NORTHERN INDIANA WHITLEY COUNTY ǀ FALL 2017 SAVE THE DATE Whitley County Rally Tuesday, Nov. 14 Indian Springs Middle School Carver Center Come hear about the impact Campus Life is having in your community! What only God can do I Brad Millikan Churubusco Campus LIfe Director have had a pretty good relationship with “Chris” for the last year and a half. Chris has been attending clubs during the school year, and we’ve had several opportunities to meet and talk about the Gospel and what having a relationship with Jesus looks like. Every time he has had the opportunity to respond to the Gospel, his response was a firm NO. He said, “I only come to Campus Life to hang out with my friends and get away from my mom.” Chris was not supposed to go to YFC Camp with us this summer, but God had a different plan. One of my other students dropped out because of a family situation that happened two days before we were to leave. I prayed about who God wanted me to approach as their replacement, and Chris immediately came to mind. I called him up, and he jumped at the opportunity. While at camp, Chris still just wanted to get away and have fun, wanting nothing to do with Jesus. Then the Gospel was presented. God did what only He can do; He moved in Chris’ life. Chris said “yes” to Jesus! Not only that, he opened up to those around him with his decision. Chris and I talked a lot about his choice, and this was his first time saying “YES” to Jesus! Please pray for Chris’ next steps as our Campus Life staff and students journey alongside of him. OUR MISSION YFC reaches young people everywhere, working together with the local church and other likeminded partners to raise up lifelong followers of Jesus who lead by their godliness in lifestyle, devotion to the Word of God and prayer, passion for sharing the love of Christ, and commitment to social involvement.
Dana Neuenschwander Whitley County Ministry Coordinator County Update A s summer is ending, we celebrate and are in awe of what God has done this past year. We are taking strides in each of the Whitley County Schools to further the reach of our staff and volunteers as we connect to hurting and lost students. We are building relationships, having deep conversations, and meeting students where they are, all the while introducing them to the love of Jesus. We are journeying with students as they navigate school, friends, family, and sometimes very hard, deep struggles. Through it all, God has been working in mighty ways! Over the course of this last year, we have had 60 students from Whitley County say yes to Jesus for the first time! Others we have had the chance to lead through the discipleship process as they make their faith their own and learn what it means to follow Jesus. For some, they are still in the discovery process, and we get to walk with them as they are questioning what all of this means for them personally. It is a blessing to watch this ministry flourish and the kingdom grow! As we look toward next year, we know and trust God is going to continue to change lives, and we are thankful we get a front row seat to watch what He is doing. JOIN THE TEAM! As we gear up for the new school year, there are three ways you can help us further the impact of this ministry: prayer, volunteer service, and financial giving. Each are vital to helping the ministry thrive! In each of our communities, we have the need to build the army of volunteers who walk beside us daily and pour into the lives of students. There are many different times and ways to volunteer; please let us know if you would like more information! We are currently looking for a new Columbia City High School Campus Life Director. If interested please fill out an application on our employment page at yfcnin.org CONTACT INFORMATION Brad Millikan Churubusco HS 260.433.7703 Dana Neuenschwander Indian Springs Middle School 260.229.8112 Danielle Blackburn Whitko HS & MS 219.869.8667
