Phoenix Talent YFC Area

Thank you for being a part of this prayer team. It means a lot to me and to the people who are being ministered to. I won’t use real names for the sake of the kids involved, so when I do use a name it will be an assumed name. Let’s get to it:

• Pray for me. Pray that I would maintain a strong relationship with Jesus. Pray that I would be quick to respond to his will. We have all seen ministry leaders crash and burn. Please pray that God would use those that I hold myself accountable to to keep on track.
  
• Pray for the community of Phoenix/Talent. The more I get involved in my kids’ lives the more I see broken homes and hurt people. Pray that God would break into their lives and heal them from the inside. Pray that pain that comes from economic and relational poverty would be relieved. Pray that God would remove the blinders and they would be able to see Him for who He is.
• Pray for a young man who got sent to juvenile detention last week. He is a soft-spoken, warm-hearted kid who needs to recover from drug addiction. I believe that he is serious about breaking his addiction, but it’s a hard thing to do. He is a Christian. Pray that he would find Jesus to be his real and present help through this.
• Pray for a young man who I kicked out of club for cussing one week. He hasn’t come back in a couple of weeks but pray that God would give me the right words to say when we go out for smoothies next week.
• Pray for a young girl whose boyfriend cheated on her. She is taking it really hard. She needs Jesus!
• Pray for the right volunteers at Campus Life Clubs. I know that God has people out there who need to be a part of Campus Life Clubs. Please pray that God would send them my way. God has sent a lot of kids to the clubs and they all need individual attention from a caring, Christian adult.
• Pray for financial support for Phoenix/Talent Campus Life. In our Faithful 2500 campaign we are thinking of support in terms of $25 blocks. In order for the Phoenix area to be fully supported I need 200 of these blocks. I currently have 60 filled. So I have my work cut out for me. Pray for boldness to approach the subject (that’s usually the hardest part for me). Pray for willing hearts from within the community.

   
   

  Thanks again and God bless you
  

  Isaiah
  

Once every couple of months I do a radio spot for “The Dove”. They are short and usually relay a quick story with a point. I wanted to post the text of these spots for all of you who are interested so here we go:

     Hi this is Isaiah From Rogue Valley Youth For Christ. Life can be hard! Sometimes we need help that comes from beyond ourselves. Recently, I was discussing with a young couple from the high school club about their home lives and I was shocked to discover that one of them lives with only a mom who he says is always drinking. The other one’s mom died. This broke my heart. I asked them how they deal with the sort of pain this brings and one of the first things that they brought up was that Campus Life has become a refuge for them. A place of peace and re-energizing. The leaders and friends who come every week have become a community that they can trust. This conversation reminded me of the value that Campus Life Clubs and volunteers bring to the areas that they reach. If God is calling you to serve in this way, please contact us at 779-3275.

Hello,

Here are some things on my mind:

Culture

I was talking to my friend Richard the other day and we had a fascinating discussion on youth ministry and the youth culture. We were discussing how it is that we need to dive into what amounts to a completely different culture in order to have a voice with today’s youth and that sometimes we fall into thinking that the goal is to “save” these kids from their culture because it is different than mine. In fact, the goal has always been salvation from slavery to sin. So we have to ask ourselves what parts of the culture lead us to that slavery and away from God as opposed to what parts of the culture are a part of the beautiful freedom that God has bestowed on us to define ourselves in ways of our own choosing.

This is a very interesting question and one not easily answered, but I want to be one who protects the culture of those who come to me even if I don’t understand it sometimes. I do think that this is part of being a good steward of all that God has put in my hands to take care of.

Sportsmanship

As basketball club continues to grow, there has been an interesting development. Originally this was designed around kids who all play basketball competitively. Lately, many kids have wanted to come who are younger and less skilled than the first group of kids. This has been a challenge for many of the skilled players because they have been forced to play a different brand of basketball. Many of the early kids have stepped up and been great sports taking the younger ones under their wings guiding them gently in the process. Thank God that he is working in and through these young men and that he is bringing kids to club who want and need attention from the older kids. Please pray that their patience and concern won’t run dry. Pray that they will see the value that they are to these younger kids and that the younger kids will see what God is doing through the older ones.

