Fall 2011 FRONTLINE Youth for Christ Quarterly Newsletter Inside: Ministry Reports YFC 300, YFC Golf Classic Alumni, Fellowship What s Happening Praise and Prayer DIRECTORS REPORT: Kicking off a new school year as God continues to grow this ministry! Thank you for your prayers & support! The Guys Only weekend: Bill Chapin, Randy Northrup, Charlie Long, Don Smith, Dave Schwend, Rich Hall, Rich Hanson and Rich Conklin I am so excited about what God is continuing to do with San Diego Youth for Christ. Since last year we have added two additional paid staff, five more club staff, two more ministry sites and so many more people wanting to pray and support us! This Labor Day weekend provided a great shot in the arm for me as I prepared for another school year of ministry. I had the opportunity to spend the weekend at the home of my old Campus Life Director when I was in high school and six very special friends that were a part of my life in my early days of ministry. We laughed so much and shared so many stories. Stories of the victories that were won for Christ but also of the heartaches and tough times that we have experienced in the 40 or so years that we have known each other. Through all that we shared that we always came back to God s grace and how it has been immeasurably poured out on all of us! As we spent the time together, I couldn t help but get excited about what God is doing now in San Diego YFC. The fun and excitement that spontaneously happens when we meet for staff meeting. The eyes that start to tear up when a staff member shares the hurt and pain of one of the young people they are working with or the hearts that fill with joy when another staff member shares of the life of one of their students that has been transformed by the love of Christ! I was so blessed by being with those special guys from my past, remembering all that God did in those early years of ministry but I am just as blessed now with the people that God has brought together today in YFC to reach out to the young people of San Diego county today! Many of these young people will be changed through the ministry of these dedicated staff members and because you care enough to invest your time, talent, and treasure in San Diego Youth for Christ. We will see many young people making decisions that will change their lives for eternity. Thank you so much!!! God Bless! Don Smitty Smith Executive Director Don Smith
CAMPUS LIFE Tina Gina Dusty And now the starting line up! Imagine if you will the starting line-up for a professional football team as they are being announced and they come charging out of the stadium, tunnel-ready to do battle on the field of competition. GOOD! Now that we have you thinking in that direction we would like to present our Campus Life ministry line-up for 2011-2012! Returning for her 13 th year, in the position of Staff Development Director is Tina Flannery! A well-seasoned veteran Her duties include overseeing the overall ministry staff training coordination, a junior staff mentor, and a senior support staff to Valhalla High and Hillside Middle schools. Gina Melton, a Pro Bowler starting her 6th years with Youth for Christ, is a mover and shaker as our senior Santee area Director overseeing Santana High and Hillcreek Schools. She is senior mentor to staff at both West Hills High and Hillcreek schools. Dusty Huntamer came to us in the middle of last year and is now in his rookie year as Campus Life Director of Valhalla High School, after coming off a successful year as a volunteer with Tina Flannery. Dusty is a graduate of Christian Heritage College, with a degree in Youth Ministry. His speed and agility in developing relationships with students will prove to be a great asset in the growing Valhalla s club ministry. Jeremy James (JJ) is also a rookie this year with Youth for Christ. He is returning to his home turf and alma mater as Campus Life Director at Granite Hills High School. Accompanying him in the ministry Campus Life is looking Great!!! is his wife Jenn, also a Granite Hills grad. Jenn was involved in Granite Hills Campus Life during her high school years and wants to have it there for present and future Granite Hills Eagles. This one-two combination duo will prove to be a powerful force in reopening a school where Campus Life once ruled! Gabe Pina is starting his 1st year as the Campus Life Director for West Hills High School. This rookie director has been a volunteer for Campus Life events, activities, and trips for several years. He has a big heart for kids and is a well-worn veteran of our Campus Life Spring Breakaway trips, Broomball, and the 30-Hour Famine. Gabe is a powerful force in the Santee area known for his endurance and laugh. He will help to take the ministry at West Hills to a new level Chris "Scully" Hiller helps to complete the strong ministry in the Santee area as the Campus Life faculty advisor at Hillcreek where she teaches kindergarten! She is so much more than an advisor, she is a part of the team! She is starting her sixth year, teamed up with Gina. She brings with Jeremy (JJ) & Jenn Scully, Scott and Jackson
