YL Capernaum Everywhere

By Lauren Ford Purpose: It’s something we all want and yet often don’t know where to find. As an adult with a college degree and a wonderful job, I still find myself looking for purpose on a regular basis. Imagine you were back in high school. You’re a small fish in the large sea of students. You’re the one your parents are constantly worrying about, unsure if you will ever graduate high school or have a job. You’re asking yourself questions: “Why do I look different than them?” “How come no one asks me to hang out?” “Will I ever be able to drive a car like my peers?” For a lot of our Capernaum friends, questions like these are at the forefront of their mind. They consume all hours of the day. For others, thoughts like these are subconsciously affecting their self-worth and confidence. Regardless of how these thoughts populate our friends’ minds, many of us struggle with the word “purpose.” At our Capernaum Campaigners, we share this:   You were created on purpose, with a purpos...

As Capernaum continues to grow, our leadership team thought that it may be helpful to compile some of the results of that movement into one document. The gift of this post is that it shows us so many of the places that we get to celebrate as a mission! New kids, more kids, kids experiencing being valued and honored, kids meeting Jesus, kids growing in their faith, kids having options for camping experiences, more training and more awareness that we are better together! Join us in taking some time to celebrate as you read, praising God for all that He’s doing with our friends and our ministries! We also hope that as you read this, it will draw you to pray for the specific ways that your ministry can continue to grow and develop to best serve adolescents with disabilities in your area! Please note that these are not policies and really anything new, but instead a clear picture of the movement and growth within Capernaum. If you have any questions or would like to talk about a...

During my year in Nashville, I was placed at Glencliff High School for contact work. Glencliff is the most culturally diverse high school in the state of Tennessee boasting over 47 different ethnicities and 33 languages amongst its students. The Life Skills class in which I spent my time reflected this demographic. After spending a whole semester in the class and teachers with no concept of Young Life- all I could dream about was getting them to club. It seems there was a laundry list of things keeping my friends at Glencliff from coming to our Young Life club in town and ultimately hearing about a God who perfectly knit them together and a Savior that came to save the world. Lack of transportation, language and cultural barriers, and location just names a few. I have been praying for my friends since the day I walked through the doors that the Lord would bridge those barriers and my friends could have the same wild, giggle filed, holy club experience the rest of my Capernaum frien...

Hakim was born with a disability and has been in a wheel chair his whole life. He lives in a city called Mekele, which is about 600 km away from the capital city of Addis Ababa. Jima is a Young Life leader in Addis Ababa. He came to know Christ through the ministry of Young Life in Addis, knows Hakim as a long term family friend and when it came time for camp, the Lord placed Hakim heavy on Jima’s heart. Responding to God’s distinct call, Jima made the 14 hour drive to Mekele to meet Hakim, pick him up, and take him to Young Life camp where he would be able to experience the best week of his life in the presence of the Almighty God. Hakim has been very depressed and isolated with his disability for many years and Jima’s gesture of seeing him, taking notice of him, and making a huge sacrifice in loving him, spoke volumes to Hakim. He was deeply impacted by the ministry and message of Jesus Christ at camp. Join us in praying for leaders that know the tribal language of the city of Meke...