STORIES

GIVE LIFETO YOUR

STORYTM

Winter 2016

METRO MARYlAND

METRO MARYlAND 8900 Belair Road Baltimore, MD 21236

FRIENDS FOR lIFEby Claudia Harris

The Staff and Board of MMYFCrecently honored Jim and BevGorman, in a celebration lunch-eon. Friends and family gatheredto celebrate their many years ofservice and friendship to YFC.Tears of laughter and joy wereshared as funny and poignantstories were both told and a longhistory recounted.

For 35 years, Bev and Jim have been involved inYFC as students, Intern, volunteer staff, BoardChairman, and major supporters of the work. Theirson Brian and daughter Sara, were both involved inministry, with Sara joining full-time staff in 2009,taking over the Loch Raven Campus Life club thather mom once ran. What a generational blessingto us!

Jim recently stepped down as a member of theBoard, due to increasing health issues, however weknow he will always be one of our best and favoriteambassadors. How can we possibly say thank youenough?

Bev and Jim shared from their hearts to wrap upour time together. Again there were lots of tears.Bev asked us to continue to pray for them, as theytravel this difficult road, and depend on being heldup by others’ and God’s strength and mercy. Weare so fortunate to be able to say the Gormanshave been and will always be friends for life!

Bev’s sentiments in a 1996 newsletter on theirinvolvement, expresses their heart:

“Youth for Christ has been the thread ofChrist that has woven our lives togetherand continues to lead us as we seek toserve Him by reaching kids for theKingdom.”

THE VOICEHigh School RetreatCape Henlopen, DEJune 23-28

PROJECT SERVEDominican RepublicJune 20-28

HEAT WAVEHigh School RetreatWildwood, NJJune 26-30

CONTACT MMYFC8900 Belair Road

Baltimore, MD 21236410-529-4434

www.mmyfc.org

YFC reaches young people everywhere, working together with thelocal church and other likeminded partners to raise up lifelong fol-

lowers of Jesus who lead by their Godliness in lifestyle, devotion to the Word of Godand prayer, passion for sharing the love of Christ and commitment to social involvement.FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MMYFC GO TO WWW.MMYFC.ORG

OUR MISSION

2016 DATES TO REMEMBER

IMPACT 2016High School ConferenceOcean City, MDMarch 18-20www.impact.mmyfc.org

PROJECT SERVEDominican RepublicMarch 28-April 4

ANNUAL FUNDRAISING DINNERFeaturing keynote speakerGretchen Carlsonand musical guest Wintley PhippsMartin’s WestMay 10

NORTHBAYMiddle School CampNortheast, MDJuly 17-21

CROSSROADSMiddle School CampCape Henlopen, DEAugust 14-19

ALIVE 2016Middle School ConferenceOcean City, MDNovember 18-20

Board chair Jim Johnsmaking presentation

Jim & old friend Gary Huber

Daughter Sara, Paul & Samuel Straw

NOREEN DOUGLAS

A lOvINg FAMIlYNine years ago,

God opened a door tothe Douglas family,that He has yet toclose. We have alwaysministered together asa family - going door todoor, visiting nursinghomes and feeding thehomeless, but nothingcompared to what volunteering for Youthfor Christ has done for our family. Nineyears of love – teaching love, sharing love,showing love, understanding love, givingand receiving love. Thank you Youth forChrist for making us part of your family!

CHIP PIERCE

A gREAT DAY IN ThE SUNThe only time my prayers are never answered is on the golf course - Billy Graham

The sun was shining and the greens were nicely groomed. The annual Youth for Christ Golf

Challenge at Compass Pointe this past October was a great success, with nearly 100 golfers. Some

participants commented at the end of the day that it was one of the best events they have

attended! One of the main reasons for those

comments was hearing Emmanuel’s story.

One of our Campus Life students -

Emmanuel - shared the impact a YFC leader

had on him, taking time to build a relation-

ship with him and care about him. That re-

lationship led to Emmanuel accepting

Jesus, which changed his life forever. That

is what our mission is all about. Their story,

our story, God’s story – and connecting

them all.

If you or others you know like to golf, please consider joining us next October for a life-changing day!

JAKE HELMS

lEADINg ThE wAYOur 1st Annual Run for a Reason 5K was a success! As we gathered at

Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis, I was reminded of when the church was birthed.

In the beginning of Acts, it repeatedly explains how

the body of Christ would gather together for one pur-

pose.

As I stood at the start/finish line, I gazed at the

crowd. I saw smiles of people from all walks of life.

There were hugs and high fives, food and music,

young people volunteering to help make this day a

success, as well as runners, walkers, rollers, and pets participating.

With everyone’s help who participated, we raised over $5,000 for our min-

istry to young people! People are still talking about the race. Check out our

photos on Facebook and stay updated so you can join us next year (Facebook

search “Campus Life 5K - Run for a Reason”). You don’t want to miss this event! If you would like more

information please contact MarieCReem@gmail.com or Helms82@gmail.com.

JUDY PHILLIPS

A hOpE AND A FUTUREThe week beforeThanksgiving, wewere back at Patter-son High School,home to manyimmigrant students,presenting our PointBreak workshop tothe freshmen girls

and boys. It is an evidenced based program that affectsthe attitudes and behaviors of students regarding bullying,willingness to reach for help, judging and valuing others,empathy toward others and a hopeful life outlook.

Among the many activities we had throughout each day,was an exercise called “knee to knee”. Students are askedto talk 60 seconds about something they struggle with,while their partner just listens, then they switch. I saw ayoung man with his hood up, near the wall not wanting toparticipate. I approached him and he agreed to let me talkfor 60 seconds while he listened. I prayerfully consideredwhat to share and was reminded of the recent health strug-gles with my aging parents.

As I talked, I thought this 14 year-old boy “Dominic”, whodid not want to participate, was not interested in this, buthe actually looked up and gave me eye contact as I spoke.When it was time to switch roles, he began sharing how hismom is sick and on dialysis and this requires him to carefor his younger siblings and how he had no time for home-work. He said he was failing some classes and felt likeeveryone was mad at him. He wasn’t able to do well inschool and wasn’t able to keep up at home either.

We are always so moved by these kids’ stories, and wantto take them all home with us at the end of the day! Un-fortunately that is not possible, but there are ways we CANreach out to them.

We are working with PHS to set up follow up classes andwant to start a weekly after-school “City Life” club for stu-dents. For the past year, we have held a “Parent Life”group for students who are parents or expectant. Our goalthere is to empower teens to make good choices, provideparenting skills and encourage them to further their edu-cation. We come alongside these students, wanting themto find hope and a future, with God’s help. We also de-pend on your help – your prayers and financial support –which allows us to reach students like Dominic. We’re soencouraged and grateful for all that God is doing!

MMYFC ChRISTMAS 2015

MMYFC Staff celebrate Christmas andan awesome 2015! Staff, volunteersand students gave over 33,000 hoursof their time in 2015, to serve theirlocal communities.

Winning team from Fork Christian Church

Student testimonyEmmanuel

YFC Staff Marie Reem & Jake Helms

Noreen & Rob Douglas

Jer, Cierra & Josh