Couch-A-Rama

The Whole Gang Before Couch-A-Rama

What a wild, wild time its been. As we've gone back and forth the past few months about club, we knew that before our first club we wanted to have some sort of event to use as a measuring stick. We wanted to do something that would be a whole lot of fun, and something that was a bit different then club. After talking to some of our kids about it they decided we should throw a bonfire and invite the whole school. After talking about it more we thought we could have some sort of event before where we could do something and have us all end up at the bonfire. We needed something high energy, high adventure and highly ridiculous. We needed Couch-A-Rama.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the latest couch related photo scavenger hunt craze, here is the scoop. Each team gets a truck, a couch, a YL leader and a list. The rest of the team that can't fit into the truck piles into cars and follows the leader to wherever it is the list takes them. Once you get to your location you must unload the couch, take it to where it needs to be, pile the whole team on it with no one touching the ground, and take a picture of it. Points are awarded for pictures taken at locations on the list or for completing objectives. For example, you could earn points by taking a picture in the drive through at McDonald's or by taking a picture with someone over 70 anywhere. You'll find a few of our favorite pictures sprinkled throughout the blog. We had a lot of fun Franklin County specific locations. The last objective was to get to the cook out we held at one of our high school girl's house by 7.

The Girls Team with Their Couch at a Playground.

The week before the event was full of collecting couches and borrowing trucks. The biggest blessing was the fact that our committee took full charge of the cook out aspect leaving Ben and I to focus our whole attention on the Couch-A-Rama aspect. We had talked to Becca and Kerri who were both able to make the trip up and began to get excited. When Saturday rolled around we were excited and had no idea what to expect. While we've had a lot of momentum we didn't know if 10 kids would show up or 50. We prayed, prayed and prayed again. And then as the time drew nearer we headed to the high school.

When we first got there we were met by a few kids. We kicked around the soccer ball and through the frisbee as one by one they trickled in. By the time we started we had 30 kids in all, some of who we didn't even know. We broke up into teams, explained the rules and then all heck broke lose. Kids piling into cars, heading out of the parking lot in all directions as they followed their leaders to wherever it was they were going.  Kids were headed all over town as they scrambled for as many points as possible. The guys on my team mapped out specific directions as kids that didn't even know each other before were suddenly brothers on the battlefield of the game. Who knew the comradery that moving furniture could bring.

In the McDonald's drive through with a coach, a teacher,
a shopping cart and last but not least: a live goat.

My favorite moment came when we decided to head to McDonald's. One of our guys had called a teacher who also happened to be an assistant coach on the varsity basketball team (double points) to meet us there. They also went across the street to get a shopping cart which also earned bonus points, and that's when they saw it. There was a trailer attached to a truck and we could tell that there were some sort of animals in the back. Upon closer inspection we found it had goats in it. One of the guys turned to me with a look that said "You don't think . . . " and I got the message loud and clear. Right as the truck started backing up I darted over and motioned for the driver to role down his window. As he did I saw his eyes look over to the 9 high school boys piled onto a couch with their teacher and a shopping cart in the middle of the drive through. I started to stumble through an explanation of what we were doing when he stopped me and said " . . . You know, I thought that picture would look better with a goat in it" as a smile broke out on his face. So he, his wife and three children clambered out of their car as one of his daughters casually unloaded the goat from the trailer and placed it in the arms of one of our quite surprised high school guys with the warning "Don't let him go or he'll run away and you'll have to catch him". We took the picture as McDonald's patrons walked or drove by with confused looks on their faces. Needless to say, it was quite the adventure for every team.

Our Summer Camp Flyer For Our July Trip!
Created by Brendan O'Connor!

As 7 neared we all raced back towards Jill's house going exactly the speed limit as the rules enforced and counting our points as we went. As we traveled up the driveway to the Coury's house we were beat there by the girls team and followed closely by the third and final team. We all spilled out of our cars and onto the Coury's gorgeous patio which was already bustling with music and food galore. As the teams showed up and swapped their stories of where they'd gone and what they'd done we were soon joined by kids that couldn't make it earlier, but could come to the bonfire. Soon we had 70 people enjoying the near perfect weather and perfectly cooked burgers and hot dogs as we sat around the fire and simply enjoyed life. It was the perfect end to a perfect night.

