Young Life in South County consists of four different clubs/ministries. First, we have our typical Young Life Club for kids at SJHHS, Tesoro, Dana Hills, and J Serra. We also have 2 WyldLife clubs for middle school kids at Ladera Middle School, and Marco Forster Middle School, lastly we have our Capernaum Club, for kids with special needs that serves all of South Orange County. In each of these clubs, the mission is the same: introduce kids to Jesus and help them grow in their relationship with him.
This month all four clubs were busy loving kids in the name of Jesus, and providing places where kids can come, be known and loved right where they are, as they are, and hear the Gospel in a way that relates to them. From eating Nachos while watching Nacho Libre, to getting crazy at Big Air, to trading a penny for a unicycle, to playing kick-ball while wearing wacky costumes, kids from all different places and walks of life got to experience the love of Jesus this month through Young Life in South County.
Keep reading for an update and pictures from each club...
Young Life SJHHS/Tesoro
The annual All OC YL Dodgeball Tournament was earlier this month. It was so fun. One of our teams took home third, and all the guys had a blast! It was so cool seeing several hundred kids from Young Life clubs all over Orange County have such a great time together!
Nachos with Nacho was a great night! A bunch of big school kids came over to Casa de Bright and scarfed on nachos while watching Nacho Libre. Hannah and I got dressed up as wrestlers and started the night off with an epic thumb wrestling tournament. It was a fun night, and we had several new kids come out, including a few new girls!
For our Young Life club we have been continuing with Campaigners, and its been great getting into the Bible with everyone. We have been looking at how Jesus said that the most important thing was loving God and loving your neighbor like you love yourself. Kyle has been exploring some of the different implications of this, and has been showing how Star Wars can really help us understand parts of the Bible! Its been great being able to eat and hang together, get into the Bible and hear from Kyle, and then split up into smaller groups and talk about life.
Capernaum
The Capernaum club is seeing some excitement these last few weeks! At the end of last month they went to Big Air and had an absolute blast! About 10 kids came, and a few new faces. Each of these kids got to have a really good time with leaders and friends that truly care about them. It was great to get to talk with parents, most of whom are fairly new to the ministry, about how excited and thankful they are to have a great social activity for their kids to come to.
As we move forward next year, we are looking to move towards a more inclusive model of ministry for Capernaum and Young Life in South County. Rachel and I have a deep desire to see kids with and without special needs come together, have a blast, learn from each other, love each other, and show off the Kingdom of God in a unique way. While Young Life, and even Capernaum, is absolutely for kids that have yet to meet Jesus, we think having an inclusive ministry will be something that will attract kids from both sides, and brings kids to Jesus' feet.
Marco WyldLife
Talk about having fun! Marco WyldLife has been such a blast this month. Because of difficulties getting permission to meet at the park across from Marco on Tuesday mornings, we have moved to meeting every other Tuesday night... and it has really been a great club! We have been growing, and the excitement is through the roof!
At our first club of the month, we had a kid from Syria come out. He ended up loving WyldLife and when the family that brought him to club dropped him off at his house, they were invited in for tea! This kid has loved WyldLife so much that he asked the mom who brought him to club the first time to write in a calendar all the days that there was WyldLife so he would never miss it. Who knows what God is doing here, but it is awesome to get to be a part of it!
Ladera Ranch WyldLife
As always, WyldLife has been busy in Ladera Ranch! Aside from the weekly meetings at Founders Park on Friday mornings, they have had a costume kick-ball club, and a fashion show club! Things are always fun and whimsical for WyldLife Ladera.
One of the coolest new developments for the Ladera club is that there are now two amazing girl leaders, Shay and Kara. While Shay has been a great leader for the past year, Kara is new, but comes from Young Life in Irvine, and is incredible. A couple weekends ago, they took a group of girls hiking. For so long Ladera has been mostly a boys club, but now, with Kara and Shay, its exciting to see some really cool things happen for the girls!
