I love good stories. When I listen to a good story, my attention gets sharper. I lean forward in my seat and time stands still. Stories that captivate me just seem to draw me right into the setting. Suspenseful stories keep me on the edge until the end. I usually am the first one to cry in a sad story. I can’t get enough of humorous stories. It feels like the day is brighter just to have a great laugh with people that you care about.

At Youth for Christ, we believe everyone has a story to tell, so much so, that a national campaign has been launched based on storytelling. Youth for Christ understands that listening to teenagers stories is the first step in relationship building. Listening eventually allows adult staff to impart wisdom from their personal stories. And finally, after trust has been established, adults share what is most important—God’s story. This three-tiered process resulted in 105 teens from the three county area accepting Christ last year. What a story to tell!

Unfortunately, too many stories remain untold. Countless teens are sitting at home with no one to talk to. Many others long to have a father who consistently loves them. Some have decided that their stories are not worth telling. These sad situations drive our Youth for Christ staff to find those kids with hurting stories. It may mean late nights with a ton of kids in a gym, riding in a hot bus all the way to Florida or just counseling a hurting kid who just can’t handle life any more. Whatever the situation, Youth for Christ remains committed to telling God’s story.

Reaching students in the three county area remains a daunting task. We are grateful for our long history. But we are especially excited about what the future holds for us. We look forward to getting to more kids and strive to reach every kid in our schools. We feel like we are at a very crucial time on our mission. We have had many great stories of past success of God moving in student’s lives, but we want more. We need to get to those untold stories and stories that might be too painful to share. We believe that God is going to do great things through our committed staff as you help us reach more Youth for Christ.