her experience (and contacts) on campus as well as surviving the famous Campus Life Spring Breakaway trips and Night at the Kroc! Night at the Kroc ROCKS! Jason Farley, Mariah Bronson and Lee Sherwood are the three musketeers heading up the middle school ministry of Campus Life at Hillside Middle this year. These three dynamic interns from Shadow Mountain Community Church are partnering with Youth for Christ/Campus Life to make a big impact at the Rancho San Diego area school. Veterans all, Jason is in his third year, Mariah her second and Lee coming to us mid-season last year. They return for a another year at the Hillside campus, ready to make a major impact on the lives of the Hillsdale students. Jason finished his degree at San Diego Christian College and is in the process of getting an advanced degree as well as continue to minister at Hillsdale. Mariah is a Junior at San Diego Christian College and wants to minister to youth after she graduates. Lee is the techie on the ministry staff. He is a student at Grossmont College and has been involved off and on at Hillsdale for three years. He is a guy that loves middle school kids! (Keep him in your prayers... LOL) This by no means completes the Youth for Christ fall line-up as there are yet 3-5 volunteer support staff and board members, executive director, and director of alumni relations and development who also make up the Youth for Christ team. This powerful and passionate group of 22 individuals, working together to impact kids for eternity, will be doing "battle" not on some competitive gridiron, but in loving and pointing kids to Christ throughout 2011-2012 and beyond. Stay tuned for updates DON'T CHANGE THAT CHANNEL!!! STAFF 11-12 Gabe Scully Jason Mariah & Lee Gabe, Jasmine and their Farm Team
YFC 300 Campaign: In Judges 6 and 7 we find one of the epic stands of faith in the story of Gideon and the 300. God uses Gideon to not only defeat those who would stand against Him, but to victoriously deliver His people from the threat of God s enemies. Although He began with 32,000 men from Israel, and after passing over 22,000 who did not want to fight, God chose from the remaining 10,000 a group of 300 that He would use. He did this for two reasons: First, so that the Israelites would know it was by His hand they were saved, and second, that the world would know they were His chosen people. San Diego YFC is in the heart of the battlefield: The middle and high school campuses! We not only want to continue our fight but we desire to expand our outreach on more school campuses and then into the inner city areas, juvenile institutions, and wherever there are young people being attacked by God s enemies and in need of victory in Christ. This 3-year campaign is designed to help us expand God s outreach throughout San Diego. There are thousands of adults who want to reach young people in San Diego County. We are asking God to give us 300 like He gave Gideon. We are seeking those who believe in our mission, want to see young people spiritually victorious, and believe God is calling them to be part of that 300 in the next three years. Those 300 will help us meet our expenses through faithful regular support, establishing a strong foundation for ministry. We are excited to see who He will choose to help young people achieve this eternal victory!!! Why you need to be a part of the YFC 300! We are looking for 300... We have made great strides to grow the ministry outreach of San Diego YFC. We have added more staff and more campus clubs. This growth gives us more opportunity to help young people gain victory over the things of this world that keep them from being all that God created them to be. It is hard to go month-to-month not always knowing if we will have the funds to pay our staff or to provide the club resources to have an effective outreach. If we have a solid base of people that believes in our mission and wants to bring victory into the lives of these young people, we would not only do what we are doing now but so much more because we wouldn t have to think twice about the needed funds. We believe that this is so important to San Diego YFC, we want to return the blessings that those 300 individuals would give us. To all of you who join the YFC 300, we want you to receive these benefits: Special prayer and praise reports Special invitations to YFC events and activities YFC 300 Thank You! picnic at the end of the school year Our goal is that every quarter we want to add 20 more regular donors who will send in a gift at least four times a year. We will post our progress on every Frontline until we get our 300! Will you be one of the 300??? For more information on the YFC 300, the YFC Alumni Fellowship and other items, visit our website at: http://yfcsd.org/ or call our office at (619) 462-4000
Please join the Youth for Christ Alumni Fellowship! Reflecting upon what I would communicate with this issue of Frontline, an idea came to mind. Have you ever seen a weaving machine up close? They are fascinating machines which weave together sometimes hundreds of threads all at once. These great machines produce the fabrics we wear and use in everyday life. Can you imagine having to weave all those threads together by hand? Youth for Christ has influenced and impacted tens of thousands of lives over the last 40-50 years, and continues to do so today through its Campus Life programs in the middle and senior high schools in San Diego. So the alumni just keep on coming! San Diego YFC is intentional in its desire to begin the reweaving process, to connect as many individuals as possible by reaching out, contacting and including them in the happenings of YFC and Campus Life. There is a door of common experience in all of these lives who have been touched over the years, and we would like to walk through it for the purpose of re-establishing relationships that were forged back in high and middle school. Thus we hope to re-weave them into a positive stream of both memories and ongoing spiritual possibilities. That