As the night grew on we found the winner was the group made up of mostly younger guys who were more than excited to be crowned champions. We showed a slideshow of all the pictures we'd taken and laughed at all of the ridiculous stories we had. I got the chance to stand up in front of them and tell them what Young Life was and that we would be heading to Hidden Valley's club for the last time on April 8th and then starting our own on April 15th. This was met by excitement and applause. Kids were stoked. Lastly we announced our camp trip and showed a video that Andy Fetzer and Dave Sloop had made that parodied Good Feeling by Flo Rida - here is the link. By the end of the night there was a palpable excitement for what Young Life was going to do next. It was a big, big night.

The Cook Out At 10:15, Over Three Hours After It Started!

In the end as we finally had to gently urge kids out the door around 10:30 so we could give the Coury's their house back, one kid turned to me and said "This was the best party all year and there wasn't even booze". While it made me laugh at first I think that he recognized something very important. Not only was a party without drinking fun, but it was more fun. Our hope was that he felt even a hint of the wild and beautiful life that Christ offers us. In subsequent weeks we get the privilege of putting words to what he felt. We get to stand in front of kids and explain to them who Jesus is and why we as leaders are so free and full of life. We are given a high and holy calling. Sometimes it is hard and the Lord asks us to simply push through. And sometimes, like right now, it feels that we are allowed to simply enjoy everything that He has given us. We get to sit back and see fruit starting to show itself after months and months of planting seeds. And in one week from posting this blog we will be having our first Young Life club ever at Franklin County High School. Stay tuned. Stay prayerful. Thank you so much for your support and encouragement. It is a wild ride.

Metaphors and Momentum . . .

Our Weekley FIFA Winner

If you know me, you know I love to use metaphors. I contextualize things by relating one thing to another. Becca, my fiance, will claim that I do it way to much and often compare things that aren't even similar. However, that's the way I see the world. As I look at what the Lord is doing here in Franklin I see this whole process like a train starting out on it's journey. At the very start you give it a ton of power while the machine starts to barely creak into life. Then something happens, and there is a moment where you can truly feel every bit of power you are giving it translate directly into momentum. At some point after you are just feeding the momentum that is basically carrying itself. Where we stand right now is that middle stage. This whole process has gone beyond creaking to life and we are starting to feel it move and gain momentum in some crazy ways. Where to begin?

The Group We Took To Hidden Valley Monday Night

We'll start with the most obvious, tangible and empirical aspect of it all; kids coming out to club. It has been a bit ridiculous to see the amount of kids wanting to drive 40 minutes away to come to club with us. Our semi-nomadic band settled down on going to Hidden Valley's club. It's become familiar, and our kids are starting to make friends with some of the kids in the club and so the once stark separation of FranCo kids and HV kids is starting to fade away. Another big change is that kids are starting to understand what the heck Young Life is! For those of you that have been to or led clubs you know exactly what I'm talking about. There isn't another place in a high-schooler's life where there is such freedom to be ridiculous across all kinds of different social groups. When a kid sees it for the first time they aren't quite sure how to react. That have no point of reference to liken it to. Now that we've been a number of times, are kids are some of the craziest ones. They are singing loudly, getting into the games and listening with a keen ear to the talk. As we bring other kids along it's more natural for them to follow the lead of their classmates. It has been a cool transition to see.

Our Own After Club Eating Place!

And now Young Life has become the talk of the school. The things that Twitter has done for our momentum have been without rival. Kids love to tweet, and before and after club kids have been talking about how excited they are about YL and how fun it was afterward. Their friends see it and are asking about it. Suddenly, two weeks ago we took 20 kids to club and 23 the following week. I'm certain that the next week we go it will be over 30. Its gotten so big that we've started to go to our own Bojangle's in Rocky Mount after club rather than the one in Roanoke with the rest of the schools, because we simply cannot fit! (Also it gets kids back much earlier which parents appreciate a ton, but that is way less exciting). As we've grown and grown and grown and grown, we've come to realize something. The pillar is starting to move again. Another way I've contextualized this whole process is by seeing the way the Israelites responded to God coming out of Egypt. The Lord led them as a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night (that in itself is absurd, if you haven't read the story of the Exodus lately do yourself a favor and check out how awesome God is and how quickly we as humans want to lose trust). Anyway, if the pillar didn't move neither did the Israelites. I'm sure there were times where they wanted to say "To heck with this whole pillar thing, lets just walk straight to the promised land", but they didn't. And the Lord led them.

