“So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” Acts 2:41 (ESV)

 

Ministry Numbers

Sometimes in ministry we focus too much on numbers.  There is a danger there because it doesn’t always tell the full story.  However, numbers are important; important enough for the early church to note them, have them recorded in scripture to give witness to the power of the Gospel and to the church’s expansion.  At Spokane Youth for Christ, we pay close attention and track carefully how many kids are involved in our ministry.  That data is important for us in that it calibrates if our programs are working, need to pivot, or if we should shutter a program altogether.

In this vein, I wanted to share with you some numbers from our data reporting hub called Breeze.  Our staff is awesome at making sure kids’ names are entered every time they show up at the center and that we have good statistics to guide our ministry.  Here is a snapshot of our Q1 ministry data for 2024:

We have had 138 unique visitors to our Hillyard Youth Center.  Can we pause and celebrate that for a moment?  That is a lot of kids; kids that the Lord loves deeply.  First time visitors came in at 55.  Highest attended day was March 21st with 43 students.  And lastly, we had one profession of faith.  Truth be told the Covid -19 pandemic almost destroyed our ministry to marginalized youth.  But praise be to God that the kids have returned after a ton of work.

We start with loving relationships that lead to getting jobs, succeeding in school, getting into the outdoors, learning about money AND trusting in Jesus. As mentioned earlier,  a young man gave his life to Christ recently.  The scriptures declare in Luke 15:10, “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

 

Fundraising Numbers

Lastly, one more thank you to all that attended our Jazz event in March.  Great food, great music, amazing stories of YFC kids and amazing generosity.  Thanks to you, we raised nearly $44,000 to support our food program, outdoor ministry, and back to school block party.  Keep up the great work!   Yes, numbers aren’t everything, but they are important and even the angels seem to think so.  I wanted to thank you personally for your ongoing commitment to Spokane Youth for Christ.  As you can see, you are making a huge difference in hundreds and hundreds of kids.  We see you!  God sees you! 

 

André Lewis, Executive Director at Spokane YFC