YL Capernaum Everywhere

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”  Colossians 3:16 NIV “Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives.” Colossians 3:16 The Message Dwell Among You. Plenty of Room. I invite you to read Colossians 3:16 again.  What words stick with you.  As I have sat in this passage I have been stuck in the word "dwell" and in the Message version "plenty of room."  I love the visual of spaces where there is “plenty of room” for Christ to “dwell among” our hearts.  How beautiful to have Christ dwelling in BIG spaces of our hearts - how do we grow these spaces and how do we walk with others to grow these BIG spaces as well?  In my role with Capernaum Discipleship,  I often find myself learning and unlearning the practices of discipleship and my own unde...

On a day to day basis, you will find Young Life leaders at schools, inviting a kid to be a part of something with them. The reason behind that invitation: they have vision for that kid and that kid’s life. Whether that’s for community, for growth, for leadership or for adventure, it’s all encapsulated in experiencing life to the full with Jesus. Often, we all need an invitation that’s held up by a vision. Please enjoy this video . I promise you; it will be some of the best six minutes of your day! It’s invitation, it’s vision and it’s legacy! It’s also counter-cultural, big, exciting and exactly where we are going as a mission! Leaders inviting their friends to be leaders; to be disciple makers who love Jesus fiercely and doing that within community. Greenville, SC is modeling this for us, and while they are busy inviting their friends into great spaces, I think they’re inviting many of us to do something similar. Thank you for being a part of the community that is inviting...

We are grateful to Joni and Friends for allowing us to share this beautiful blog written by Christen Morrow Ara, a guest contributor and our YL Capernaum Southwestern Division Coordinator. https://www.joniandfriends.org/running-in-the-halls/ You can also purchase, " The Gospel in Hard Times for Students " which Christen Morrow Ara was a co-author. Description: With The Gospel in Hard Times for Students small-group resource, your youth will discover how a loving faith community—one body with many parts—can meet our needs and help us walk alongside those who are afflicted, disabled, and marginalized. Eight-session study guide with leader’s notes and discussion questions included.

Thank you, Pam Harmon, Vice President Capernaum, for this reflection on Wilderness Discipleship Camp. I have been impacted by this story since the very first time I heard it. Here’s a little context: An amazingly generous donor made it possible for several of our most adventurous, seasoned leaders to each choose one of their Capernaum friends to participate with them in a Wilderness Discipleship Camping trip in Colorado. This was an adventure, a pilot trip, to see if Capernaum campers could hike and carry backpacks and live outside in the mountains for a whole week. We wondered would they make it for 2 hours, for 2 days, or would they make it for the whole week? We were very pleased that they loved it and had a great time for the week! Please watch: When I watch this video my first thought is - “Wow, Young Life leaders are amazing! I want to be like Lauren when I grow up. I want to be that kind and love sacrificially. I want to be willing to choose to serve my friend over my o...

We love this article that was posted on Young Life Access : Recently, my pastor began the Sunday morning message with this statement: “I am best discipled through my eyes.” It was a powerful statement that led me to wonder: How am I best discipled? How is each person in my family best discipled? How are the ministry volunteers I lead best discipled? What about the kids in my high school and middle school — how are they best discipled? As ministers of the gospel — whether in a staff position or as a volunteer leader — it’s very important that we consider the many varied ways that individuals and groups are best discipled. As in all things, Jesus is our model for this. When we look carefully at His life, we see that He had deep wisdom and discernment on how to disciple each person He encountered. The bleeding woman was discipled best through touch ✋ (Matthew 9:20-22). Peter was discipled best in the simple, routine context of his everyday vocational l...

Written by Jamie Fendler, Capernaum Staff in Burnsville, MN - Thank you Jamie! I met my friend, Annika, when she was a freshman. I would hang out at her adaptive softball games and she would turn around in the stands and giggle at me all throughout the game. Honestly, if someone had told me back then that Annika would be doing work crew heading into her senior year, I might not have believed them. But Annika has matured so much in her relationship with Christ and it has been so fun to be a part of! Since that year, Annika rarely misses a Capernaum club and has come as a camper to Castaway the last two summers. After camp last summer, Annika started to ask me about doing work crew. So, when our region decided to do an all-metro work crew training, I asked Annika to come along! On our way to the first day of training, Annika was full of questions. “Will I be the only one with a disability there?” she asked nervously. We had a great conversation about how her disability doesn’t ...

I Corinthians 12:4-11 The Message "God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit.  God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit.  God’s various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all.  Each person is given something to do that shows who God is:  Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful." Think about one of your Capernaum friends.  One you have known for awhile.  Think about the last time you were together.  Have that name and face in your mind?  Read I Corinthians 12:4-11 again with this person in mind. "Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits.  All kinds of things are handed  out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people!" This includes our friends.  This includes and honors the...