As we've been back and forth a million times about club, we have trusted that feeling that the time wasn't right yet. There were certain things we knew were essential to start club that we didn't have yet. Moreover, we felt that the pillar had stopped where we were for the time being. But now it is moving again. What does that mean? That means Couch-A-Rama Camp Sign-Up Cook Out Extravaganza (catchy name right?). Couch-A-Rama is a Young Life staple where you throw some teams together, and the teams have a truck with a couch in the back of it. The goal is to take pictures of your entire team on a couch in predetermined locations, kind of like a scavenger hunt. It is a lot of fun. We will be doing that on March 23rd with the end location being one of our girls' houses where we'll have a cook-out and introduce camp to the masses (and hopefully have some kids sign up)! We are now also thinking about dreaming about the first club of our own which is very, very exciting. More details will come as everything shakes itself out.

The Franklin County Group at CLW 2013

So with all that what else is new? We got to take six committee members and myself to Richmond for a committee leader weekend that we all left refreshed and with a renewed vision and vigor. It was incredible to be a part of the bigger body and to see where the Lord is moving all across the state. As a small group just getting on their feet in Rocky Mount, Virginia, it was good for us to see that we're not alone in this. On an even more close-to-home level we got to meet with some of the other committees in Southwest Virginia small towns and be encouraged that we weren't in this alone. We left with a fire in our bellies and a refocusing of why we were doing all of this in the first place; Jesus. Our time was rich, deep and fun. My favorite part was getting to spend time with one another outside of a Committee Meeting setting. While that may sound strange because we were still at a conference together, and that would seem like one long committee meeting, it was nothing like that. We got to enjoy each other and not be down to business. It was a wonderful time. 

Our Used Car Lot (Our House on Sunday Nights)

We've also run into some interesting parking problems at our house on Sunday nights. We've continued having our 'Destination Nights' and FIFA tournament and having a growing number of guys showing up every  week. The picture to the left shows the awesome mess we find ourselves in! We find a way to make it work though, and we're excited to teach our guys the magical method that some call Carpooling. I feel that there are a million other things I've forgotten to mention, so I'll go rapid fire. Ben is now a J.V. Soccer coach, I've began substitute teaching, we are having a group of kids over to discuss what it would look like to start YL club here in Franklin and Becca and I may have found an apartment for next year! As I've been doing my best to keep this blog updated, I've realized that I truly am struggling to keep up with everything that the Lord is doing. It is big, wild and beautiful. I truly appreciate your care, concern, prayer and support. More to come soon!

Two Wild Weeks . . .

The past two weeks have been a blur and an absolute blast. It began with Ben making a big decision. After driving 35-40 minutes to hang out with kids a few days a week he decided that he needed to be living in Rocky Mount if he was going to do this thing right. Two weeks ago he moved in with me, into a large closet that used to be my prayer room. It's cramped to say the least, but Ben wouldn't have it any other way. He'd do anything or live anywhere for kids to hear the Gospel. A few days after Ben moved in we got to attend one of the most important things we do in Young Life, the Prayer Overnight. At PO over 1,000 people cram into Rockbridge, the camp we went to for Fall Weekend, for twenty-four hours to do two thing; pray and fast. It was incredible to be with so many people desperate for kids to hear the Gospel. One of the most powerful things about this time is praying for areas that don't yet have Young Life. As a disclaimer, I know that Young Life is not the only way for kids to hear the Gospel. However, seeing the affect that Young Life has had on my life as well as many, many others I know how the Lord uses it in crazy ways. I'd love to see him continue to do that as we step out in faith in other areas. People have been praying for Franklin County to have Young Life for years and here we are. I don't know why the Lord chooses to work through the prayers of His people, but I guess I don't really need to know.

Ben's moving in has made our house the place to be. Simply having another person here has given it the feel that something is always going on. Kids have caught on to that and have found themselves here at all times of the day. David is here as our VPS every afternoon, and two of our other friends have been joining us during their lunches or before work just to hang out. Kids are coming over before games, after games, before practice or just whenever they're in town. We've hung out with kids in 'neutral turf' more in the past two weeks than we have the rest of my time here combined. We've even started a Sunday night tradition. The guys loved coming over for the Super Bowl so much one made the comment "We need to do this every Sunday night." After nicknaming our house 'The Destination' we had our first 'Destination Night' on Sunday filled with FIFA 2013, tomahawk throwing and junk food. It was awesome. We're stoked to be able to kick kids butts in video games. On a serious note though, the relationships we're building because of this is nuts. We're excited that a lot of these kids are coming to club with us also as we are visiting other young life clubs.

