YL Capernaum Everywhere

We’re all always looking for more leaders and buddies to serve in our clubs. Take a look at some of the specific types of people that many Capernaum ministries pursue to join their team. Student Leaders Involved in Peer Buddy program Campaigners from the local area Siblings of kids with disabilities Adult Leaders College Leaders who are majoring in: Special Education  Occupational Therapy  Physical Therapy Recreational Therapy Speech Nursing  · Friends of Young Life · Friends of current leaders who don’t yet know about YL or YL Capernaum · Special Education Teachers · Special Education Assistants in the classroom · Therapists · Nurses · Adults who have a YL background but cannot be involved with the same commitment as traditional YL · Siblings of kids with disabilities · Young professionals · Former staff members Have other great suggestions on growing your team? Let us know!

As we head toward spring, some of us are beginning to plan graduation celebrations for our friends as they prepare to age up and transition from Capernaum into whatever comes next. We are so thrilled that around the country, where we are praying, networking, casting vision and looking for next steps, many of our friends are moving into adult small groups or other relational ministries and into the life of their local churches. Now, that is something to celebrate, send out invitations for, throw a party and go wild over! Here are a few awesome examples of that from around the country! As you plan to celebrate your friends, print out invitations!! High school graduation invitations often go out to friends & family alike, why not invite people to your friends’ graduation ceremony or party when they are graduating from Capernaum!? Here are a few samples… Looking for a certificate to commemorate their years in Capernaum? Check out this idea that celebrates our friends, th

As we think about reaching more kids, I want to remind you of three key principles that we as YL staff and volunteers have agreed are vital to our ministries. These are the most important things we can concentrate on during these next years of Capernaum. • Contact work with new high school kids, • Proclaiming the gospel in a way that our friends can best process, and • Walking with and discipling our friends as they grow in their relationship with Jesus. Before we even talk about these 3 key principles, let’s talk about the ONE foundational relationship that must be nurtured to prepare us for everything else. Ruth Haley Barton says: “The best thing any of us have to bring to leadership is our own transformed selves.” So I ask you, are you being transformed? Are you spending time with Jesus each day. Just like an athlete takes time to prepare himself or herself mentally and physically for the race, so we need to be equipped and prepared for the events that are happening aroun

30 years ago, in 1986 Nick Palermo, YL Capernaum’s founder, could gather all of the Capernaum staff people in his home or in his office or even in his car, since it was only him starting one ministry with about 36 kids that he knew. Fast forward to 2009 and there were 80 Capernaum ministries impacting 8,589 kids per year. In March of 2016 we are celebrating Young Life’s most recent numbers which count 283 Capernaumministries and over 20,000 kids impacted per year! That tells us that in the past 6 years, we have tripled in size! And that doesn't even include the number of kids with special needs in 38 countries outside of the U.S. that are being welcomed into YL ministries around the world. We are excited to celebrate Capernaum’s 30th birthday! And we are listening with open ears, open hearts, and open hands for what God has for Capernaum in the next 30 years. We thank you and celebrate you who are leaders in this ministry, and we are grateful for the hundreds and thousa

Happy 30th Birthday Capernaum! On March 10, 1986, Nick Palermo invited the first group of students with disabilities to a Young Life Capernaum Club with games and a message that were designed with them in mind! Nick has written: I’ve had the privilege of spending the last 30 years seeing God through and with teenagers who don’t always speak clearly, who sometimes drool, and whose minds and bodies don’t always match in ability. I’ve walked beside, pushed, and even carried my friends. I’ve experienced God in slurred speech, twisted hands and halting walks.   In 1980 Nick was told that the school where he was volunteering with YL was being closed, so hewas sent to a new school. At the new school, as he walked down the hallway, he saw 25 kids in wheelchairs going to the cafeteria. Nick was shocked; he had never seen that many kids in wheelchairs in one place. More curious than convicted, he followed them and tried to meet a kid. His potential new friend turned in his chair and held o

It’s March! March means a lot of things but to Capernaum, it means it’s our birthday month! Our 30th birthday to be exact. The big 3-0 and we’re thrilled to celebrate. Since our friends in Capernaum teach us more about celebration than we can even imagine, we thought we would celebrate this birthday Capernaum style… ALL MONTH LONG! To kick us of, please join us in praying a prayer written by Nick Palermo, the founder of Capernaum, for Capernaum on this special birthday. Blessed Trinity-our one God of community. We come and kneel before you in awe, wonder and with shouts of gratitude for Capernaum’s 30th birthday. What You have done simply takes our breath away! Thank You for every friend, every leader, every committee member, every Staff person, every financial partner! Glory to You, God, because You thought Capernaum up and nurtured it into its adulthood in order to bless our friends everywhere…and now...the next 30 years! My first prayer is for You to return quickly Lord Jes