March has been such a great month and there is more to look forward to in the coming months. For the next few months we will be focussing a good amount of our attention to getting kids to camp. The hope and prayer this year is that we will send over 60 kids and leaders to two different camps this summer. The WyldLife groups will be going to Oakridge July 26-31, and Young Life and Capernaum will be going to Woodleaf August 1-7. If you are reading this and know some kids who would love to have the best week of their lives with us, please pass this along!
All of our clubs are back at it, and there is a ton of excitement in the air!
Our Capernaum club (club for kids with special needs) is meeting every 1st and 3rd Wednesday and have been having a blast. For March they are starting things off with a Movie Night tonight at Laguna Niguel Presbyterian Church, starting at 7. If you would like to learn more about this ministry, please email Rachel Antoun, our amazing interim team leader here. They are in need of guy leaders and helpers!
The WyldLife Marco Forster club kicked things off with a pizza party at Ballpark Pizza. It was a great time and we got to meet one of our amazing new leaders, Nancy Harris! She just moved here from Indiana where she did WyldLife for 4 years. She is super excited about getting back into things here and getting a chance to meet and build relationships with some girls from Marco. Marco had their first club last night, where 4 new kids came, had a blast, and then heard Bailey tell some of his story and share about the Prodigal Son.
Marco WyldLife last night!
This story captures so much of what Young Life is about. We are for the kids that have wondered away. We LOVE the kids that have searched out the foreign land, and spent everything they had on partying and "wild living!" We love getting to be the people that meet them where they are, and help them find their way back to an incredibly loving Father, that runs to meet them, and embraces them in a way that is beyond comprehension.
The Ladera Ranch WyldLife club is doing amazing! They just got back from one of the most action packed days ever: the So Cal Trifecta! This was a day that started with snow, moved to the surf, and then ended with pizza at the Ladera skate park. What a memory for these kids... and leaders! Grant is trying to do something that will create a life-long memory for these kids once a month. He wants them to see how amazing life can be, and how a life with God is truly an adventure! Friday @ Founders has been incredible, and all the leaders have been getting the opportunity to share about Jesus on Friday mornings. Doughnuts, games, friends, and Jesus just doesn't ever get old! Grant has also started a small group with 8th grade boys that meet on Wednesday mornings to talk about life, read a verse from the Bible, and walk to school together.
So Cal Trifecta: Snow
The high school club is going through some big changes! While club on Monday night was a ton of fun last year, we started to feel that we were spending so much time on club, and not enough time going to meet kids on their own turf. Because meeting kids where they are is the heart of Young Life, we are making some changes. This semester, we are going to be focussing on Contact Work, Campaigners, and Events.
First, we are going to have Study Hall @ Starbucks every other Wednesday. This will be a time for kids to bring their homework to Starbucks and work on it with friends and leaders. We had our first one last week, and it was awesome! We will also be going to games as a leadership team together several times a month. This is all in an effort to show kids at SJHHS, Tesoro, J Serra, Dana, and SM that we care about what they care about... but mostly, that we care about them.
Study Hall @ Starbucks
We will be starting a new format for Campaigners on Wednesdays. Campaigners will be on the Wednesdays where there is not Study Hall @ Starbucks. Guys and Girls will meet together for pizza and meal time questions before hearing a short talk and then breaking up into small groups, guys with guys and girls with girls. All of the leaders and I are really excited for this new format this semester, and truly believe that we will see some amazing things happen through Young Life in the High Schools in South Orange County this semester!
Campaigners
Lives are changing, and kids are meeting Jesus right now in South County Young Life! If you know someone that would be a great leader, or are someone that would be a great leader, please contact me! We are in need of leaders for both middle school clubs (Marco Forster and Ladera Ranch) as well as in our Capernaum club (special needs ministry). Getting to walk with kids that don't normally attend church, or have much interest in Jesus is truly a gift. We get to be the love of Jesus in their lives, and then often get to begin a journey towards Jesus with them.
I get this question a lot. It is usually followed by, "What is Young Life?"
If you look at the mission statement of Young Life, "Introducing adolescents to Christ, and helping them grow in their faith," it seems pretty straight forward... Young Life seems to be like any other youth ministry. We are trying to share Jesus with kids, and help them develop and grow in relationship with him.
