It’s over. Done. Now, let’s look ahead …

2014-15 ministry is “in the books”

Did you know our year just ended?  YFC’s year ran July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015. I know, I know … the New Year started on January 1st. Well … because YFC ministry is tied to school cycles, we stay with school calendars. Here are some notes on the year that just ended:

• 10 Ministry Sites
• 10 Full-time Staff / 7 Part-time Staff / 4 Interns / 78 Ministry Leaders      
• 985 teens involved / 451 are in a name-face-heart relationship with a YFC Leader
• 42 teens received Jesus
• We finished 9% behind, on an $830,000 budget.

We watched 42 teens consider Jesus’ love, wrestle with His claims, and receive His offer of adoption. Let’s celebrate! Along with 42 new Christians, several hundred more teens grew deeply in disciple-making. 

With summer at the midpoint, and autumn not far off, please consider your investment of money, prayer and time in local teens. We seek partnership in these areas:

• Money … 25 more friends at $25 per month, 25 at $50 per month, and 25 at $100/month. Is this you?
• Prayer … we seek folks who would commit to praying every week for lost teens. Is this you?
• Time … we seek more Christian adults who will spend time with lost teens. Is this you?

Last year was good.  We’re working hard so that this year will be even better! Are You in?

Thanks for your partnership. It’s a BIG DEAL!!

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Ok, I get it … tell me more

Well, it’s as simple as I mentioned above. We had a strong year of ministry in 2014-15. Now that 2015-16 has begun, we are poised to reach more teens. We need funding growth, prayer support growth and more Christian adults investing time, face-to-face with teens.  

Are you in?   Please let me know how below …

Summer is flying by...

I love watermelon...

We have been blessed with families who open up their homes to host Campus Life every week. Summer events would be extremely difficult without their partnership. Not only are families getting involved, but three college students have joined our team to pour into Eureka teens.

Because of the growth from last semester and this summer, students and leaders have the opportunity to journey to YFC Camp in North Carolina. We have eager leaders who are giving their final weeks of summer to invest time with Eureka students. 

Last month several Eureka students served at the annual YFC Peoria Golf outing to raise money for camp. This allowed students to meet people in the surrounding communities that support Campus Life and YFC Camp.

Whether Campus Life is on a golf course or at a home, it’s far more than a few students gathering. God is reaching an entire community. As our leadersshare the powerful love of Christ with students, the students share Christ’s love and impact to their brothers, sisters, parents, coaches and friends. 

It’s amazing how God can use even one student to impact many others who experience the light and love that God has placed in Campus Life.

Thank you for your love and prayers. Please continue to walk with us as God faithfully transforms the lives of students and families.

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If you would like to see Campus Life, please visit us any Monday night from 7:00-9:30. Please contact me at [309-258-6188] I would be thrilled if you came. - Taylor 

CAMP! CAMP! CAMP?

Carolina Point

It’s that time of year! In just a few weeks, many of our students willhead across the county for YFC Camp! Not only is it a great place to break down barriers and build relationships, but it’s also a great place for those who haven’t heard about Christ to encounter Him in a way that will forever change their lives. I will leave July 25th for Sunstream Camp, IA. I’m excited to serve on the program team. I will be serving for two weeks at this YFC Camp. During the second week our Limestone middle school ministry students will join me at Sunstream.

The same week that our middle school ministry will be at YFC Camp, our high school teens will be attending Carolina Point Camp in North Carolina. Please be praying for these camps and for the students that will be attending. We are taking almost 200 teens and leaders.

We have a few exciting things coming up. We will be having a “See the Story” event to tell the JJM Ministry story. Please contact me for the next “See the Story” event. We also have a pulled pork fundraiser (see blow). 

Juvenile Justice Prayer and Ministry Needs:

1. CAMP!
2. Prayer for JJM Students and Ministry
3. Ministry Support at $25 per month
4. Ministry Leaders for our Friday Afternoon ministry. 

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Come join us for pulled pork on August 22!

Come $ support Juvenile Justice Ministry’s Aftercare initiative by eating pulled pork with us! We will be at the Christian Center from 11am-2pm serving some delicious smoked pulled pork sandwiches. This will be an opportunity to get a taste of how God is multiplying your investment in this ministry. 4100 N. Brandywine Dr. Peoria, IL

Looking forward to seeing you there!

This is a Campus Life leader?

Catching Bridgette at IVC

Meet Bridgette Lynch, Assistant Principal at IVC high school, leader at IVC Campus Life, and one of our cabin leaders at YFC Camp at Carolina Point in two weeks!  

The reason I became involved (and the reason I stay involved) with Campus Life is simple - the kids! I see these students everyday in the hallways at school, and to see them coming to Campus Life on Monday nights is such a gratifying experience. They come as they are, often encouraging friends to come as well. The environment is accepting, caring, and full of energy (a lot of energy). The students come for the food, games, and their friends but they become hooked on the messages, listening intently as the leaders share stories of God’s work. It is truly awesome to see the relationships these students develop with the leaders and how they grow in their faith. 

My husband, Matt, and I have loved becoming a part of the Campus Life family. We started coming on Monday nights a couple of years ago, just getting a feel for what Campus Life was all about. It didn’t take long before we were committed. We treasure our time on Monday nights - even when our schedules are crazy. When I accepted a new position in the school district, I quickly made sure I was still able to participate in Campus Life. Matt and I now discuss how we can continue to stay involved with Campus Life long-term, and see it as a priority in our lives. 

In a few weeks I will be going to Carolina Point with our students at YFC Camp. I could not be more excited to spend this time with these kids and be there as they grow in their walk with Christ.

Bridgette Lynch

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We’re not done yet!

