Tabling at Texas A&M-Texarkana
Last week marked the first week of school for all area Texas Schools, including Texas A&M-Texarkana. TAMUT is a growing college and great option for students, both locally and from out of town, and many of them come from the Dallas area where Young Life is huge!
Every year in the US, 75,000 Young Life alumni begin their next phase of education as freshmen at colleges all around the country. That means 2 things to me.
It means that we have a responsibility, as Young Life in Texarkana, to help these students that come our way to be connected in Texarkana to a local church, to community and friendship, and to the Lord.
It also means that there are several students at TAMUT who were are part of Young Life during their high school years and would love to get involved in Young Life on the college level. These students are here in Texarkana, and we met some of them last week!
It didn't take long for them to spot us on campus and get excited! Immediately, when a student sees the Young Life logo or hears that someone is involved in the ministry, memories flood back into their minds of Christian adults who have been there for them, some of their deepest friendships, and life-to-the-full experiences with their leaders and with Christ.
Last week, over 50 students signed up to get involved in Young Life College, and several of them indicated interest in leadership for middle and high school students! What an opportunity to serve them and give them opportunities to serve too!
All of this would not be possible this year if it wasn't for a special couple of people. My friends, Adam and Emily Sloan are going to head up our brand new Young Life College ministry. They plan to cook home-cooked meals in the dorms twice a month, pull off fun campus events, take students who don't have a car to the grocery store, take students on road trips, provide opportunities for students to get involved in service projects, tale gate at TAMUT soccer and baseball games, go deeper in the bible with interested students, and eventually start club on campus for Young Life College.
And they need your help - help by sponsoring the Young Life College effort, providing supplies for meals, hosting college bible studies in your home, and praying for this new side of ministry and for college students to come to know the Lord through it.
If you would like to know more about Young Life College at TAMUT or would like to help in some way, contact Adam Sloan at (501)733-7190 or younglifecollegetexarkana@gmail.com. Or contact me at (903)280-8781 or jon.emanuel@texarkana.younglife.org.
Thanks for reading!
Jon Emanuel
Are Director
Young Life Texarkana
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Monday, August 22, 2016
Young Life Gives Back: Discipleship In Action
On Wednesday August 17, 2016, some of our middle school and high school friends and leaders packed food boxes for veterans in need at Trinity Presbyterian Church for Hero's Pantry. Over the last 6 months, we have seen fourteen of our middle school friends give their lives to the Lord, and for some of them, this was their very first experience in serving Christ!
Hero's Pantry is an ecumenical effort to share the love of Christ with local veterans by providing a box of food that lasts for a week, a place of belonging and respect, and an opportunity to be prayed for and ministered to. Individuals and Sunday School groups from several area churches volunteer regularly to solicit food donations, cook, pack food boxes, and serve this marginalized group of society.
As Christ followers, we are called to think outside of ourselves and ask how we can put others first. In our new believers' bible study, we have been teaching our middle school friends that our purpose as believers is to know Christ and to make Him known. It is crucial that our young friends get plugged in and serve Christ and others in our community and schools.
When asked what stood out to her about serving, April responded, "I think it's important to serve and give back."
Adam, one of our leaders said, "It was amazing to see these kids kids serving Christ, some of them for the first time!"
If you'd like to get help with Hero's Pantry, call Pastor Scott Luckey at 903-733-5811 or David and Wanda Majors at 903-733-1459.
On Wednesday August 17, 2016, some of our middle school and high school friends and leaders packed food boxes for veterans in need at Trinity Presbyterian Church for Hero's Pantry. Over the last 6 months, we have seen fourteen of our middle school friends give their lives to the Lord, and for some of them, this was their very first experience in serving Christ!
Hero's Pantry is an ecumenical effort to share the love of Christ with local veterans by providing a box of food that lasts for a week, a place of belonging and respect, and an opportunity to be prayed for and ministered to. Individuals and Sunday School groups from several area churches volunteer regularly to solicit food donations, cook, pack food boxes, and serve this marginalized group of society.
As Christ followers, we are called to think outside of ourselves and ask how we can put others first. In our new believers' bible study, we have been teaching our middle school friends that our purpose as believers is to know Christ and to make Him known. It is crucial that our young friends get plugged in and serve Christ and others in our community and schools.
When asked what stood out to her about serving, April responded, "I think it's important to serve and give back."
Adam, one of our leaders said, "It was amazing to see these kids kids serving Christ, some of them for the first time!"
If you'd like to get help with Hero's Pantry, call Pastor Scott Luckey at 903-733-5811 or David and Wanda Majors at 903-733-1459.
