Invited, Celebrated and Needed- Part 1

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A guest post by Pam Harmon, the first in a series of three....

My current favorite words to describe YL Capernaum are: Invited, Celebrated, and Needed. Today let’s dwell on Invited.

Do you remember that event in Jr. High or High School that everyone was talking about but you didn’t get invited to? Maybe this happened to you or you may have walked through that feeling of rejection with someone you love.

As a mom, I remember the sadness my son felt when he was in elementary school and wasn’t invited to a birthday party. Many of his friends were invited, but not him. I thought my heart would break.   

What if that feeling of rejection were an everyday occurrence? Can you imagine having no other choice but to learn to live with that feeling? That’s how many young people with disabilities feel… before they know about Young Life.

That changes at Young Life because we are all invited. Just like when preparing for the Luke 14 Banquet, our YL leaders invite those who have not yet been invited. We go out beyond the people who one would expect to invite to the wedding feast, and we invite the hidden or forgotten ones.  


We explore that hallway in the school that will lead us to the students in that classroom where the hidden students are; those students that may not have been included in school events. We learn their names and get to know what they enjoy. We laugh together and become friends. We are invited into their lives and we invite our new friends into our lives. We begin the process of communicating to our new friends that Jesus is for all of us; Jesus goes out of His way to pursue and to invite and to rescue.


Thank you for being inviting! Where are the next hidden ones that God is leading you to invite in?

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