NORTHERN INDIANA Thank you Larry Lance for over 40 years at YFC! “I’m so fortunate because I get to sit on the front row seat every week and hear miracle stories of lives being changed,” Larry Lance, CEO, says. “Who wouldn’t want that job?” It’s one of the reasons Larry fell in love with Youth for Christ, and why he has dedicated 40 years of his life to this organization. Larry first took his seat in the front row of those miracle stories in 1976, when he started with YFC as a part-time Campus Life director at Huntington North and Homestead High Schools. Moving through a variety of roles, Larry became the executive director in the early 80’s. Under his leadership we expanded our reach by growing Campus Life programs, starting the Family Care Center (which provided family counseling) and the Primetime Center, which is now called City Life. Former Primetime Director, and current senior pastor at New Covenant Worship Center, Luther Whitfield, believes YFC is strengthened as a whole by Larry’s ability to lead, build relationships, and invest into people. “Larry loves building and speaking into the lives of people and coming alongside them,” Whitfield says. “He wants to see people advance for the cause of Christ.” That desire to see others advance led Larry to the YFC national office where he served as the vice president of field development for seven years, helping grow and develop chapters across the country. Returning to Fort Wayne in 2010, Larry is now spearheading the movement and mission of YFCNIN as our CEO. Through his leadership, we have successfully expanded from our original four county reach to now encompassing 12 counties. “We started out as little Fort Wayne Area Youth for Christ,” Judge Wendy Davis, Allen Superior Court judge and YFCNIN board member of over 10 years, says, “and now we are Youth for Christ of Northern Indiana, and that was under Larry’s leadership.” Larry’s steadfast leadership and dedication through the years is recognized by both his staff and members of the community. “Simply put, Larry is one of the best leaders in this community, and we are all lucky to have him in our lives,” says Bill Kinder, vice president of Michael Kinder and Sons, Inc. and YFCNIN board member. Throughout his 40 years with YFC, we have grown and changed as the times have changed, but his dedication to the mission has never wavered – to raise up lifelong followers of Jesus Christ.
Chief Ministry Director Roger Vezeau A summer of revival S ummer! Like Olaf in Disney’s animated film Frozen we all seem to like the idea of summer. We dream of a more relaxed schedule, reading more, exercising more and the list grows. In the YFC world, we look forward to summer primarily for one thing…a change of rhythm. This change of rhythm does wonders for our team in a number of ways: more family time, vacations, renewing our spirits and recharging the batteries just to name a few. But it also opens up great opportunities to more intense and deeper relational ministry through our camps and the trips we do with teens. As you read this, our staff are winding down their summer schedules and gearing up for another great ministry year. We are praising God for the amazing way He worked in teen’s lives this summer. We know that from camp alone we had over 70 teens say YES to Jesus for the first time or YES to walk in surrender to Him as their Lord and Savior. As we wind down our summer schedule, and at the same time gear up for a new ministry year, I ask that you pray for your staff in your community. We need an army of people (God’s army) to join us daily in prayer, build trusting relationships, give financially towards the mission, and encourage one another to daily build into the lives of our youth. Join us as we seek to Give Life to their Stories with the love of Jesus! There are so many more stories from our summer trips and relational ministry actions. We hope to share some of those stories throughout the year. THANK YOU, CORPORATE SPONSORS! LEGACY — $40,000 Brotherhood Mutual LH Carbide Mary Cross Tippmann Foundation Micropulse Parkview Health Parrish Leasing Rosema Corporaton Sweetwater Sound EXECUTIVE — $25,000 Color Master, Inc. Michael Kinder & Sons, Inc. Professional Parkwest Properties LEADERSHIP — $15,000 ALLEN COUNTY iAB Financial Bank Pizza Hut Steel Dynamics Foundation WHITLEY COUNTY Dale & Elaine Haupert Family Foundation WABASH COUNTY Instrumental Machine & Development PARTNER — $10,000 ALLEN COUNTY Ambassador Enterprises Grabill Financial Services, Inc. Larson Financial Group McCampbell Enterprises Unlimited O’Neal Excavating & Construction, Inc. Parkview Ortho Hospital PPG Cardiology WHITLEY COUNTY Columbia City Plastics DEKALB, LAGRANGE, NOBLE, AND STEUBEN COUNTIES RP Wakefield Van’s Home Center HUNTINGTON COUNTY Huntington Sheet Metal, Inc. Innovative Edge Kline Farms Shawmak Enterprises Stephen DRP, Inc. WABASH COUNTY Stephan DRP, Inc. Please consider becoming a corporate sponsor. For more information, contact Mike Stetzel at mikestetzel@yfcnin.org.
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