March Update...

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!

Ladera WyldLife: SO CAL TRIFECTA!

This last Saturday may have been one of the most action packed days in the history of days... well maybe that's an exaggeration, but it was glorious!

Grant Waggoner had a dream, a dream of snowboarding, surfing, and skateboarding all in one day. Saturday, he along with 8 lucky kids from Ladera Ranch Middle School, 1 lucky sophomore from SJHHS, 2 lucky Young Life leaders, and an amazing dad, Mitch Needleman, made this dream a reality!

Watch the video for some highlights!

This is a big part of what Young Life and WyldLife is about! Making memories with kids! Taking them to do things they never thought possible, with leaders who are for them, encouraging them, and loving them because these leaders know and love Jesus.

So often this opens the door to deep conversations. On on of the lift rides, Grant was asking kid about his classes. This kid said that he has a hard time paying attention because they are so boring. Then Grant asked him how he felt during the part of WyldLife when we talk about Jesus... the kid's face lit up, and he said that he loves hearing about that because he wants to know more about Jesus! This kid does not come from a church background, and has heard most of what he has heard about Jesus through his experience in WyldLife!

I love getting to be a part of this mission! I love getting to be a part of God's love story for these kids... especially when it involves snowboarding, surfing and skating all in one day!

To learn more about Young Life South County, and Ladera Ranch WyldLife, please text or call Luke Bright: 949-293-6443, or Grant Waggoner: 702-533-8324. You can also email Luke here or Grant here.

What is Young Life?

High School Campaigners

"What do you do?"

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.

Please email 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.

Marco WyldLife

Ladera WyldLife Bonfire

Ladera WyldLife

First Young Life club of the year!

Getting ready for the first club of the year!

Last night was the first high school Young Life club of the year! We had around 40 kids from 4 different high schools come out ready to have a great time. While the leaders and I were excited, we had no idea of how many kids to expect. I was hoping for enough to make things exciting, but did not expect anything like what we had!

Shaving cream baseball... it might have gotten a little messy.

The night started with everyone hanging out around the fire as kids showed up. One of the highlights for me was watching the returning kids from last year come. They were so excited to see Josh and Micah. It was evident how deeply Josh and Micah cared for these kids last year. I pray that as we move into this year, and possibly some growth in numbers, the relational aspect continues in this same way. The foundation that Josh and Micah laid last year is great!

 

MVP pitcher, Jack Benjamin, and Sam... like I said, it got messy!

Once everyone seemed to have arrived, we played a game. Shaving cream baseball. Its basically a game of whiffle ball, but the ball is filled with shaving cream. It was awesome watching the ball explode every time it was hit, and Jack Benjamin was hilarious to watch as a pitcher. As the game came to a close we switched the ball out for water balloons filled with shaving cream and let kids take turns hitting them with the bats... and then it just turned into a bit of a shaving cream war... nothing says Young Life like people getting covered in shaving cream!

Now that's a fire!

Once the mayhem died down we had s'mores and hung out around the fire. We have a few new leaders, and then a couple leaders, myself included, who came up from WyldLife this year. It was great getting to see leaders and kids begin new relationships, and watching the new leaders jump right in with kids.

Some of the freshman kids looked a bit in shock. I don't know if they knew what they were getting into, but as they were leaving they said they couldn't wait for next week, and were excited to bring more of their friends.

Like we always say, Young Life is about relationships. It starts with leaders building relationships with kids, and then those leaders hopefully get to help kids begin and build their relationship with Jesus. Nights like these are all about making opportunities for leaders and kids to get to know each other. A relationship with my Young Life leader forever changed my life, and I pray that some of the relationships started last night will change some of the kids lives in a similar way!

At the end of the night I introduced all the leaders to the kids, and let them know what to expect for the rest of the year. We will be having club every Friday night. All the leaders shared how they are involved with Young Life because they want kids to see that Jesus loves them just the way they are. I got to share how we do this because we believe, with all our hearts, that Jesus came to give us life to the full. I also told them that we want them to come and feel like they belong even if they don't agree with us about Jesus. Young Life is for every kid, everywhere, for eternity. We will always seek to be a part of these kids' lives, even if they never want anything to do with Jesus.

Next week is the all Orange County Young Life roller skating party! Its going to be a great time for sure!

So much fun! Can't wait for the rest of the year!

