. That is a snapshot of their most significant relationships.

And then there is me. We hang out, we laugh, I listen. I take them as they are. They understand that they don't have to change or be different for me to care about them. But, we really only get to hang out once, maybe twice a week.

I want them to change, to come to Christ. But, I can't force it. That is something only a relationship with a God who loves them can do. And that is the rub.

Not only do they not understand God's love, they don't understand the vehicle through which it comes.

Unless that vehicle is me. That is why I have to keep showing up. Listening. Being patience. Loving without an agenda. It is hard, it is slow but it is necessary because the sad reality is that I represent the only honest relationship most of these kids have. It is stories like this that remind me of why I do what I do. And, that we need more people to be doing it.

It is hard to explain an iPad. It's much more fun to experience one.

Scott is on staff with Palm Beach County Youth for Christ and also blogs at www.story-living.com. 

I pulled my cart quickly into the grocery line – in a hurry as always. I only had a few items to pay for and I expected a speedy transaction. Then I noticed the woman in front of me. She had several piles of baby food items on the counter – each pile with some kind of check on top. (They looked like WIC checks) And each check required a signature.

My first thought was impatience. I looked behind me hoping for an escape to another cashier, but someone else had already entered the line. I rolled my eyes at her at if to say “we’re in for a long wait.” My second thought was criticism toward someone who was probably taking advantage of the entitlement system.

Then it hit me: that could be me! There have been some serious financial setbacks in the last two years in my household. In fact, our home is on the verge of foreclosure. I was immediately sorry and told God so. But at that moment I’m afraid that the horror of being poor and needing government assistance eclipsed the horror of dishonoring God by being impatient and critical. I needed to do some serious praying to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)

I could almost picture God smiling at me. He knows my heart and my desire to obey him. And he also knows my needs. He could allow me to lose everything, but even then I would still have everything I need…because I have Him. It didn’t take long for God to help me to regain a proper perspective. And isn’t that the message that we as Christians want to take to people?

We want them to know God’s love and his forgiveness and we want them to see his perspective – that their most important need is to respond to the good news of Jesus Christ.
 

She had told me about and invited me to Campus Life, so decided "why not, I never do anything on Monday nights anyway." So I tried it out and was so surprised at how much fun it actually was, so I started going and got close to a lot people there. I never thought of it or saw it as a religious thing.

One day my friend Tiffany and I were hanging out and she was telling me how she was going to YFCamp with Emily but was trying desperately to get out of it and saying how Emily wasn't letting her back out. But when Tiffany came back from YFCamp she told me all about it and how camp really changed her views and understanding of God and of life itself.

By this time I had made some of the worst decisions of my life, putting myself down and making myself feel worthless, then I realized everything that seemed to make me happy was making me miserable. I didn't know what to do so on Sept. 20th 2011 at Campus Life I turned to Emily and told her everything I had done. I told her that I had been thinking I needed to get more involved with God. I told her that I wanted to be connected to Him but I didn't know how to? So we stepped outside and we talked it through.

She told me that by feeling that disconnect, that I was already getting connected with Him. She asked me if we could pray. We prayed for like 3 minutes although it felt more like 10 minutes. I just got so emotional and started to tear up realizing that I had just received Jesus as my Savior! As soon as we finished our prayer I instantly felt happier than I had ever felt. I had so much joy in my heart, I just wanted to tell the world. Everyone was happy for me!

A few months later I felt I was ready to take my next step in my life with Jesus and I was baptized on January 16th, 2011. Since then I couldn't be happier. I know I have changed for the better and I'm so glad Jesus Christ is here and will always be with me."

Living in this new world is dramatically affecting their ability to build and maintain real relationships. I am glad to be part of a group of people thinking through how we can redeem so called Social Media to make it a viable avenue for ministry. If you want to check out the video here it is. 

The mom was shopping while the dad held their sleeping infant close to his chest. I smiled and nodded at him as I walked through the department store.

It was a small, seemingly insignificant moment. But later I reflected on the blessings I had witnessed.

* That sleeping child felt his father's love.

How many of the middle and high school girls whom we see in Girl Talk have grown up without a dad to hold them close?

*That dad was honoring and loving his wife as he calmly held their child while she tried on clothes.

How many girls see their parents interacting in respectful and loving relationships when so many of them are living in homes with a divorced or an unmarried parent?

* That simple family interaction is a picture of the character of God.

        God loves us intensely and desires to hold us close.

        God has a perfect relationship within the Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and He wants our relationships with one another to reflect His.

        God wants us to have a relationship with Him so that we can be secure in who we are in Jesus.

How many girls need to hear about God's love and about how they can be secure in their identities as daughters of God?

This is the message of Youth for Christ - the good news of a Father's love and His power to change lives.

Topics in the Bible:  

   *Murder

   *Rape

   *Adultery

   *Betrayal

Sitting in our Teen Moms meeting, walking our girls through Tamar's story of being raped by her brother, one of our leaders asked,

"Did you ever think we'd be reading a story like this in the Bible?"

Her question was met with a resounding "NO."

We teach and hear plenty about God's love, God's forgiveness, and God sending Jesus.  Yes, that is part of God's story--in fact, the high point of the story--and it needs to be told.  However, is that always the best place to start?  When we are trying to connect a student who has been used and tossed aside by her boyfriend to God's story, why not begin with Tamar and show them that no matter what God's people did, God was reaching out to redeem them?  When a student comes to us angry that a parent died, why not open your Bible to John 11 and show how Mary blamed Jesus for her brother's death, Jesus cried over Lazarus' passing, but God's glory was still seen?

God's story is full of the same imperfect people and junk our students (and we!) have to deal with on a daily basis.  God doesn't try to hide these stories; instead they ended up in God's love letter to us.

Maybe it is God's way of connecting with us, showing us that He knows what we are dealing with, but loves us anyway and wants to get us through it.  If God wants to connect with us through these stories of murder, rape, adultery, and betrayal, then why not tell them to students who are dealing with this junk and desperately need to connect with God?  How would it change our students and us if we told the good, bad, and ugly parts of God's story, not just the parts that make us feel good?  I can say it has helped me deal with my junk and become more like the person God created me to be, so just think how much more could it help our students!

As the people discussed the current state of teen culture something they said struck me. There is a tendency to lament that parents are no longer “passing down their faith to the kids”. Gone are the days when the parents were the primary spiritual influencers in the lives of their children. It has become easier to ship them off to a youth ministry were the “professionals” can make sure they are discipled properly.

The podcast (and I) take issue with this notion.

Parents ARE still passing down their faith to their children. The problem is what they are passing down is a shallow, apathetic version of a walk with Christ. 

Gather a group of pastors and youth pastors in two separate rooms and ask them to describe their flocks. I guarantee you will hear them use the same words and phrases. A student ministry is often just a microcosm of the adults in the church.

Parents remain the primary spiritual influencer of their kid’s life- positively or negatively.

Teenagers will mimic what they most often see modeled. Two hours spent with a youth pastor whose attention is divided between scores of other kids isn’t enough to replace what they see us model throughout the rest of the week.

The remedy for this is simple, but not easy. As adults we must ensure that we are passing down the faith we want to see modeled.