common experience that they enjoyed in exploring the physical, mental, and social realms through Campus Life also exposed them to the spiritual realm and a relationship with Jesus Christ. For many it has made an eternal difference in a journey filled with the ups and downs of life since. Because of this intentionality, our proactive move to weave these lives back into a fabric of support, growth, and love, serving those kids of the past as adults in the present, YFC extends its reach and influence throughout the lives it comes in contact with. As I reflect on those thousands of souls in what began as a Campus Life adventure in high and middle school then, I see today an opportunity to rekindle the adventure, weaving lives together and again pointing to Christ as THE way in a troubled world. Our mission is to minister to one another by celebrating our experiences in YFC and providing ongoing means for personal involvement. We communicate to YFC alumni so that you will know what is happening with fellow alumni and within San Diego Youth for Christ. We plan and facilitate events for alumni to gather together for encouragement and fellowship. We strive to provide the ways and means for alumni to network with one another. We help to create and support a prayer network to communicate blessings, needs and other information for YFC and our alumni. We hope to provide a conduit for personal ministries to and among our YFC family. Finally, we strive to provide trustworthy information and services related to the stewardship of time, talent and treasures which God has entrusted to our YFC alumni. Please be a part of our Forever YFC Alumni Family! YFC 300 AND SDYFC ALUMNI FELLOWSHIP!!! Don, I want to get involved by being one of the YFC 300 or by joining the Alumni Fellowship!!! I want to be one of the YFC 300. (Cut, fill out and return in enclosed envelope) I want to be apart of the San Diego YFC Alumni Fellowship. I want to pledge a monthly/quarterly gift of $ for the coming school year. I am not able to make a monthly contribution at this time but I want to pray for SDYFC. Please charge my credit card for this gift. My credit card information is below: Acct. # Expiration Date Name Phone Address City State Zip Email Address
WHAT S HAPPENING: September 30 - YFC Golf Classic! This is one of our favorite fundraisers. If you like to golf you must join us! Go to our website for more information and how you can get involved: yfcsd.org October 26-28 - YFC SWS Staff Conf. YFC s Southwest States Regional Staff Conference. This is a great opportunity for our staff to be trained and equipped to reach more young people. Please pray for us. November 11-13 - Campus Life Trips This is one event that our club kids look forward to every November - our Campus Life Get-Away Trips. For information go to our web page at: http://yfcsd.org/events/ YFC Golf Classic, Eastlake Country Club, Sept. 30th! Eastlake Country Club (new location!) Friday, September 30, 2011 Registration begins at noon 1:00 pm shotgun start with sack lunches on the carts Scramble format with prizes for 1st and 2nd places and YFC handicap Entry fee is $125/golfer or $500 per foursome the price includes: Tournament gifts and prizes Green fees, driving range & cart Longest drive closest to the pin and more Awards banquet and program YFC Golf Classic/Church Challenge! A fun way you can help Youth for Christ reach more young people is by signing up your church or non-profit for our YFC Church Challenge. The cost is only $500 and pays for a foursome with everything included and you may win hundreds of dollars for your own youth program! For every church or non-profit that enters our YFC Golf Classic/Church Challenge, we will set aside $50 for a donation to the organization that wins the Challenge! Church Challenge Entry Rules: 1) The organization s foursome must send in a paid registration slip by Sept 16 to qualify. 2) All members of the foursome must regularly attend the organization a minimum of two activities a month. 3) No ringers allowed! (No one who receives money for playing golf may enter.) The money must be used to help the youth of San Diego. A check for the organization will be presented to the representative at the Awards Banquet! For more information please go t o o u r w e b p a g e : http://yfcsd.org/events/golf_tournament GO GREEN! We are trying to cut down on our mailing costs. Would you like to receive our monthly letters, Frontline Quarterly Newsletter and our Prayer & Praise Updates by email? Then send us an email request! If you no longer wish to receive the monthly letter and Frontline Newsletter, also let us know by calling 619-462- 4000 or email us at info@yfcsd.org THANKS! Steve Davis is the Chairman of the YFC Golf Committee Praise and Prayer needs: Praise: We had a fantastic summer and we are starting the school year with added staff and several new clubs! Praise: God continues to bless us with growth both spiritually & numerically! Praise: The great team of board and staff that God is putting together here! Prayer: For our Golf Tournament on Sept 30. Prayer: Continued prayer for a solid financial foundation so that we can keep on reaching kids wherever they are! Prayer: Additional board members. It is our earnest desire to build a board that reflects San Diego county. Prayer: We meet many new students this year so we can share the Gospel of Jesus with them! Prayer: Pray for our new club directors as they give of their time, talent & treasures to the mission of Youth for Christ. Getting snowed on during a Spring Breakaway trip!