YL Capernaum Everywhere

A guest post by Kathy Usrey... As a mother of an Autistic Son, I have been blessed beyond belief in a journey that only the hand of God could write. You see, I’ve served in France on the mission field with him, homeschooling him while being a Young Life staff member and the wife of the Area Director. David was always included in our Young Life clubs, but we never considered ourselves “Capernaum”. Oddly enough, it was always a dream of ours as a couple to start Capernaum while living in France, but those doors never opened. I’d like to tell you some amazing story how everything went as   planned, but I know it went as God planned. In 2009 my husband was diagnosed with a Brain tumor and we watched as he lost his ability to speak and then to walk, all the while knowing that our loving God was completely in control. After his death in 2012, I knew God was doing a new thing in me and that He had a vision for my life beyond just the suffering and loss. That is when I visited a Caper

A guest post by Kelsey Jenny...who also happens to have an amazing blog that you'll want to follow.  Promise.  Trust me on this one.  You can thank me later.... http://www.kelseyjenney.com/blog/ This is my friend Rachel! Rachel comes to Capernaum Club on Thursday Nights!   We started Metro Detroit Capernaum in December, and work closely with Ward Church!  Rachel has been to the last two clubs, but I can already tell you she is a funny, wonderful, sweet and sassy girl!   Our leader Lauren sent me this picture of Rachel, and I love it!  Perfectly her! Sherry, a Capernaum Leader and Director of Special Needs Ministry at Ward, knows Rachel from school.  The first night Rachel came to Capernaum Club I introduced myself and asked Rachel what she likes to do. Very quickly she responded with, “I LOVE singing and dancing!”  And then she gave me this big smile, and a little wink while she turned to check out the room. I said, “You will LOVE Capernaum then!" Fr

A guest post by Amy Nielson... Last month, Greater Pasadena Capernaum had a themed “Talent Show” club. It was celebratory, fun and compelling. At first glance, we do a talent show themed club because our Capernaum friends love it! We give extra effort to this club on purpose. Most Capernaum friends light up when given the opportunity and encouragement to take the stage. More so, this club gives leaders the chance to connect with kids and parents in a unique way. Leaders have a pointed opportunity to affirm their friends’ abilities and value as well as encourage them to have courageous fun. This has become an exciting and anticipated tradition. Below is a brief description of our approach as well as practical notes on how we pull it off. Steps of Preparation 1.     Sign-Ups and Communication ·      Announce at club at least one month ahead of time. Send detailed communication to parents/guardians. ·      Compile sign-ups ahead of time via Google Forms for ease of t

Looking for a great tool to give your team, donors and committee so that your ministry is being prayed for every day? If so, look no further....  Enjoy this great prayer bookmark put together by our Nashville staff.  Download the prayer bookmarks here .

A guest post by Amanda Brandt... Safety and boundaries sounds like a snooze fest to most people, even my leader team thought so when I started putting a greater emphasis on safety training.  What they experienced after being equipped with in-depth relational skills, conflict resolution processes, and intervention techniques was great freedom though   …. Freedom from fear!  Freedom to love our friends better! Our team decided to implement Mandt training a year and half ago.  Mandt is a relationally based program that equips people with skills to first understand the students we serve, then gain skills to help our friends independently make healthy choices, and finally teaches us how to safely intervene (non-physically & physically) if their choices are ever harmful to themselves or others.  What sold me on Mandt (or any other relationally based non-violent intervention program) is the PERSON first approach. They are NOT their behavior!  Just as I am not defined by MY

Christen Morrow de Ara is hosting monthly calls for us to continue to discuss what it looks like for Capernaum and the church to come together.  Below are the notes from the second call. You don't want to miss these! Debbie Lillo, Church Relations Manager for Joni and Friends in the Bay Area (Northern California) joined us and shared how her own faith journey began in high school with Young Life because some Young Life leaders pursued her and cared for her well. Debbie has always hoped to see the Church and Young Life work together more. Since her ministry and heart for kids with disabilities took off in 2003, she has wondered how this connection could be made and is so excited to be able to help Capernaum in her area build relationships with churches but also available to help Capernaum areas across the country connect to people in her position in local Joni and Friends offices or the help people who don’t have a local Joni and Friends office think through how they can appr

Well, we posted about the great Art Show happening in Wichita, KS and then this video came our way! Check out this sweet video of Savannah, a traditional YL friend, creating a picture of three of her Capernaum friends that was auctioned at the Art Show!

A guest post by Pam Harmon One of my all time favorite experiences at camp occurred while I was sitting with my friend Nick on the porch at Saranac overlooking the beautiful lake. Nick considered himself an actor; he was his high school’s mascot for every sport. He brought an extra suitcase to camp filled with truly amazing costumes and would transform into a different character each day of camp. He even had a role in the camp’s western themed “opera”  at the end of the week while wearing his tiger costume!   Nick was not excited about attempting the ropes course or actually any of the camp's physically demanding activities.  So, instead that afternoon we rocked on the porch in rocking chairs and I asked him a few questions about his week and about the club talks.  He humored me with short answers and rolled his eyes at my attempts at meaningful conversation.   And then the Lord reminded me of Nick’s passion, and I entered in to what he loved. I