Several weeks ago, local youth ministries from all over Darke County came together for Discipleship NOW (DNOW)
. Held every year since 2021, this is an overnight spring conference geared toward encouraging our teens to grow in their faith and to put it into action. The event consists of worship, sessions, small group discipleship, food, fun activities, and outreach in the local community. Outreach this year consisted of 150 care packages to our first responders in Ansonia, Union City, and Winchester and outdoor spring cleanup and landscaping. One such outreach activity was lead by *Krista.
Krista is a high school student at Ansonia who regularly attends Campus Life on Tuesdays. She really wanted to update the courtyard outside her school library, so she reached out to school leadership to make the project happen. On the Saturday afternoon during the conference, about 25 students and leaders worked hard to pull weeds, remove tree stumps, and haul out literally tons of extra dirt. While Krista was invited to register for DNOW, her busy schedule kept her from attending the entire weekend. It just so happened that on the day of the cleanup, her schedule cleared for her to attend the final session on Saturday evening. I am happy to tell you that she rededicated her life to Christ that night! She has faithfully attended church again the last several weeks and hopes to get baptized soon.
It is because of God’s goodness that this event has impacted Krista and hundreds of lives over the last four years. We have already begun planning for DNOW next spring and anticipate God will continue to move in our teens!