To Love Is To Serve - Metro Maryland Youth for Christ

Metro Maryland
every young person one at a time
Winter 2011
To Love Is To Serve
Over 20 of YFC’s students and leaders
rolled up their sleeves and spent one
Saturday last October, serving a local
resident in need. PROJECT SERVE
Service Day, coordinated by YFC staff
person Mark Miller, proved to be a great
day of fun, fellowship and sharing God’s love in a
tangible way. A large tree, leaves and sticks were
hauled away; a deck and handicap ramp were
painted, as well as some general house cleaning
was done and greatly appreciated.
The next two Service Days are scheduled for
March 12 in Baltimore City and May 14 in the city
as well as Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard
Counties. To love is to serve. If interested, contact
[email protected].
every young person one at a time
ALIVE 2010: Every Face Tells A Story
Our most recent ALIVE 2010
Middle School Conference
held in Ocean City in
November, saw many new
“faces” (this year’s theme)
among its 3,500 attendees.
Here are just a few of their stories…
David Harrop, 12, recently found himself performing
at the ALIVE conference featuring national Christian
speakers and entertainers. Speaker Tyra Lokey
turned her childhood of abuse around and shared
her message using sign language about the strength
she found from God. Harrop was picked to perform
a sign language song and dance. Although he now
considers it the funniest thing that happened, at the
moment he didn’t. He said, “If I had known I was
going to be performing in front of 3,500 people, I
might have passed out.” Nevertheless, when asked
if he would attend again, he enthusiastically said
“yes!” (Exerpts from December 8, 2010 Towson
Times article.)
▴
Bob Lenz
▴
Tyra Lokey
ALIVE 2010 was over, and the next day, one of our
YFC staff asked a group of students which part of
the weekend was their favorite. Without hesitation,
they agreed, Bob Lenz and Tyra Lokey, the main
speakers. Bob Lenz had spoken with the students
about their personal worth. He shared crushing
moments from his teen years where people
(teachers, parents, a group of friends) said things
that made him feel small. Tyra Lokey shared her
story – how as a young girl she was beaten and
abused by her addict mother. Bob and Tyra each
spoke of how God’s sacrificial, unconditional love
had revealed to them their ultimate value as His
children.
These students identified. One boy shared that
his own parents had abused and abandoned him,
and it’s clear he has spent much of his life seeking
approval from friends, girls, etc. Every rejection
has felt like one more slap in the face. Because
of attending the ALIVE conference, these 12- and
13-year-olds had now heard the message of God’s
sacrifical, unconditional love, spoken into their own
lives, and embraced it.
A Publication of Metro Maryland Youth for Christ
YFC Banquet
The annual Friends of Youth for Christ Fundraising
Banquet will be held Monday, April 25 at Martin’s
West featuring keynote speaker Leigh Anne Tuohy.
The adoptive mother of Baltimore Raven’s Offensive
Tackle # 74 Michael Oher, Tuohy was depicted by
Academy Award-winning actress Sandra Bullock in
the movie The Blind Side. In 2004, Leigh Anne and
her husband met Michael Oher at their children’s
school. They invited Michael, who had a difficult
childhood, to live with them. They eventually
adopted him and helped him prepare for his future.
◂
Michael Oher
with Leigh Anne
Tuohy family
For ticket information, please contact Metro
Maryland Youth for Christ at 410-529-4434.
If You Really Knew Me
by Carol Byrne
Nearly 200 Campus Life high school students and
their leaders descended upon the Eisenhower
hotel in Gettysburg, PA, January 7-9, for the annual
Avalanche retreat. Waking up to a few inches of
snow on Saturday proved to be perfect for the many
students who went snow tubing, snow boarding
and skiing. Visiting nearby historic Gettysburg and
an indoor sports complex were among many other
activities enjoyed. Saturday night’s pizza party
added much to the fun. Throughout the weekend,
Campus Life staff Gregory, Laura, Stephen, Ben
and Loyal, shared their testimonies and stories from
their lives, emphasizing how we all fall short but how
God’s love for us is greater than any of those things.
This was in keeping with the theme of the weekend
“If You Really Knew Me”, which came as a surprise
to some, but opened the door for students to be
radically honest about their own lives. A few of the
things shared by students included:
•One girl who shared her struggles with an eating
disorder.
•One young man said he felt he had to work so
hard to be liked and accepted.
•One student wept as she expressed her shame,
humility and guilt for many of the poor choices she
had made.
•A group of girls made a commitment to read the
Bible daily and attend a weekly study.
•An 11th grader new to Campus Life, made a
decision to follow Christ!
What a great way to start the new year! It was
obvious God was present and at work and what
a joy to be a part of what He’s up to in the lives of
these teenagers!
Metro Maryland Youth for Christ
8900 Belair Road, Baltimore, MD 21236
410-529-4434 • Fax: 410-529-4437
To donate
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on at
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Upcoming Events
PROJECT SERVE
FRIENDS OF YFC BANQUET
IMPACT 2011 EPIC High School Conference
THE VOICE HIGH SCHOOL CAMP
Dominican Republic
“Vision Trip”
February 19-25, 2011
March 25-27, 2011
Featuring: Thousand Foot Krutch, Superchick,
Danny Ray, Keith Elias, Charlene Jin Lee, Taylor Mason,
Walt Mueller, Steve Smith, REILLY and much more…
Monday, April 25, 2011 at Martin’s West
Featuring Leigh Anne Tuohy
(portrayed by Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side)
Cape Henlopen, Delaware
June 25-29, 2011
HIGH SCHOOL YFC CAMP
NorthBay, Northeast, MD
July 19-25, 2011
MIDDLE SCHOOL YFC CAMP
NorthBay, Northeast, MD
July 26-30, 2011
CROSSROADS MIDDLE SCHOOL CAMP
Cape Henlopen, Delaware
August 14-19, 2011
PROJECT SERVE
Dominican Republic
April 18-25, 2011 & July 18-27, 2011