Update from the South Side
Dear Ministry Partners and Youth For Christ Supporters,
Thank you all for your prayers and unwavering support throughout this school year. You have played an important role in impacting at-risk students across the city of Chicago! Over 150 students in 4 different ministry environments have been touched with the Gospel in 2018-2019! To God be the glory for each child that has heard the Good News and felt the love of Christ through this year’s programs.
I am blown away by the impact we have seen these past seven months and grateful for our partnership with New Beginnings Church. We are thrilled to share with you the following praise reports:
80+ kids are regularly attending our Friday night Refuge event each week (with the assistance of our partners, New Beginnings Church and Project H.O.O.D.).
30 students have surrendered their lives to Christ this year.
God has answered our staffing prayers and provided 10+ volunteers (including student leaders) for our Refuge events.
Our partnerships with teachers, school administration, and parents get stronger every day!
Students during and after school are now looking forward to learning about God.
We are receiving requests to start more clubs at additional campuses this Fall!
We have expanded our efforts to serve schools outside the south side of Chicago.
As we head into summer and plan for the next school year, we are preparing to launch Campus Clubs inside 2 new high schools. This is due to successful referrals from schools we currently serve. We praise God for these amazing opportunities! Please pray with us for God’s provision of volunteer staff and resources to equip them to facilitate weekly programs at these schools.
Thank you again for your spiritual and financial support. It is greatly appreciated! Know that your prayers and gifts help YFC provide a light for these students. Last week, I got a chilling phone call from a parent whose child had been shot. This young man has visited Campus Clubs several times and though he survived the bullet, the news is still sad and scary. Two more of our students are also grieving due to gun violence affecting their families. Pray with me that these losses will not cause them to lose confidence in Christ. The community we serve is very at-risk so every contribution we make truly makes a lasting eternal impact.
Respectfully,
Pastor James Owolabi