Be the Story

This year’s Be the Story banquet and luncheon were held at the Darke County Board of Developmental Disabilities’ beautiful Birchwood event room Thursday evening and Friday at noon, April 4th and 5th.

The evening and lunch time programs featured a video interview of the children of YFC staff presenting their perspective on Youth for Christ, which of course, invoked a lot of laughter (and can be found on our Youtube channel). The evening also consisted of the sharing of student stories from our new storyboard, a google doc where staff weekly enter stories of what God is doing in students’ lives, and to which Give Life 360 members have regular access. Guests also received current statistics on the state of Christianity as it relates to teenagers in our country as well as a report on the ministry effectiveness of YFCMV this past year. A short video of student testimonies painted a real picture of what life is like right now as a teen (also posted on Youtube). Those in attendance also enjoyed the delicious food provided by Montage Cafe, and as we wrapped up the evening and luncheon, guests were invited to BE a part of the YFC story.

• An invitation was extended to join YFC by volunteering directly with teens or behind the scenes. We currently would like to add around a dozen more volunteers.

• An invitation was extended to join one of the prayer efforts – in person, bi-weekly updates and/ or current requests through the Remind app.

• An invitation was extended to join the new Give Life 360 Team, which at $30 a month, equalling $360 a year, covers one teen’s

involvement in YFC ministry.

• An invitation was extended to give financially towards the $40,000 goal to help keep ministry going strong through the end of this fiscal year, which is June 30th.

• An invitation was also extended to sign up for the Kroger Community Reward program or also to donate other resources.

We offered an additional opportunity for a matching challenge of up to $20,000 donated by a generous couple just a few days before the banquets. Funds raised towards this match will be used for ministry expansion, which is a very exciting prospect!

It’s not too late to jump in to BE a part of what God is doing through YFC. Even if you were unable to attend one of the Be the Story events, we hope you will still consider partnering with YFC.

So far we have raised approximately $16,000 towards the $40,000 goal and $7,500 towards the matching challenge. We have gained additional prayer partners and one potential volunteer.

We hope to hold next year’s banquet mid-March, so keep an eye out for information at the first of next year. We hope you can join us! We are so thankful for the ministry partners who are a part of this journey. We are always better together. And helping teens find hope in Jesus is so worth it!