When I say other clubs, I do mean clubs plural. Our nomadic trek through Southwest Virginia to different Young Life clubs has been a blast. It all started when we were invited to the Roanoke Young Life Dodgeball Tournament. We put together a team and dubbed ourselves 'The Girlscout Rejects'. Besides placing third out of fifteen teams and having our smallest freshman be the hero of two different games (something that he'll remember forever), our guys got to talking to some Cave Spring girls about Franklin County YL. They told them we'd been visiting the Hidden Valley club because we hadn't started our own yet. The girls then insisted we visited their club the next Monday. Something I've found to always be true; when a high school guy is invited to something by a high school girl he thinks is cute, he goes. When they told Ben and I about the conversation we told them we would absolutely go. We also talked to them about other clubs in the area. In all, there are four within reasonable driving distance and they wanted to check them all out. The clubs are all very different; Hidden Valley and Cave Spring clubs are both pretty suburban, but unique. Patrick Henry is more urban while Floyd is more rural. Getting to see club in such different areas is going to be a huge gift, and give our kids vision to the many different kids we want to be at club.

Our nomadic band took residence at Cave Spring's Young Life club this week. A good friend of mine, and fellow staff associate, Eric 'Mezz' Messmore graciously hosted us as we brought our troop and crammed in another high schooler's basement. Cave Springs club is about half the size of Hidden Valley's and I think it was good for our kids to see a more intimate club. After being unsure of who would venture out that way with us Ben and I ended up taking 12 kids along for the ride (pictured left). We even got dinner with some Cave Springers before club who were very excited to have us come. It was so encouraging for us to be welcomed in such a big way. Our kids talked often about who they were going to bring in the weeks to come and how they wanted to see different clubs. We were also stoked to see more underclassmen along for the ride, and even girls! Not having girl leaders has put us in strange positions as far as an unbalanced ministry, but its all working out in the end.

However, that's not to say that nothing is going on with the girls at FCHS. Kerri and Becca, being the phenomenal leaders that the are, had a girls night the other night and spent the night with 11 girls in Franklin. Seven of those girls went to Fall Weekend with us but the other four hadn't. A few that had never been with us to club before wanted to go, including freshman. We're excited for what that means for the years to come. I don't have any pictures of that event, because I wasn't there! So instead I put a picture of myself swinging on a tire swing at our very own David Sicher's house. Many have asked if this picture is fake, but I assure you it is not. It was terrifying. Also as a side note; all of these pictures are on my instagram. Often, the only things I instagram are pictures of kids and wherever we happen to be hanging out with them. So if you want a more constant flow of updates and whats going on in Franklin, that would be what to check out (instagram name is theimonkey.

Three more things I want to say. First we have seen the Lord move in big ways in kids hearts. We have a few guys that are going harder than ever and truly catching the vision for going after their friends for Christ's sake. These guys have been waiting for something like Young Life to come to be a vehicle for presenting Jesus to their classmates. Its been and honor and privilege to guide them as they do this and deepen them in their faith. Their voice is the strongest we have in the school, stronger than any leaders' voice could be. These guys are building a community and an example that we'll be able to see as the foundation of Young Life in Franklin County forever. Its an awesome thing to witness. Pictured left is Brad Rayburn filling out his application for work crew. Work Crew is an opportunity for high school kids to serve at a Young Life camp for a month. It meant to much to me in my walk with the Lord, and we know it'll mean the same for Brad. We're hoping he will be accepted into the same assignment that I'll be on and I'll be able to spend the session with him at North Bay. 

Secondly, I don't love doing prayer requests. My vision for this blog is that you would see where we are lacking, and be prayerful without my having to ask. However, I've come to find I've never been good at asking people for anything, especially help. As we move forward we know that we will need a team of people behind of praying us forward. Praying for big, big things. The Lord can do anything, so we want to ask him to. There are two prayers that are bigger than I can imagine happening. The first is that we are looking for a place for club, no matter when we start it. We've had many families that have offered their houses which is great and extremely generous. However, I have the nagging feeling that we're supposed to ask for more. Smack dab next to the high school, and a stone's throw away from my house, is a shut down Chinese restaurant called Tianjin First. I can't think of a cooler and more convenient place to have club. I want that. Secondly, we are looking at our financial situation for the upcoming year, and we are in a fairly good place. However, I know the blessing it is to not have to worry about money or fundraising for the area. This prayer request isn't meant to be a clever ploy to guilt you into throwing us some cash, its much deeper than that. If the Lord wants you to give to us, he'll put it in your heart on his own. With that said, as much prayer as we could receive in this area, the better (as with everything).