To a very large degree, this is correct. We are like most church youth groups. We try to develop an atmosphere that is attractive to kids, and will foster their growth in Jesus.
But, at the same time, we are different than most local church youth groups.
We primarily seek the lost sheep that don't seem to have a flock, or have wondered away from home. We are going after the kids that aren't going to one of the many amazing youth groups that are all over South Orange County.
In Luke 15, Jesus tells a few stories of lost things. He tells the story of a lost sheep, and then a story of a woman who lost a coin, followed by the story of a father who loses a son. In the first two stories, the shepherd and the woman drop everything they are doing and seek after what they have lost. Jesus says that the shepherd would leave 99 sheep to just find the one that got lost.
Young Life is this shepherd. We are a part of the arm of the Church that goes out from the pen in search of the lost sheep. We do not have a building, and when we go out doing Young Life, we are leaving the flock behind in search of sheep that have gotten lost, or even sheep that just never seem to have found home. We go to these sheep, meet them where they are, earn their trust by showing them that we like them just the way they are, and then begin to bring them home through a loving and caring relationship.
This takes a lot of time, and, often times, it doesn't look pretty, doesn't look flashy, and can be incredibly hard work. More times than not, it might not be much to look at, there might not be a huge crowd, flashy program, or loud music. Sometimes it might just look like someone surfing with someone else, or getting coffee, or going to a movie, or weird adults showing up at freshman games. It can be exhausting and can test the patience of even the best leaders... but just like in the stories Jesus told, when we get to bring one of these sheep home... ITS TIME TO PARTY!
So, what do I do in Young Life? I get to search for God's lost sheep, his kids that seem to have wondered away, and begin the journey back home with them... even if it takes years, and even when its costly.
Pleaseemail me if you would like to be a part of this search and rescue mission! We are currently looking for leaders for all our clubs. There are opportunities to work with middle school students, high school students, and special needs kids.
The last Wednesday in March has been known as our American Idol club for quite some time now. Each year our friends with special needs get to perform their favorite song for their friends and family. Each year this event is amazing! Our friends have an absolute ball and enjoy every moment of it. Here are a couple pics to give you an idea of the fun.
This month the High Rollers club enjoys March Madness as much as the next person. Although Capernaum does it a little different. This year our March Madness is trying out a few new things.
Week 1: Movie Night
Week 2: Big Air Trampoline Park
Week 3: Eating Dinner Together @ Bravo Burger
Week 4: American Idol Club
Below are some of the highlights from Big Air. For those who don't know what Big Air is, it's an indoor trampoline park that has many different things you can do (as seen below). The best thing I think was the giant dodgeball game we had to end the night. It was so great that everyone was playing and there was no time for pics, ha.
It was a super fun night that we will have to repeat again soon!!!
A couple times a year club will end a bit sooner than expected. One of my favorite things to do when that happens is to ask for Prayer Requests. Our students love this! It gives them a time to share whats really on their hearts. It gives them a time to know that what they request is heard and will actually be prayed for.
I know some people don't realize the power of prayer but I promise you that these guys do. They know they can give their requests to God and it will be honored. This is just one of many lessons I have learned from the High Rollers in the time I have spent with them.
Below was the prayer requests from the other night.
High Rollers is up and running! Halloween is always a fun club because we all get dresses up. I love seeing that our friends come as. Some come as scary creatures and others are princesses, I love the dynamic of that!
High Rollers is back in action and having an awesome time! We have had 2 clubs this year so far and had a good times at both.
This year a new friend named Benny* came to club for the first time. He had happen to be at the bowling alley the same time one of our leaders was there. Our leader had struck up a conversation with the student and his family and ended up telling them about High Rollers.
Benny showed up to the first club of the year a little apprehensive and unsure of what to expect. He hung outside with the leader that invited him and myself while peppering us with question on what to expect from the evening. As Mark and I answered his questions to the best of our abilities, I was excited for him to experience Young Life for the first time.
As we finally went upstairs to start club Benny eyes lit up, I could see Young Life was something he had never experienced before. That night we played a game that consisted of eating as many mini donuts as possible. I'm pretty sure this is something he has never had a chance to do. The night ended with myself being able to introduce the fact that we would be talking about Jesus at High Rollers all year. I excited for Benny to hear about Jesus and that he means something!
