Launching Community Youth - CY

For over 30 years God has blessed Karen and I with the chance to share the good news of Jesus with youth in various locations and ministries. I remember being involved with Lancaster Youth for Christ as a child helping doing mailing with my mom and constructing Scream in the Dark with my dad. God has allowed us to serve Him by serving youth. For years I served on the staff of YFC, eventually Directing the ministry. YFC transitioned to serve youth by way of LYNC (Lancaster Network of Churches) these past 8 years. The LYNC ministry focused on networking youth pastors with each other in order to reach community youth. As that transition took place God lead us to begin a YFC type ministry at our home for neighborhood youth. I continued to work with LYNC raising our support. In 2003 God lead me to pursue youth work in the local school by using my teaching degree that I had since 1981. Wow, what a great way to serve youth in the public school. While still receiving donations thru LYNC because the beginning salary of a teacher was much less then what I had been making after over 20 years with YFC/LYNC. These past years the Loft ministry as well the networking of teachers with CEAI (Christian Educators Association International), the after school ministries and the connecting the school students with the Loft ministry have grown much. While not being able to directly network with youth pastors during the day like in the past the networking heart continues. We are the Body of Christ, we must work together to reach our world for Christ. I continue to see the need to network but what God continues to provide for us is the audience of youth. Even at 50 years old I love being with youth and giving them fun and showing them Christ.
So what is Community Youth and what is this launch? In a nutshell: the non-profit organization of LYNC is being handed to me to direct once again. The actual networking of youth pastors will continue through Ed Weber and YMI (Youth Ministry Innovations). He is called by God to continue the networking and will use the word LYNC. I believe in the networking and am on Ed's Board of Directors but God has our families focus right now to be in direct working with community youth, thus the non-profit organization with official name Lancster Network of Churches with begin ministering under the name Community Youth on January 1, 2009. How will this change what our family does? We will continue to follow the Lord in reaching youth. It is exciting to be able to place all the various activities we have been providing for youth as a family directly under a non-profit organization. We are not sure what this will do for our donation. Also the times we live in make giving a challenge for some people. We are not making our decisions to serve based on donations. God has given us the ability to work with youth and has given us many different resources to serve youth. We will continue to be good stewards of the 'talents' God has given us. We continue to serve and are now excited with serve under the name of Community Youth. We look forward to see how God will bless youth as we obey His leading.
Thus the launching of Community Youth - See Why at CY - See why Jesus Christ loves you. Thus the ministry email: cyjcly@gmail.com