NORTHERN INDIANA WABASH COUNTY ǀ FALL 2017 SAVE THE DATE Wabash County Rally Sunday, Nov. 12 Wabash YMCA Newfound freedom “G od I trust you. I have faith. I believe in you.” These are words I Aaron French Wabash Ministry Coordinator never get tired of hearing from teens who put their faith and trust in Christ for the first time! Over the past year, “Carter” and I have Come hear about the impact Campus Life is having in your community! shared many experiences together such as hunting, fishing, laser tag, and lifting weights. Through these experiences, many conversations about faith, God, and Jesus came up. Not because he believed in God, but because he considered himself an atheist and couldn’t understand how I could believe in something that could not be proven by science. 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. This past summer I invited him to CIY (Christ In Youth) Conference, thinking there was no way he would go to something focused solely on Christ and the church. But, to my surprise, he said, “Sure, I’ll go.” Anything to get out of Wabash for a while! It was at CIY where God broke through in a way that Carter could not deny. Fighting back the presence and power of God at first, but ultimately giving in to his desperate need for a Savior, Carter went forward and surrendered his life to Christ! Full of newfound freedom and forgiveness, Carter posted these words on his Facebook page for the world to read: “God I trust you. I have faith. I believe in you.” I cannot wait to see where God leads this young man and how the Kingdom will be built through him. Thanks to all who prayed and helped make CIY Conference a possibility for so many teens in Wabash County!
Aaron French Wabash Ministry Coordinator Ministry Update G od continues to produce fruit in many different ways in Wabash County. Two major ways in particular have been through volunteers and students. God is multiplying ministry as I have shifted more of my focus on empowering leaders to reach out to others, whether volunteers or students. I have witnessed more lives come to a saving relationship with Christ through others than I ever could have alone! There is nothing like encouraging and walking with a leader as they pray for and witness to their friends. As they see God working through them and watch that friend come to believe in Christ, they are blown away! We are all called to “make disciples,” and there is nothing more fulfilling than when we take this call seriously. The harvest is indeed plentiful! The question is: are you joining in the mission personally? I would love to have you join the mission in Wabash county through Youth For Christ. Contact me at afrench@yfcnin.org to join the mission today! MEET BRANDON JOHNSON, MANCHESTER’S NEW CAMPUS LIFE DIRECTOR! • Hometown: Bluffton, IN • Education: Norwell High School, Purdue University • Ministry experience: Three years with Young Life throughout college, Ministry Outreach Leader at Portage Lake Covenant Bible Camp. • Hobbies: Running, all sports that have a ball • Favorite sports teams: Purdue football & basketball, Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bears, Chicago Cubs • Fun Fact: Mario Lopez once told me to move out of his way in New York City. • Why are excited to be starting ministry with YFC? “I’m eager to get students acquainted with Jesus and partner with local churches to develop lifelong followers of Christ.” FOLLOW US! @YFCnIN @YFCNIN @yfcnin
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. THANK YOU, CORPORATE SPONSORS! LEGACY — $40,000 Brotherhood Mutual LH Carbide Mary Cross Tippmann Foundation Micropulse Parkview Health Parrish Leasing Rosema Corporation 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. 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.
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