Benny had an awesome night. He was fully engaged and interacted with everyone. Thank you for allowing kids like Benny to have a place to experience life like he has never before! Thank you for helping us provide a place for Benny and so many other students in South County.
As part of out March Madness we do with the Capernaum clubs, we always end the month with a bang! American Idol Night is always a good time and the students LOVE performing.
We started March Madness with a typical club. The 2nd week, we got to go see a movie about a blind man who learns to surf and overcome his disability. The 3rd week we went Ice Skating. And finally we ended the month with American Idol Club.
We've had a great Fall Semester at Beyond Young Life. Our
awesome, committed leaders have set the tone for a welcoming, high-energy
environment that fills up each Wednesday with our friends. We've enjoyed
getting to know some new people coming from the Glenwood Home in Laguna Beach,
as well as strengthening relationships with familiar friends.During our club talks we've been
studying the Heroes of the Faith, based on Hebrews 11. We've even been visited
by our very own superheroes each week (Captain Mismatch, Ironing Man, and
Supremely Fast Man) that have comically helped to reinforce the stories we've
learned. One of the highlights of our clubs are the small group time that we
have each week to discuss the club talk, share about our lives and pray for each
other.
Some other highlights of the semester include our Halloween
dance party and during Thanksgiving we rallied together to participate in
Operation Christmas Child. We put together 16 boxes of toys and supplies that
will be sent to children all over the world for Christmas. It was a blessing to
serve others and know we are making a difference in the lives of others in
Jesus' name! We're looking forward to our last gathering of the semester where
we'll watch a Christmas movie while snuggled in our pajamas.
I
have been meeting new kids at San Juan Hills High School, gathering for
breakfast and Bible study each week with a core group of boys, and we had our
first big event, Eat the Menu at Taco Bell.Overall, my leaders and I have been able to meet and
interact with over 30 kids and we hope to turn that into a weekly practice with
Club launching in the Spring of 2014.This last weekend, I attended my first YoungLife Camp at Oakbridge.None of my high schoolers were able to
make it, so I subbed in as a counselor for the High Rollers Capernaum students,
our students with special needs.
At
camp, I learned many things about how YoungLife shares the Gospel with young
people who may have heard the stories, but don’t know about the life being
offered to them by Jesus.I saw
kids laughing, dancing, playing, and meeting God in worship all in one
weekend.More than these things, I
was able to encounter the amazing faith and dependence on God that these High
Rollers have.They know that Jesus
is close to them, they hear his voice.There is no division between “life with God” and “normal life” for these
students.They see God’s provision
in their lives every day.
My
buddy for the weekend was Joey, and he shows amazing faith in everything he
does.He worships as if no one is
watching except his heavenly Father.When the Gospel is preached, he responds with tears at the beauty of
God’s love.When hearing of Christ
on the cross for the thousandth time, he responds with true sorrow; when
hearing the news that Jesus is alive, he rejoices as if he has seen God face to
face.
I’ve
been told that the heart of YoungLife is encapsulated in camp. This past weekend, I was able to hear
and see and experience that core of this ministry. Beyond that, God showed me His heart through the love and faith of these Capernaum
students. I am so excited to
continue to contribute to YoungLife’s ministry here in San Juan Capistrano, but
this weekend God reminded me that His ministry is to simply love each person
that we come across, like Joey does, like Jesus does.
Last weekend we had the opportunity to join close to 300 students at Young Life's Oakbridge camp in the San Diego mountains. We took 15 Capernaum students and leaders to experience a weekend full of fun and learning about the free gift God gave each of us on Christmas. A few highlights of the weekend include messy games (kids got to throw shaving cream at their leaders, what's not to like about that?!), dance parties during club, and cabin time where we had the chance to debrief together as a group and hear what our students thought about the message that was shared at club. It always blows my mind to see how differently each of us (and our students) connect with God. Hearing what our students had to say about how much they know God loves them and what was on their hearts was a personal highlight of mine. It really was a privilege to spend the weekend with our Capernaum students at winter camp.