Prayer Requests

Pray that hearts of each of the kids that comes to club will grow into deeper and more meaningful relationships with Jesus

Pray that God would continue to provide for Campus Life’s needs

Pray that the community of Phoenix and Talent would be turned upside down for Jesus

Pray for the parent of all the kids who come that they would be spirit-led in their parenting

Pray for me. Pray that I would always be quick to respond to God’s will and faithful to see through in every area of ministry and life.

Thanks and God Bless

Isaiah

Hello everybody,

Thanks for continuing to read my posts. I hope that you find them to be informative and inspiring. There is always so much going on that I feel like I am leaving out something important in the name of conciseness. That is a problem that I am happy to take on. It’s nice to always have something to talk about that is personally exciting. God is moving here at Phoenix/Talent Campus Life. You can feel it in the air. You can see it in the kids’ eyes. In the middle of the Chaos of a Campus Life Club, there is a supernatural sense of peace and belonging. That’s exciting! Here is a little taste of what is happening:

A Campus Life Success Story

Matt was a volunteer at the Jr. High Club. At the beginning of last school year, he went off to college. I was sad, I’ve known Matt for a long time and he was great to have at club. While at club, he had built a relationship with a young man named “John” (assumed name). Matt and John had both had problems with fathers who had an addiction to alcohol. Matt had been dealing with this for a while and could really identify with where John was at. This was exactly what John needed but there was a fear that with heading off to college and all the pressures and time-requirements that come with college that the relationship might just fade off into the distance. Matt wasn’t going to let that happen!

Matt has since related to me how through phone conversations and visiting over breaks the relationship is as strong as ever and growing. John hasn’t yet experienced a dramatic life-changing moment but at Campus Life we measure success a bit differently. Slow movements guided by the hand of God through time-tested, lifelong friendships, those are the incredible successes that we hope and pray for. John is on that path thanks to Matt’s love and commitment.

Bowling with New Song

Last week the high school group went bowling with the New Song Youth Group after Campus Life Club. We had a great time (although those of us who bowled didn’t score particularly well)! The kids laughed and played and got to meet the other kids and leaders of Spark (that’s the name of the New Song Youth Group) and came away a little more comfortable with “church people”. It was a very positive experience. I am looking forward to more interaction with Spark and other area churches in the future.

A Prayer Team

Prayer changes things. God moves when we pray. I have been praying for Phoenix Campus Life but that is not enough. In the coming days I will be sending out an email detailing how people can volunteer to be prayer partners with me for the Phoenix and Talent communities and for Campus Life’s role in those communities. I am very excited about this and I know that those of you who participate will be an incredible blessing to our community.

Lent

Lent is a 40 day period designed for the preparation of the believer — through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial — for remembering Jesus’ death and resurrection during Easter. One of my High school boys is attempting to quit smoking by fasting from nicotine through the Lenten season. This is huge! Please pray for him first that God would reveal Himself during this time of fasting and prayer and second that God would grant him his desire of being nicotine free at the end of this.

Prayer Requests

• That God would continually reveal Himself to the Campus Life Kids. Especially the two in the stories above, but all of them need a special touch from the Savior in their lives.
  
• That God would provide mentors for each of the kids who come to Campus Life Club. Like we’ve said before, ministry happens in the context of a loving relationship from a caring Christian adult being paired with a local teen. That means that there is a big need for local Christians to become actively involved in the lives of the next generation. Please ask God to stir the hearts of his people in this direction.
• That God would provide financially for Phoenix/Talent Campus Life. Maintaining a building, paying rent, the cost of running clubs and my salary are all things that I am trusting the Lord to provide for. He has always taken care of me personally and of this ministry and so I trust Him to continue doing so, but it doesn’t hurt to pray!
• Thank God for all the wonderful things He is doing! He is an amazing God! He reaps where he did not sow. To the bad steward that is a curse, to the good stewards that is an incredible blessing! God is working and moving in our community it is great to be a part of it all.

   
   

Thanks for reading and God Bless

Isaiah

Hi Friends,

Here’s a quick update on the state of Phoenix/Talent Campus Life. Thank you to all of you who are praying for Campus Life regularly. God is moving and working because of your efforts on our behalf.