As our Capernaum friends meet Jesus and begin to grow in their faith, our desire is that they would learn about their gifts and begin to experience how they can use those to be a blessing. For many of our friends whose whole lives have been spent receiving services, support, instruction, and help, precius little has been asked of them.    An invitation to service is thrilling and challenging. This year, Tuscon leaders invited two of their Capernaum friends who have met Jesus already to be buddies at an outreach week for high school Capernaum friends. These friends spent weeks before to camp praying for their friends and completing buddy training.  In one of our training times, we asked our buddies to write down what they hoped God would do for their friends at camp. Dominic shared " I pray that God will be able to provide a safe and exciting week as these campers go up to Lost Canyon to learn more about Jesus and how he's changed our lives." It was powerful to s...

Zachary started coming to our Capernaum club in 2015 and loved it, but we realized quickly that he knew Jesus and needed a place to grow in his faith, something his family had not found anywhere!  He started serving in club, was a prayer warrior and even lead another Capernaum friend to Christ in the backseat of the van after helping load him in his wheelchair en route to club. His first round on work crew in 2016 at Lost Canyon was life changing for him and gave new vision to all that Zach could do. Not only did he serve on work crew but he also lead work crew with his example of disciplined time in the Word daily.  Zachary’s parents moved to Lithuania as missionaries and knew it would be very difficult for him to build a life or community and have ministry opportunities like he did at home. Zach moved in with his Young Life leaders’ family and became ‘uncle Zach’ just over a year ago.    Zach continues to set an example by his time in t...

In April and May we are going to introduce several of our very experienced collaborative partners in our community who have come alongside us, our friends, their families and churches to train toward excellent inclusion of our friends and their families. You as Young Life staff and volunteers being aware of these key co-laborers is quite critical for excellence in transition. Historically, as you will read in these blogs, our community "partners” have been the link not just for our Capernaum friends but also for their family members. We often lead with I Corinthians 12:4-11 as a call toward inclusion of our friends into the body of Christ. What if we read I Corinthians 12:4-11 through the lens of being inclusive of excellent community co-laborers to move us all toward the fullness of the body of Christ? What kind of vision could this give your area? Imagine organizations working together and our friends thriving. We invite you to introduce yourself to the staff of these ministr...

In April and May we are going to introduce several of our very experienced collaborative partners in our community who have come alongside us, our friends, their families and churches to train toward excellent inclusion of our friends and their families. You as Young Life staff and volunteers being aware of these key co-laborers is quite critical for excellence in transition. Historically, as you will read in these blogs, our community "partners” have been the link not just for our Capernaum friends but also for their family members. We often lead with I Corinthians 12:4-11 as a call toward inclusion of our friends into the body of Christ. What if we read I Corinthians 12:4-11 through the lens of being inclusive of excellent community co-laborers to move us all toward the fullness of the body of Christ? What kind of vision could this give your area? Imagine organizations working together and our friends thriving. We invite you to introduce yourself to the staff of these minist...

In April and May we are going to introduce several of our very experienced collaborative partners in our community who have come alongside us, our friends, their families and churches to train toward excellent inclusion of our friends and their families. You as Young Life staff and volunteers being aware of these key co-laborers is quite critical for excellence in transition. Historically, as you will read in these blogs, our community "partners” have been the link not just for our Capernaum friends but also for their family members. We often lead with I Corinthians 12:4-11 as a call toward inclusion of our friends into the body of Christ. What if we read I Corinthians 12:4-11 through the lens of being inclusive of excellent community co-laborers to move us all toward the fullness of the body of Christ? What kind of vision could this give your area? Imagine organizations working together and our friends thriving. We invite you to introduce yourself to the staff of these minist...

In April and May we are going to introduce several of our very experienced collaborative partners in our community who have come alongside us, our friends, their families and churches to train toward excellent inclusion of our friends and their families. You as Young Life staff and volunteers being aware of these key co-laborers is quite critical for excellence in transition. Historically, as you will read in these blogs, our community "partners” have been the link not just for our Capernaum friends but also for their family members. We often lead with I Corinthians 12:4-11 as a call toward inclusion of our friends into the body of Christ. What if we read I Corinthians 12:4-11 through the lens of being inclusive of excellent community co-laborers to move us all toward the fullness of the body of Christ? What kind of vision could this give your area? Imagine organizations working together and our friends thriving. We invite you to introduce yourself to the staff of these minist...