Lastly, my hope is that this blog doesn't become a stumbling block to anyone. Specifically, I'd love for FCHS students not to see it. There are many reasons for that, but the biggest is that this blog is meant to be a behind the scenes look for the Body of Christ, not a "Hey come look what FCYL is doing". I think it would be weird, especially for a lost high school kid, to see that I'm asking that they be prayed for! Rarely do I go into detail about specific kids, or even give their names, because I don't think that's necessary. I feel I may have explained that poorly, but I hope you get the gist of what I'm saying. Share this blog with wisdom. I thank you all so much for your support of us. The Lord is doing big, crazy, wild things here. It's a beautiful thing.

A New Semester and a Short Post

David Sicher and Committee Chair Jane Jacobsen

As winter begins its long melt towards spring there are a bundle of new beginnings on the horizon. Winter sports are wrapping up and giving way to spring sports, the random bursts of snow are beginning to subside and give way to 70 degree days and a new semester has begun! For us that means two things.

First it means a brand new semester in yearbook with a whole new batch of kids. While it has been great getting to know the group from last semester I'm even more excited to get to meet a new bunch of 'photojournalists'. As the book is only a few months away from completion its creation continues to be a blessing to me and an avenue to meet many new students. Secondly, it means a VPS student for Young Life. VPS stands for Volunteer Public Service and is a class that FCHS students can take for course credit. They can either VPS for a teacher at the school or for an organization. I got a call this week from David Sicher, a Senior who we've gotten the chance to know well and wanted to know if he could VPS for Young Life. This means that every day during 3rd block we have a high schooler that is helping us organize, plan and build Young Life in Franklin. The idea came out of nowhere but we are stoked at the opportunity.

A Group We Took Monday Night to Hidden Valley YL Club

Also with a new semester comes the resurgence of Young Life Club in Hidden Valley. While we are still building towards are own club, we are taking kids to HVYL in the meantime, this time taking four who hadn't been before. They also invited us to participate in their Dodgeball Tournament next week which should offer some hilarious pictures. Again we got to see kids be blown away by what went on in club. While it is hard to be patient in waiting for our own it is such a blessing to be able to have kids see what a full fledged club looks like and to have vision for their own in the months to come.

Lastly, Ben and I are excited to be heading up to Rockbridge to Prayer Overnight this weekend. This is an annual tradition in the Commonwealth Region that brings together leaders, staff people, committee members and even some sharp high schoolers to pray and fast together for a day at Rockbridge. One of the coolest aspects of this time is that we pray for schools that do not have Young Life yet to be reached. While we know that Young Life is not the only avenue for these places to see Jesus, we know the blessing that Young Life can bring and hope that every kid gets the opportunity to hear the Gospel in a way that reaches into their life in a real way. The names of the new schools are posted on the wall and those that want to can grab a school with the agreement that at some point during the year they will go to that school and pray for it. This week after Hidden Valley's club I got to meet a high school girl who had gone to prayer overnight the year before and had grabbed Franklin County's name off the wall and had been to the school to pray over it. It was a cool moment for both of us to see the power of prayer and how far we had come in only a year.

Neutral Turf

We Didn't Have Someone to Take Our Picture So We Took a Panorama Picture and Passed the Phone. It Worked!

It's very helpful when somebody tells you the perfect way to describe a situation you are experiencing. This week I talked to Steve Schmitt about everything going on in Franklin County and he gave me a perfect illustration. The way we work in Young Life is we go to kid's 'turf'. This means showing up wherever kids are going to be and often revolves around the school. More often than not this is what we are talking about when we are doing 'contact work'. However, Steve put it differently. When we hang out with kids there is a spectrum. When we hang out with them where they are normally at we call it their turf, and when they come to something we do, like club or campaigners, that is our turf. However, there is something in the middle that isn't either one of ours; neutral turf. This is anything outside of the first two categories; a restaurant, going to the movies, riding around town, playing ultimate frisbee, basketball at the YMCA, the list goes on. This week put neutral turf in perspective for me.

