Hope on the Horizon
This last week I attended the YFC Dance Team performance at a local church. It was incredible to see these dancers overcome their nerves and show off all their hard work. After the performance, Floyd, YFC staff and dance coach, shared about how these girls are overcoming so many challenges at school and rising above through dance. He highlighted how dance is a gift from God to express creativity and process emotions. As I watched these girls stand up on stage, filled with a unique combination of nerves and a newfound confidence, I couldn’t help but imagine how they would speak about this experience later in life.
These are students who are going to be adults with powerful testimonies. They are students who’ve witnessed substance abuse, violence, and chaos from a young age. These are students who’ve questioned if there is anything truly good in life and if it’s worth hoping anything might ever change. These are the students who found themselves at a place called YFC because they heard there was a dance team, and somewhere along the way they were introduced to Jesus.
At 12 or 13 years old their stories are incomplete, but the challenges they face don’t define them. They are learning day by day that Jesus alone says who they are, and He says they are loved, valued, and belong. He says there is hope.
Dance is one of many tools God uses at YFC to draw students to himself. Over the last three months, the YFC Dance team has more than multiplied! More and more students are looking to be a part of something and more and more students will find Jesus in this unique space. Dance is just one of our many programs where students of all backgrounds can engage with what they already love to discover hope.
Over the last several months, we’ve engaged with small groups in Bible Studies and the Alpha Video series. Students of various backgrounds have asked questions and wrestled with big topics in these spaces.
As always, we find that powerful moments also happen in the mundane tasks. Just 2 weeks ago, I had a 30 minute conversation about faith and life with a student while he was peeling hard boiled eggs in the kitchen. He lost his mom when he was very young. She followed Jesus and her death left their family’s faith shaken. This student asked about Jesus, creation, sin, satan, the Holy Spirit, and everything in between. It may have been the first time he felt safe enough to ask these hard questions, and I believe this was a pivotal moment in his faith. This conversation served as a reminder of the importance of being present in the everyday moments and being open to how God might choose to move.
Numbers aren’t everything but they are part of the story. Here are some of our attendance trends for this first quarter:
- Average of 75 students a week
- Average of 36 students a day
- 230 total students
- 45 first time visitors
- 12 students on average attending weekly Bible studies
We’re eagerly looking ahead to a wonderful spring at YFC! Warmer weather brings so many opportunities to connect with students outdoors and get out of our usual routine. Looking forward to the upcoming months we have Collide Conference, White Water Rafting with Peak 7, and our annual Summer Kickoff Party!
Join us in prayer or through additional partnership to help more students find their safe space of belonging at YFC. We are filled with hope for what’s on the horizon, but we can’t do it alone.
Click Here to Partner with us in Bringing Hope to the Youth of Spokane