While I was in the lunch room the other day, a student who has never come to Campus Life before walked up to me and said, "What did you talk about in Campus Life last week?" A bit surprised I said, "Well, we talked about being who God called us to be. Why do you ask?"

With tears in her eyes, the student responded. "Three girls came up to me today and asked if they could be my friend. They used to pick on me, but they said they're sorry and that they want to be my friend. I guess if they really got to know me, they would know why I am the way I am. I have a tough life, so thanks for the smile today."

What a blessing it is to be able to journey alongside these students on a daily basis. Faith in Jesus takes time! On this day in the lunch room, we were privileged to be able to see the Holy Spirit at work in these students' lives. As they continue to make small steps in the right direction towards being who Jesus has called them to be, we look forward to creating more opportunities to allow students to encounter God’s presence in their lives on a daily basis.

Thank you for your continued prayers as we invite students into the presence of God - where they are encouraged to listen for God’s prompting in their lives and respond accordingly.

Amy Vander Kamp

Crossroads Campus Life M Director

West Michigan Youth for Christ

            A City Life Student

Three weeks ago, Juan was standing in front of the whole church congregation, professing his faith in Christ and being baptized. Today, he is standing with me at our Wednesday night program, professing his hatred for all of us leaders who have ‘disrespected’ him.

We’d like to think that when one of our young people makes a decision to follow Christ, their newfound walk with Him would be a continuous, upward trajectory. But the reality is, just like most of us, our youth will experience many ups and downs as they try to follow Christ.

The good news is, according to a recent City Life study, “we discovered that young people’s development in the Lord was actually enhanced by experiencing the consequences and pain of their sin or the sin of others”. And, “we must cease trying to protect young people from 'negative catalytic life experiences' but prepare them to overcome these potentially life altering events and decisions".

Would you pray with us for our youth to be able to overcome these negative experiences and deepen their walk with God? And pray for our leaders, as we carefully guide them through this process. 

Juan decided to resign from his career as a terrorist by the end of the night, but we’ve still got a long road to walk together.

Jason Carrigan
City Life Director

You can read more about the findings from this groundbreaking study at
http://www.yfc.net/citylife/blog/major-findings-1-3-of-the-research/

Over the last few weeks, small groups have been meeting to discuss how God had worked in the past with sacrificial lambs, and how Jesus became THE Sacrificial Lamb for us. We reached a point where we asked the teens if they believed that this was the way to Heaven. In one small group, Jordan has been struggling with believing. He joined the Campus Life M.A.D. House group in Muskegon two years ago as a self-proclaimed "Searcher". He didn't know if he believed in Heaven and Hell, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

But on this particular night, we asked Jordan to answer the question, "Do you believe?"

Through his shoulder length hair, he peeked up and quietly pronounced, "I believe."

The celebration began! Heaven sang! The small group leaders rejoiced! The other teens in the room whooped and hollered!  And Heaven will have another resident. 

I recently completed a trip to Kentucky with a group of middle school girls. It was different for us in that we were not going to camp, or even on a retreat. It was specifically for teaching them how to serve others on a mission trip.

The girls went willingly, even though they knew about a strict dress code (skirts and dresses the whole time - even to work in!), and no TV or Internet! 

After driving over 500 miles, we arrived! We were able to participate in an amazing worship service on Palm Sunday in an area church. That evening, one of the girls began to not feel well - and soon three others picked up a "nasty bug" that lasted about 36 hours. Not fun when you are away from home and in a strange place without Mom!

While they were out for the count, the rest of us were able to get a lot of projects done, like painting some staffing apartments (we discovered we are not so good at painting trim when we are in middle school!), cleaning out refrigerators, washing down cupboards, leveling sod, planting shrubs, and helping to pour a new sidewalk. We also went to a town about 30 minutes away that had been hit by tornados, wiping out the whole town! It was beyond words. We tried to help, but our efforts seemed very little in the face of huge devastation.

Not only did we share time working, but also sightseeing. You can’t be in the hills of Kentucky and not stand in wonder (and take a thousand pictures!) at the nature around you.

One of my favorite times of this trip were the devotions we had together. The girls learned about working for God, not for other people (Colossians 3:23) - especially when they had to wear skirts they didn’t like and had to do jobs they didn’t like. They learned to serve others, even if it meant possibly catching their "nasty bug"( Luke 6:31). They learned while in the hills to look to the God of the hills for help (Psalm 121:1).

So, was this a mission/service project trip? Yes! But it was also a relationship-building, student leadership retreat trip where God met us ALL - and it was a very successful trip!

Blessings,

Sandi Nyboer

 

      It hit me this morning that we have an even greater reason to conduct ourselves in holy ways.  Paul says, “Jesus came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.  For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.  Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” (Eph.  2.17-20)

     Many of our students have a history of abuse and neglect which twists their behavior towards doing whatever it takes to survive.  Let’s let our words and behavior reflect that, in Christ, we “all have access to the FATHER by one SPIRIT,” and are “fellow citizens with God’s people and are members of God’s household!“  We are not desperate…because of Christ. - Dr. Marv VanderVliet, JJM Boys Director

This past week in club, we shared the Gospel with the students and challenged them to humbly come before God. Here are just a few of their responses: 

God,

“I do not know who I am right now.”

“I feel alone. I feel cheated by life.” 

“I am not ready to change.”

“Please, give me the strength to survive.”

“Please, let me find the way to You. Let me accept You into my life. Please, HELP me!”

“I am ready for You to be in my life.”

“When I wake up in the morning, I hate what I see inside and out. Take me into your arms. God, I accept You into my life, please make me into Your masterpiece.”

“I want a relationship with You, God. I’m willing to change for You. I love You.”

“I am ready for You. I am ready for You to take all of the bad junk out of my life. Take it all away. You are my Saviour, and I accept You.”

As we journey alongside of these students we ask that you continue to pray daily that they are drawn deeper into a personal relationship with Christ. Our hope and prayer is that each and every student will be able to see that they are God’s masterpiece, and that they were created to be a blessing.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10

Thank you for your prayerful diligence as we continue to pursue these students into a loving relationship with Christ.