Invited, Celebrated and Needed- Part 3

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A guest post by Pam Harmon...

My current favorite words to describe YL Capernaum are: Invited, Celebrated, and Needed.  

We have discussed in my previous two blog posts that young people affected by disabilities are invited and celebrated within YL. But you know what else we’re learning and experiencing? We need our friends with us - as God is transforming their lives, God is also using our friends to transform us individually and corporately.

Just like we’re told in I Corin. 12, each part of the body is essential. Our friends bring much to relationships, often by just being who they are, with their own special gifting. They lead the way to Jesus with their openness and authenticity. Our lives (and the Body of Christ) are not complete without them. Our friends are not only valued, they are needed.

As we have grown, let me give you 2 quick examples of how God is transforming us as a mission through our Capernaum friends.

Caitlin was a Capernaum kid when she was in high school. As she grew in her relationship with Christ, and her YL leaders talked with her about her gifts and abilities and passions, we discovered that she loves babies and has natural caregiving talents. Caitlin is a young adult now. She has graduated into what is called The Ascent, which is a group that grew out of Capernaum and is for adults with disabilities hosted by a local church. One of the ways that she has discovered that she can serve Jesus is by caring for babies of teen moms during YoungLives club. Her YL leader is still her dear friend and they often serve together as Caitlin is one of the childcare workers during YoungLives club.  

GR was also a Capernaum kid while he was in high school. As he grew in his relationship with Jesus, he wanted to be a YL leader. So he has gone through leadership training with his YL leader, continues to attend leadership in his area, and recently helped lead a camp trip for his area. When one of his friends was moved by the speaker’s message one morning, the camper didn’t want to leave the club room until he had had some additional time to process the message. The trip leader suggested that GR go in and talk with his camper friend about what he was thinking. GR pondered that and then told the trip leader that he wasn’t really sure how to answer the camper’s questions, but he knew how to pray and so that’s what he did to comfort his friend. We are often grateful to our Capernaum friends for reminding us of our dependence on Jesus.


What a privilege that we in YL Capernaum are continuing to learn how to be more inviting, how to celebrate our friends in their unique abilities, and how to look for the ways in which God has created each of us to serve and glorify God. We are thankful that Jesus gives life abundantly and we are saying, “Yes!”

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