March 2017 Newsletter

Wait Time Is Not Wasted Time

I’m sure many of you are familiar with the story of Nehemiah and how he went from a cupbearer to the king, to organizing an effort and completing the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. In this current season, in Leavenworth County, as we strive to build up an affiliate to reach military teens throughout the county, we often feel as though we’re playing the waiting game. Although Nehemiah only had to wait about 4 months before he started putting his vision into action, he was busy during that waiting period praying and seeking God’s will for how things would come to fruition, while God was busy at work aligning things behind the scenes. The burden on Nehemiah’s heart was to see Jerusalem restored and rebuilt. We can often times get caught up in the how the vision will get accomplished, so much so, that we lose focus on the what. The burden that remains on our heart here in Leavenworth County, Kansas is to reach the over 14,000 teens, ages 11-19, the majority of which are military teens. Nehemiah wasn’t exactly sure how he would go about ensuring that the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt, he left that up to God. In a similar fashion, we’re not sure exactly what the future of military youth ministry will look like exactly here in Leavenworth County, but we do know for sure that the burden remains strong on our hearts and we’re trusting God to continue aligning the pieces as we continue to do what we can on our end here on the ground and believe that God is at work bigtime behind the scenes.

What we’re doing at the ground level

My childhood friend, Chris and I at the YFC
Omaha banquet together.

Like any good construction project, you need the right tools and It’s important that they are in good working order; after all, who ever made a precise cut with a dull saw? Just like Proverbs 27:17 states that just as iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another. Amy and I are currently busy getting sharpened. As we have mentioned in previous newsletters, we have had the opportunity to learn a lot from our YFC Omaha counterparts and later this month we will be attending a week-long training in Denver, CO that will help us better
prepare for our new position as we build and direct this affiliate program here in Leavenworth County. Before we can empower and equip others to come alongside us and serve to reach these military teens, we must first be empowered and equipped. We hope that this training we will be attending in a couple weeks, will help bring clarity and sharpen others as we ourselves get sharpened. We have already met with countless youth pastors throughout the county that have a shared vision to reach lost teens. We have met with other community organizations that also have a heart to bring about Kingdom-impact change throughout our county. We meet regularly with them to discuss issues plaguing our community and brainstorm solutions on how we can work together to bring about lasting change. Just like God orchestrated some connections for Nehemiah so he could rebuild Jerusalem, God is busy orchestrating things for us here at the ground level in Leavenworth County through these training opportunities, and collaborating with other like-minded partners.

Amy and I together on the
red carpet at the YFC
Omaha banquet.

            As part of the affiliate, we have an advisory board. They serve to help keep us accountable to the mission and vision, act as a sounding board when it comes to decision making, assist with budget decisions, as well as a host of other duties. We are still working to build our advisory board, comprised of people throughout the community that want to support the work God is doing here. We currently have 4 people serving on our board and we are hoping to add a few more soon. We held our first meeting a couple of weeks ago.

            As we also mentioned before, we’re shifting focus. Sadly, many millennials are either leaving the church in droves, or have never been invited to hear about Jesus and the gift of salvation. Prior to now, the approach we took was to be a ministry that operated out of the on-post chapels of military installations. This approach was limiting in that in only reached teens that were connected to the on-post chapels. It was a, “a come to us” focus. In this new shift of focus, we feel we can have a much greater Kingdom impact, as well as God’s glory magnified as we cast a wider net with a “go to where kids are” focus. Where are the majority of young people, ages 11-19?….in school. We are currently building relationships with school administrators, parent and teacher organizations, extra-curricular activity leadership, and school counselors and simply asking how we can serve them. Whether that means helping out with events, or mopping the floor after an activity, we want them to know that we’re not here to push our agenda, we simply want to serve them with the most basic needs they may have. Our hope is that by building these relationships, one day we will be granted the permissions to provide Campus Life programs in these schools to build relationships with students and share Jesus with them on a weekly basis, either before or after school. Through this approach, we would be able to reach far more military teens. Our reach wouldn’t be limited to only military teens, though, through this approach, we would have the opportunity to reach all students within the school, both military teens and their friends.

Vision Casting

Imagine with me for a moment, what the landscape could look like one day…Currently, our young people are plagued with bullying, struggling with identity, self-esteem, body image, and countless other problems. Military teens struggle with those same issues, compounded by moving all the time, and worrying about their deployed parents. They often have to pick up the slack at home and miss out on simply being a teen due to additional responsibilities. All teens simply want to feel that they belong, are known, and be understood. Could you imagine the change we could see in the canvas of Leavenworth County if we were able to cast this wider net into the school systems, eventually reaching every middle and high school of all 5 school districts within Leavenworth County? We could see problems like bullying decrease, we could see attendance and performance rates increase. We could see homes and families transformed. We could see community involvement increase. Drug and alcohol use, abuse, crime rates, incarceration rates, and so many other negative impacts could decrease as a result of a faith-based presence in the public school system in Leavenworth County. As these teams come together to build relationships through fun and games, food, and fellowship with these students, they will earn the right to speak God’s truth into their lives. Over time, this could lead to church growth throughout the county as we plug families into grow in their newfound or recommitted relationships with Christ. WOW! I don’t know about you, but that gets us fired up and excited for the possibilities God could bring to the landscape of Leavenworth County.

Be praying with us that God will continue to align and orchestrate connections, partnerships, and opportunities, as we seek to fulfill our role in what we believe is His vision for the future of military youth ministry in Leavenworth County. It truly takes an Army to make this happen, no different than Nehemiah recruited lots of people to help him rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. We need partners to come alongside us that have that fire and passion to see change come to our area. Please consider joining our team, either through prayer, financial support, or volunteering to serve alongside us.

Amy, Allison and I together during Allison's recent visit to Kansas, enjoying BBQ together!

Celebrate with us as we will be having a second YFC staff join our team here in Kansas. Within the next few weeks, Allison should be here on the ground helping us with the YFC Affiliate serving Leavenworth County. She will be moving from Moreno Valley, California. She has a heart for lost young people and a passion to build relationships with them and share Christ with them by simply living life on life together.

Honored to be on this mission in His vision as we call us to serve in Leavenworth County,

~Phil & Amy

**To join our team in any way you feel led in prayer, financial partnership, spreading the word and anything in between you can reach us at pparsons@yfcmail.org or contribute online at https://yfc.givingfuel.com/30631**