The Franklin County Men Hit the City

As a fan of football I was excited for the playoff
games. Ben and I decided to invite a few guys over to watch the games on Sunday. We have done great at meeting kids on their turf, but we are trying to crack the neutral turf barrier and hang out with kids outside a school setting. However, when Sunday rolled around we only had two guys show up. This was discouraging, but we had a blast with the guys that came. In the midst of throwing frisbee, tomahawks and watching some good football we got to talking about our experiences with watching pro games in person. I told them I had gone to a Charlotte Bobcats game with my brothers last season and that it was cheap. Within seconds of telling them that one had already pulled up tickets to the game the following day; only $10 each. As an added bonus they didn't have school. We told them that if they could fill up a car full of guys to go, we would drive them down and make a day trip of it. A few hours later the plans were all laid out to pack seven of us in a car and head to see the Charlotte Bobcats take on the Houston Rockets. It's funny how when we feel our most inadequate the Lord does something sweet.

We Snuck Down and Took Some Court Side Pictures After the Game.

So at 9 a.m. we hit the road, cramming four seniors, one freshman, Ben and myself into our committee chair's SUV and headed down the road. We had adventures along the way between long McDonald's pit stops and navigating an unfamiliar city. Upon making it to the arena we watched two mediocre teams play from sub par seats and didn't mind one bit. We cheered louder than anyone else while not really caring who won, all the while having our freshman friend shout "Fear the beard!" every time James Harden made a shot. After the game we stopped at Chik-Fil-A and feasted on some delicious chicken while planning our next adventure out. On the way home we got stuck in traffic and made the best of it by jamming out to whatever song we could think of to play on Spotify and regaled our fellow wayfarers with the windows rolled down and loud choruses of classics like Drops of Jupiter.

Some of Us Got a Little Sleepy During the Final Stretch

This was the definition of spending time in neutral turf. We got to know kids away from the norm and make memories that I'm sure none of us will ever forget. The community that we got to enjoy, and the way the seniors treated the freshman guy as an equal, was something that will have big implications for the culture of the school in general. As we look to move kids towards our turf our hope and prayer is that the Lord give us more opportunities like this. As I've been reading in Scripture I again come across the story of the Exodus. After leaving Egypt the Israelites followed the Lord in the form of a pillar of smoke by day and of fire by night. That is crazy. Whenever the pillar would stop, they would too and make camp until it moved again. As it took 40 years to reach their destination I'm sure that it often stopped for longer periods of time. In seeing their persistence in trusting whenever it moved AND whenever it stopped it gives me vision for where we are now. I don't think we have lost any momentum, but I do think we are where the Lord wants us for a bit. I think the pillar has stopped here and we are to dwell for a bit in 'neutral turf'. It's incredible to see the way He takes care of His people. This Monday was an awesome example of that.

The New Year

Craig and I with Young Life President Denny Rydberg

As we look forward to 2013 we do so with excitement and anticipation. We stand on the edge of something big and are making sure we are laying a firm foundation for it. Looking back at 2012 we see the big leaps and bounds that were made towards starting a Young Life club here in Franklin County. As we stand here though we realize we still have a long way to go. In fact, I write this in the middle of a week where our committee and I have pledged to be deep in prayer and fasting as we seek to discover what comes next. While we understand that we have a lot of momentum, we also know we don't have a lot of factors needed to have a sustainable and successful club and so we do want to be very patient. As an impatient person myself, it is especially important for me to slow myself down and understand what the Lord has for us now. It is a wild experience.

Pre-game Warm-ups Before a Home Game

Here in Franklin County we're on the verge of a new semester. For me that means a whole new group of yearbook kids that I get to know. Now Ben and I know over 100 kids and we're excited to have that number grow this semester. We want to build lasting relationships with kids and have been very strategic about that. We decided to go to every basketball game we could rather than just a few. We also wanted to see both the JV and Varsity teams. We've gotten to know a lot of guys on both teams especially during away games where we are the only fans there besides parents. We get to sit with the team and have been thanked countless times for showing up to games as far as two hours away. Our hope is that we're communicating that no matter the distance, win or lose, we're going to show up. If that speaks at all to Christ's character to them, we've done our job.

