Living life alongside of some of you locally and far from others, I don’t want to overwhelm you with prayer requests and ministry reports when your lives, jobs, and ministries matter just as much…I may at times speak too little, not share the needs enough, shy away especially from asking for financial support… When the prayer requests & needs seemed more desperate from overseas it seemed more acceptable to report often and with greater detail, to ask specifically. However… I want to be sure that you know the impact as you pray and give.
First of all, this is a team effort. I recently heard a friend describing his experience watching a high school baseball championship and the joy and celebration of the team’s victory for EVERYONE present… strangers high-fiving, hugging, celebrating even though they never touched the ball. I’ve been thinking about “my team” and how some of you are fielding balls and making homeruns with me, others are in the stands cheering us on with prayers and financial gifts, others are not at the fields but may high-five us when we have a victory, but I want to be sure you all feel a part of the team and the victories and are able to celebrate with us what God is doing. TEAM win… and there have been a lot of them.
Ministry growth locally in the region where I live, as you’ll see below is exciting. Nationally, this past year we grew from 210 US based ministries to 250 reaching teenagers with disabilities! We went from 527 kids in discipleship nationally 5 years ago to 1,260 this year. Churches are opening their doors. Our friends are meeting the Lord and finding a place in the body to move into for long-term service and life. You are a part of this. TEAM win.
Perhaps you wonder if your giving really makes an impact. I hope you see those numbers, hear my stories and recognize that just as much as your giving has impacted direct ministry in Fresno or in Lima with names and faces attached, its impacting here. When my role was one of direct ministry, the structures of Young Life Capernaum that provided training, support, resources, helped find grants, bring encouragement and even recruited me were in place already. Now, I get to be a part of the structure for others. And since we are a team, so do you. The impact is exponential and very different but very real. THANK YOU. There is no account sitting in Colorado Springs to cover the expenses associated with our national team’s ministry, leadership, training, or travel … we ALL raise the money to cover budgets that we comb through and look to cut back on, save, and be good stewards of constantly. We ALL have to have a team, and without that team, the growth would cease and staff would be left to figure much out on their own locally.
When you give monthly, your gift is added into an amount that we use to determine if we will be able to meet our monthly ministry budget. That budget has to include everything from a salary and a health benefits package, social security, workers compensation, to travel, postage for mailings, program expenses that go with leadership gatherings and trainings that we host, those we attend and many more detailed items. The final numbers of what we’re responsible to raise become daunting. Ask any employer about the total cost of for a full time employee and you’ll begin to get a picture of it… we raise that all. You give that all. So, next time you ask yourself… “Does my giving really impact anything?” please, please hear me… YES! Our team, your team is advancing the gospel among teenagers with disabilities who don’t know the Lord in big ways. Your gift is counted on, it’s a pledge and no matter how big or small, it’s a vote of confidence in the call and mission, a voice of “we’re with you, Christen…” and my heart is encouraged. I cannot do this alone, I need a team.
The reality is that the need continues. October 1, we begin a new fiscal year. For various reasons, changes and shifts in peoples’ giving and personal finances, ‘our team’ has lost some players this year in the monthly giving area. Perhaps you’re giving what you can already but can join us in asking for God to provide more players to the team to give sacrificially and joyfully. Perhaps you’re not giving and would consider being a part of it… this link can direct your giving. Perhaps you’re not able to give, but you will and do and are PRAYING! Whatever your place on the team, thank you. PLEASE come and ask for more detail if you want to know more about the roles I play, you can play, or the impact. I would love to share more. I would be delighted to meet, talk in person, or email about more, but also don’t want to bombard you. Also, please know that your encouragement, your “shouts from the stands” can carry us through tough times when the enemy seems to be gaining ground, when the funds aren’t coming in or we lose team members and need to be reminded that God who has called us is faithful.
GO TEAM. Our great Coach is leading us on and I look forward to sharing soon some of the new challenges before us as we begin a new school year and fiscal year with Young Life.
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