We have spent the summer raising money to help send students to camp who can’t afford it. We still have gaps that need filled to fully fund this trip. Would you consider giving a special gift to help us fill in some of those gaps. Your gift could mean a lifetime of difference for a student who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend YFC Camp.  Thanks!

Let the countdown begin!

Jump Right In...

The countdown to YFC Camp has reached the point where we are less than two weeks from boarding buses and heading south! Students are excited, leaders are excited, and God is already at work changing the hearts and lives of those who show up at YFC Camp.

We are bringing 175 students and leaders from the Peoria area to Brevard, NC for a life-changing week. Once again, we have more students than ever before coming to camp. God is truly amazing.

Aside from zip-lining through the woods for three quarters of a mile, blobbing into a beautiful lake, and climbing to the top of an incredible mountain, students will hear about the redeeming love of Jesus and the plan He has for their life. This is good news. Oh yeah, and that is just high school camp. We’re also taking a crew of middle school students to SunStream Camp in Iowa for a similar week away.  

Will you pray for us? Leaders and students need your prayers. This is an emotionally heavy week where fears and scars from the past resurface - but the amazing thing is it’s also a week where those scars are healed by the overwhelming love of Christ.

God loves each student stepping into those buses and vans more than they could possibly imagine. Thank you for loving them as well.

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We’re not done yet!

We have spent the summer raising money to help send students to camp who can’t afford it. We still have gaps that need filled to fully fund this trip. Would you consider giving a special gift to help us fill in some of those gaps. Your gift could mean a lifetime of difference for a student who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend YFC Camp. Thanks!

15 Weeks of YFC Camp

From 2006...to 2015

There’s something very special about camp. I should know, this years will mark my 15th week of YFC Camp in my 9 years with Campus Life. I’m thankful to have seen God at work through different lenses serving on the leadership. In this I’ve seen many lives change through God’s work at camp over the last decade.

Life change isn’t limited to the high school students we take either. I’ve seen God work in my life and the adults we take too.  

I just realized I’m the age as leaders who were kind and patient with me when I was a camper. I guess it’s my turn.

I’ve sorted some things out with my family, I can move back closer to home now.

It feels like I’ve wasted the last 10 years of my life not being part of this ministry.

I came to camp to tell God I was done with Him but He wouldn’t let me go.

Please take a moment and pray wherever you are for the adults and the students who will attend YFC Camp in 2015. It’s a big deal to have you along for the ride.

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We’re not done yet!

We have spent the summer raising money to help send students to camp who can’t afford it. We still have gaps that need filled to fully fund this trip. Would you consider giving a special gift to help us fill in some of those gaps. Your gift could mean a lifetime of difference for a student who otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend YFC Camp.  Thanks!

Grass, Bar Crawls & Girls

GIRLS

WOW. That sounds like the life of young Jay Pearson!!! My daily focus was all wrong when I was listening to my flesh and dating this fallen world. Curiously in the beautiful summer of 2015 these things are part of my daily focus again! Please relax and let me explain. 

With many YFC Camp fundraisers, relationship building times, and awesome small groups, our City Life days are filled with things you might question at 1st glance. Grass cutting is an awesome chance to teach young men safety first, save some money, reach your goals, and even how to cut grass. If your family has never owned a home you may not know how to use a lawnmower. Our annual Ice Cream Bar Crawl is one of the best times to just be silly and make ourselves sick, trying to eat as much ice cream as we can! We travel to 6-7 different ice cream shops and laugh, burp, and take pictures at every stop of the journey! On a less fattening note, we are leading male & female small groups that are focused on strengthening relationships and spending quality time in the Word of God. Every Thursday these groups play and study together with great leaders by their side.

God’s Word says “Work while it is light”, “Break bread together” , and “the older men and women teach the younger men and women”.  We are focusing on that daily, with the cry of Psalm 34:8 

“Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!” 

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What is City Life?

City Life is an effective ministry model to transform the lives of urban youth, their families and the communities that they live in. The City Life model provides a strategic way to pursue every young person in urban communities all over the USA.

camp, camp, camp!

Well, it is right around the corner…!  For the second year in a row we are going to Carolina Point, NC, for a crazy-fun and amazing week at YFC Camp!  Such a highlight of the ministry year for City Life.  Last year we were able to take 40+ people to camp from the inner city and this year we are hoping to bring even more 1st timers to this potentially life changing week in the Appalachian Mountains.

Our City Life leaders have been in the process of getting our students ready as well as helping everyone fundraise the $475/each to go to camp.  Car Washes, gardening, volunteering for the Park District, bagging groceries, lawn care, and the Midwest Food Bank are some of the ways that these amazing students are earning their way to participate in camp.  Fundraising has been going well, however it is a daunting challenge for many students in our ministry to come up with the financial resources to experience camp.  So the question is this:  Would you be willing to help a City Life Student get there?  If you already give to City Life/YFC, THANK YOU.  We’d love it if this would be in addition to what you already give.  If you don't give already and are looking for a specific need, well, what an opportunity to help a specific student have an experience like camp offers!!!  Please prayerfully consider how you could be a part.

Another week long ministry opportunity that 9 students + 2 leaders will be taking part in, is called Mission Peoria!  This “at home” mission experience will challenge our students to take the next step in their journey of faith and hopefully we will get to watch God move in and through them in some new ways!  

God has been moving this summer throughout our small group and large group gatherings.  And as we are now a little more than half way through the summer we invite you to continue to ask God to keep moving and rocking our lives with His grace and truth.  

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What is City Life?

City Life is an effective ministry model to transform the lives of urban youth, their families and the communities that they live in. The City Life model provides a strategic way to pursue every young person in urban communities all over the USA.