YL Capernaum Everywhere

Thank you Susan Greene! What a fun mixer idea!  This is a Mad Libs mixer that is not only fun, but helps you get to know your friends!  To get the PDF, go here .

What a wonderful way to help guide your club/campaigners friends to pray!  To download the PDF, go here . You start with your thumb because it’s the closest to you: your family and friends. Then you move to your pointer finger because leaders and teachers point us to wiser places and things. Then your next finger is for the government and authority. Your ring finger is actually your weakest finger, out of all of your fingers, so it reminds us to pray for those who are weak and sick. The smallest finger, your pinky finger, is for yourself.  Reminding us that others come before us!

By Laurel Owens (a continuation of a post from 12/10) Another challenge in helping our non-verbal or lower functioning friends participate is knowing how to encourage them in club. Often there will be one or two friends in the back of the room who seem impossible to involve in club. And we think “If I can just say the right thing, I’ll convince them” or “If I can get them to the other side of the room and away from the door, then they’ll participate”. Or we think the opposite, “They’ll never participate, so I’ll just let them entertain themselves in the back of the room.” Laurel and Kyle Both of those responses aren’t right or wrong. I’ll use my brother Kyle as an example for this: Kyle is a pretty giant 21 year old; 250 lbs, 6 feet tall. He also has non-verbal, classical Autism. Most of his speech is just noise or humming, and he is constantly moving, flapping his arms or covering his ears. So if you don’t know Kyle, it can be extremely hard to know how to engage

We have been celebrating 12 Days of Capernaum on social media (see below for where to "find us") and for our final day we wanted to highlight this book by Nick Palermo, Founder of YL Capernaum and Metro Area Director in San Jose.  Missing Stars, Fallen Sparrows  was released in 2013 and it captures Nick's journey and the beginnings of YL Capernaum. Missing Stars, Fallen Sparrows takes you to the heart of discovering and loving kids with disabilities. Author and Young Life Capernaum Founder Nick Palermo reveals a powerful and rewarding ministry that's changing youth groups, churches, and leaders across the U.S. and around the world: "I had to write this book because I want you to meet my friends, hear their voices and know their stories! Discover these missing stars and fallen sparrows, precious not only to God, but to me and thousands of others, too." Missing Stars, Fallen Sparrows is so much more than a rationalization for inclusiveness, or a how-to guide

By Laurel Owens Everyone’s voice deserves to be heard, and everyone deserves the chance to answer. But what about our friends who can’t answer “out loud”? Laurel and Her Brother So often we find ourselves in a cabin time or Campaigner group, and our “talkative” friends control the conversation. To include our non-verbal friends we need to be “creative” in finding ways to give them equal chances to participate. Not everyone answers questions the same way, so here are some ways to answer a question without speaking: Draw or paint your answer “Imagine” the answer by picturing an image in your mind Act out the answer Sculpt your answer out of play-dough Use magnetic ABC letters and spell the answer Sign the answer (This is a fun way to teach sign language to all the students) Sing your answer (Many friends with speech delays do not have vocal delays!) Use facial expressions to answer how the person in the lesson felt. This allows for a really unique opportunity

John Wagner, YL SVP Greater NY Division, has just released his book, " Perfect: Sacred Stories From The Heart Of A Dad ." In Perfect, John tells the stories of his son David, a 17-year-old boy with Down Syndrome, and how David has led him more fully to the sacred stories of Jesus. Get ready to dance, laugh, cry, celebrate, wonder, treasure, believe and be wrapped in pure joy as you meet this little boy who is precious to the Savior and a gift to all those around him. You can get your copy from Amazon today*!  We promise you'll be blessed by it! Or if you become a monthly donor  to Young Life Capernaum Missionwide, we’ll send you a copy of John’s book! *A portion of the proceeds from this book will be used to send our Capernaum friends to camp.

What a fun idea from YL Capernaum in Little Rock, Arkansas!

What a joy filled and fun video to show what YL Capernaum is all about! Enjoy and feel free to share!  This is a great picture for those wondering what Capernaum looks like and is all about!

Guest post by Joni Eareckson Tada We are thrilled that Joni Eareckson Tada will be joining us at our YL Capernaum Pre-conference at YL75 The body of Christ in America is in need of some muscle toning, as of late. Confessing our weaknesses to one another – as well as our sins – really rubs us the wrong way. It goes against our American spirit of individualism. We like ‘going it alone,’ being independent and pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps, thank you. Besides, it’s embarrassing to ask for help. And we secretly feel put upon if we are forced to extend that help. Then along comes a person with a disability. It could be a kid with Down syndrome who plops himself next to us in church, or a teenager with cerebral palsy who asks for our help in a restroom. And suddenly, we are confronted with needs, visceral and urgent. If we look away and ignore the need, then we are ignoring the pleas of Christ to recognize ‘weak members’ as indispensable and to look for the gifts in