Monday, August 15, 2016
Creating Bridges of Hope: Local Church Gets Involved
I'm so excited to share that Matt and Libby, student ministry interns from City Church, will be getting involved with Young Life Texarkana to help us create a bridge for Young Life kids to get plugged into the local church! Having a place for kids to land is so crucial in what we do.
When I bumped into Young Life seven years ago, I was a youth leader and worship leader in my church in a fairly new-to-me town. My pastor recommended that I call Jesse, the local Young Life Area Director, and meet up with him. When Jesse told me about Young Life, it all sounded great, so I went to check it out. Somehow they were able to get the kids that no one else was able to reach. Somehow the farthest-kids-out went to Young Life. Those were the kids I wanted to reach, and our church youth group consisted of two brothers who went to Young Life anyway. So why not check out Young Life and go meet their friends?
So I volunteered to be the guitar player for club for a semester, and my first club is one I'll never forget. As high school kids arrived, their conversations consisted of who did what with their girlfriend or the no good things they were planning to do on the weekend, all while dropping f-bombs at Young Life, right in the middle of someone's living room.
I was shocked and torn. On one hand, I wondered how they could be so disrespectful. On the other hand, I knew the hard-to-reach kids were like this, and somehow they were at Young Life, a Christian event with Christian adults. In a way, I was honored that they showed me who they really were. To be honest when most kids step foot on church property, they have learned to alter their behavior in order to belong. But this is not Christ-living-in-them transformation! This is behavior modification. (Not the goal!)
The night went on with hilarious and messy games, singing that felt like an Irish pub without the alcohol, and at the end every kid sitting on the floor in silence listening to one of their leaders sharing the Gospel.
I had never seen anything like it! What was Young Life's secret?! I mean, how did they get these kids to come and hear about Jesus? I later found out that it was all about the friendships that the leaders had built with the kids outside of that night. It revolutionized how I did ministry.
I started to be more intentional about doing relational style ministry and stayed involved with Young Life at the same time. Our church youth group of two became a bible study of nine, and our events nights went from two to twenty five almost over the course of the semester. These new kids in our church were also Young Life kids, kids without a church home. At least until then.
I am so excited to be working with City Church leaders because of the need that every kid has to get plugged in outside of Young Life. Research shows that every kid needs 5 non-parent adults in their lives to grow into maturity. Every kid needs this network, and City Church is going to help be a part of it. In Young Life, we highly value the local church and desire to see every one of our kids find a church home.
I'm so excited to share that Matt and Libby, student ministry interns from City Church, will be getting involved with Young Life Texarkana to help us create a bridge for Young Life kids to get plugged into the local church! Having a place for kids to land is so crucial in what we do.
When I bumped into Young Life seven years ago, I was a youth leader and worship leader in my church in a fairly new-to-me town. My pastor recommended that I call Jesse, the local Young Life Area Director, and meet up with him. When Jesse told me about Young Life, it all sounded great, so I went to check it out. Somehow they were able to get the kids that no one else was able to reach. Somehow the farthest-kids-out went to Young Life. Those were the kids I wanted to reach, and our church youth group consisted of two brothers who went to Young Life anyway. So why not check out Young Life and go meet their friends?
So I volunteered to be the guitar player for club for a semester, and my first club is one I'll never forget. As high school kids arrived, their conversations consisted of who did what with their girlfriend or the no good things they were planning to do on the weekend, all while dropping f-bombs at Young Life, right in the middle of someone's living room.
I was shocked and torn. On one hand, I wondered how they could be so disrespectful. On the other hand, I knew the hard-to-reach kids were like this, and somehow they were at Young Life, a Christian event with Christian adults. In a way, I was honored that they showed me who they really were. To be honest when most kids step foot on church property, they have learned to alter their behavior in order to belong. But this is not Christ-living-in-them transformation! This is behavior modification. (Not the goal!)
The night went on with hilarious and messy games, singing that felt like an Irish pub without the alcohol, and at the end every kid sitting on the floor in silence listening to one of their leaders sharing the Gospel.
I had never seen anything like it! What was Young Life's secret?! I mean, how did they get these kids to come and hear about Jesus? I later found out that it was all about the friendships that the leaders had built with the kids outside of that night. It revolutionized how I did ministry.
I started to be more intentional about doing relational style ministry and stayed involved with Young Life at the same time. Our church youth group of two became a bible study of nine, and our events nights went from two to twenty five almost over the course of the semester. These new kids in our church were also Young Life kids, kids without a church home. At least until then.
I am so excited to be working with City Church leaders because of the need that every kid has to get plugged in outside of Young Life. Research shows that every kid needs 5 non-parent adults in their lives to grow into maturity. Every kid needs this network, and City Church is going to help be a part of it. In Young Life, we highly value the local church and desire to see every one of our kids find a church home.
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