Yes, we’ve been in a quiet time
2015 was a sabbath year of quietness, rest, and prayer for RYO. Our youth leaders graduated from college, tried diligently to secure sustaining funding, completed their community service as VISTA volunteers, and ended up going on to paying jobs in various communities that took them away from youth work. At around the same time, the City School District decided against allowing community groups like RYO to talk about and advertise their after-school programs within the schools, seriously limiting fall recruitment of new student participants.
The present situation
However, many youth in our community and neighborhood are still hungry for truth, meaning, and connectedness in their lives. This past year has seen a dramatic increase in the number of young people “hanging out” on Arnett Boulevard right around the corner from our center, socializing, and getting snacks at the convenience store next door where they’re being exposed to various levels of idle behavior up to and including open-air drug sales, getting into scraps and mischief, petty vandalizing, and low level gambling. Where are God’s people in times like this?
What about the future?
Recently we’ve been talking with Gary Ham and members of his community-oriented Caleb Ministries about gathering and training lay youth leaders from the surrounding churches to reach out again to our neighborhood in 2016. If you, or someone you know, would be interested in being equipped for this kind of ministry, please contact us soon!
God bless you!