A New Start

My dad was a coach for over 40 years.  He was always good at teaching a sport and growing kids into skilled athletes.  However, I was never that great at sports.  I lacked the “killer instinct” that so many of the best athletes seem to have.  I grew to be tolerant of sports because I like being around people.  By the time I graduated from high school, I had pretty much sworn off of competitive sports in any official capacity, and I figured that was the end of it.

Flash forward a few years and I find myself looking for ways to get on the San Juan Hills High School campus and meet the students there.  I kept hearing that one great way to start relationships on campus was through sports, and so I asked to become a volunteer for the track and field team.  On my first day, I was introduced to the team as Coach G., the new coach.  I stumbled my way through drills and techniques that practice, but somehow, I gained the respect of the kids.  

On our first home meet, I was assigned to help out with the starter and the timers, running around whenever something needed doing.  I was there at the beginning of each and every race, checking the lanes, encouraging the runners, and covering my ears as the gun went off.  I was able to cheer on my runners, and congratulate them as they finished.  I was proud of them, and they would each say “thanks Coach G.” as they passed by.  At the end of the night, our team had won and our kids were happily exhausted.  I told them goodbye before driving home with that word echoing in my head, “Coach...coach...coach.”  

I had never imagined that I would be a coach, much less for such a great team.  But here I am; encouraging, cheering, screaming, giving advice.  Some of these kids are my friends, some of them live in my neighborhood.  Some of them have even started to talk to me about their lives, their families, their thoughts on God.  Every day I get to be with them is a blessing, even if it is as a coach.

-Josh

Cosmic Bowling- San Juan Hills Young Life

Games can be competitive or even aggressive.  Sometimes though, it’s important to simply have fun.  We invited a couple dozen high schoolers to join us for a night of cosmic bowling at Saddleback Lanes where music and lights come together to make a simple bowling lane become a party room.  

We had kids meet us early and stay late.  On a Friday night, twenty-five students chose to spend their time hanging out with a couple of their adult friends having a great time at a bowling alley.  There were laughs, conversations, strikes and gutterballs.  It was never about the game, it was always about having a fun night with our friends and showing them that we can have a good time together.  I enjoyed watching these kids just be themselves and see that they don’t have to go too far to find fun on a Friday night.

-Josh

San Juan Hills- The Spot

Every Tuesday morning, I wake up before sunrise.  Now, I’ve never been a morning person, and I probably never will be.  I’m still more likely to be falling asleep at sunrise than waking up.  Once per week, that all changes.

On Tuesdays, I skip the normal routine and take a drive to a small breakfast place across the train tracks.  There are usually a few patrons drinking some coffee in the back corner and a pair of cops sits in the only booth eating their choice of breakfast.  I sit down and watch the sunrise through the window over a cup of tea.  

At around 6:30 am,  few high school boys make their way through the doors one at a time.  High fives are exchanged, stories are shared, bagels are devoured.  I catch up with these friends of mine and talk to them about life.  Sometimes I share from the Bible, sometimes we open with prayer.  No matter what, we always share time together.  I drive one or two kids to school, and then I go home and take a nap - it’s tradition.

The Bagel Shack is just a spot where I meet a bunch of boys once a week, but it’s our spot, and we’ll keep waking up early to keep it that way.

-Josh

Eat the Menu- San Juan Hills Young Life

In each of us there is a desire to break limitations, to accomplish something never done before.  We try to climb the mountain, paint the masterpiece, cook Thanksgiving dinner - a chance to do the impossible.  

I challenged 25 high school students to do something amazing, difficult, and ridiculous.  We went to Taco Bell, divided the kids into teams, and promised them that we would be making stories happen.  We ordered heaps of tacos, enchiladas, burritos, empanadas, chalupas, quesadillas, churros, nachos, and every other type of Mexican fast food known to man.  After we gave an equal amount of the feast to each of our three teams, and let them know that only one team would be crowned as winners.  Then, we begun.

Kids devoured mounds of cheese, meat and sour cream.  The tables were piled high with wrappers and used napkins.  At first they ate with incredible speed and excitement.  Within a few minutes, however, they settled in for the long, slow haul to the finish line.  Some students followed the strategy of the tortoise, others went the route of the hare.  Either way, we all filled our bodies with more calories than should be legally acceptable.  

In the end, one team won, the restaurant made some money, and all of our our stomachs lost.  The kids all had a wonderful time breaking basic bodily limits, had fun with new friends, and were exposed to YoungLife for the first time.  We were able to build relationships with these students, show them a good time, and briefly tell them that we love Jesus and would enjoy hanging out with them more.  It was a crazy night, and it was the start of something awesome.

Victory is soooooo SWEET!!!

-Josh