Jr. High Club

Last night we had a great club. Travis led the discussion time and he did a great job. He talked about the decisions that we are making right now and the effect that they will have on us ten years from now. It was clear that he was speaking from his heart and that God had really been speaking to him. We will try and build on that foundation next week. We played some fun games. We met a couple of new kids. We got to have good individual talk times with a couple of the regulars. All in all it was a successful Campus Life Club.

Trevor’s First Birthday

For those of you who don’t know, I have one child and his name is Trevor. We are celebrating his first year of life this weekend! What an incredible thing it is to watch someone you love grow from that first breath to early toddlerism. I have learned so much this year just from trying to be a good dad. I had never noticed the depth of God’s love for me as Father until I became one. Wow!

Feb 12 High School Club Canceled

Because I am going to be celebrating life with my son, but we’ll be back with fire next week!

That’s good for now. God bless you all!

Isaiah

Basketball Club

Travis Chronister has been running our Campus Life Basketball Club all year long. The club has been effective at reaching a different group of kids than the ones who come to our Thursday afterschool drop-in/club. At the end of last year, many of the kids who played basketball for school had started coming to Campus Life. They played the regular games like dodge ball and capture the flag but they really only wanted to play basketball. So, this year, we gave them their own club. It’s a regular Campus Life discussion time but then it’s all basketball. A special thanks to Travis because without him this club wouldn’t be possible.

New Song Church

New Song’s youth group starts right as Campus Life is finishing up so we have worked out a way for a van to come pick up kids who would like to go there after club. Giving kids an opportunity to be involved in the local church is a big part of what Campus Life Clubs so I am very excited about this development. The hope is that they will connect with people from New Song and eventually become a vital member of that community.

Your Church

There are many different ways for a student to find a home church. If you or your church would like to partner with Phoenix Campus Life towards that end please contact me. I would love to talk about all the different options and custom fit something just for your church.
 

Snow Trip

The Jr. High Snow trip was so much fun that I wanted to go again. Out of that desire was born the high school snow trip. What a great Idea, huh? On Feb 20 we will be going to Table Mountain by Howard Prairie. It should be a lot of fun. Start praying now that no one will get hurt and that we will have a safe journey.

You can help!

God has really blessed both our High School club and our Jr. High Club. Each of these kids needs a team of responsible caring adults who will become a part of their lives. Will you be that person? If God is putting a burden on your heart to serve Him in your community, please consider Phoenix/Talent Campus Life.

Thank you and God bless you!

Isaiah

 It’s a new week. I am looking forward to what God has in store for Campus Life this week. God has been blessing this ministry on all sides. Here are a few of the things I am most excited about:

Women’s Bible Study

There is a Women’s Bible study that meets at the youth center. They are happy to have found a place to meet, but are even more excited about the ministry of Campus Life in Phoenix. They spent last Saturday deep cleaning the youth center working on getting blinds for the windows. What a blessing!

Campus Life Clubs

Both the Jr. High and High School club have been growing and not just growing but becoming dynamic and interesting clubs. In Jr. High the kids have so much energy. The time goes by too fast because they want to do everything. In high school there has been a completely different vibe. God has sent me a large group of honest searchers for truth. Most of them do not know Jesus yet but as He reveals Himself to them, I am certain that many of them will respond. I love these kids. Discussion times are great. When opportunities for mentoring come up, the conversation is deep and engaging. It’s just a great group of kids.

Jr. High Snow Trip

This Saturday I am meeting up with Ashland Christian Fellowship to take the Jr. High sledding. Should be a great trip. The van ride is always a great time to really get to know the kids. Some great conversations come out of the ride up and back. Pray that God continues this trend. Hooray for snow fort and snowball fights and sledding and getting outside for a day.

Prayer Requests

• A young man in my high school club has been put into juvenile detention for some time. Please pray that God would use this time to really get a hold of him. He needs to know God’s forgiveness and the transformation that comes with the Holy Spirit more than ever.
  
• Pray for safety on our snow trip.
• Pray for volunteers. I can’t do this on my own. I know God is raising up people whose heart is toward these young people. Pray that God would send them my way.
• Pray for financial support. If this is what God is doing, then I know that He will provide, but it never hurts to ask Him as well. I would like to add 100 more $25/month supporters in order to make this ministry completely self-sustaining.
• Pray for Wisdom. That I might have God’s words to speak to the kids and not simply my own.

   
   

  Thanks

  God Bless