The Greatest Addition to FranCo Ever: A Brand New Cook-Out

We don't just want to be friends with kids on the basketball team though, or athletes in general. We want to know every kid in the school. As I've been keeping track of the kids we know in the yearbook it hits me more and more how many kids we don't know. We are getting creative with how we meet those kids too. Often when we think of groups of kids in the school we do it around sports teams. We know kids on the basketball team, baseball, soccer, track and football. However, if that's where we stay we miss 95% of the school. We are starting to spread out into getting to know different groups of kids which is scary. We want to know kids that we have nothing in common with. When you look at Jesus' life and ministry he knew people in every type of walk of life from centurions to tax collectors, he was a friend of all. It is such an important thing for us to recognize: Jesus message is for every single kid. When we start club up we want every type of kid in the school there and represented. We want our club to look like the kingdom of God, not a who's who of the school.

Out for Mexican with the Yearbook Kids on Denham's Bday

Where we stand we are desperately in need of prayer. Our biggest prayer is asking the Lord for kids to catch the vision of pursuing their peers for Jesus. We know that even after next year when we'll be adding at least two new leaders (Becca and Kerri) that we are ridiculously outnumbered. Our goal is to reach every kid in the school; 2,200. With four leaders that leaves each of us to run after 550 kids. I'm not sure we can do that. We know that we are going to need kids to come along side us and join us in ministry. Most area's call these kids campaigners. As we move forward this is my biggest prayer. Secondly, we ask for direction. There are so many different ways we could go, and we need the Lord to make it clear for us where we can serve Him best. I am so thankful to have a committee full of people excited to pray and fast about this through the week and for people reading this who will honestly go before the Lord for it. So, I leave you in a place of patience and of waiting. We are excited to see what comes next. I thank you for being a part of it with us.

Fall Weekend pt. 2

When you see Rockbridge for the first time, it blows your mind. I remember thinking of what Young Life camp was going to be when I went for the first time in high school, and it was nothing like what I pictured. Rockbridge is a camp specifically designed for high school kids. It takes everything into consideration and defines excellence. It should be called a Young Life resort. We got there and our kids spilled out of the bus and got settled in their rooms before Ben and I took the guys and wandered around camp.

The next 36 hours are a blur. I wish I could detail for you everything that went on. As I look back a few weeks, and many big events later, there are a few big things that stick out; the first is club. Many of the kids we took had no idea what club was even about. They had never seen a club and when they asked us what Young Life was all about we told them to wait and see. They were blown away. We were lucky enough to be a part of one of the biggest Fall Weekends Rockbridge had ever hosted. Every bit of the club room was packed out. The look on their faces to see 700 other kids go nuts and sing Taylor Swift songs or cheer for games or laugh at program characters was priceless. By the end of our first club we had the privilege to hear for Cliff Wright.

Cliff is an area director in Fredericksburg. I can't guarantee I'm spelling that right. Cliff is a very, very passionate person when it comes to talking about Jesus. You can tell he is walking with Christ in a way that a lot of people aren't. It draws you in and makes you want to know what is different about him. A lot of our guys loved him right off the bat. One turned to me and said "I want to be that when I grow up". I'm not sure if any of them truly realized why Cliff was different but I hope that they will.

We got to have cabin time both nights we were there, where the goal is to just kick back and get real with the guys. It is where a lot of conversation happens and high school guys who rarely talk about real stuff open up. For us that meant getting to known one another. Coming in Ben and I didn't know all of the guys, and didn't know hardly any of them on a deep level. We got to talk about life, Jesus, Cliff's talk, etc. What I hoped would go at least 20 minutes ended up going over an hour and a half. By the time we looked at the clock again it was 2 a.m.

By the end of the weekend nobody wanted to leave. We had a quick area meeting sharing the vision for what club could be coming back to Franklin which a lot of kids were stoked about. The bus on the way home was a whole different story. We were all comfortable with one another talking like old friends. We talked about going back to camp in the summer and what club could look like. We arrived home tired but satisfied. It had been a good, good weekend.

As I look back on it there were a lot of victories for us. We got to see the spiritual landscape of kids in Franklin County. Most all of them have been exposed to the Gospel to some degree, most of them even go to church. However, they long for more. They understand that the way Cliff spoke about Jesus was different than they saw him, it was intimate, real, deep. They want that. It will be incredible for us to find out how to bridge that gap from wanting to living. As we move forward, we are more excited than ever.

The last four blogs have been a bit off the norm! For that I'm sorry, and I'm also sorry they're a bit late. Its been a wild time for us and for myself personally. As the new year comes and I have more time again to be consistent I hope to update every Tuesday on what is going on and how you guys can be praying for. I thank you for supporting us in prayer, we desperately need it. We love you so much!

More updates soon.