LAST Young Life until FEBRUARY!

Well Young Life fans, we've worked hard this semester, club has grown, more students and leaders are coming and our ministry is on the verge of taking over the whole high school. It's been an incredible semester and it had an incredible end with our All Area Young Life at Salem Alliance Church in their high school room! There were a couple hundred students from all over the city and there was SO much energy! We really have some incredible young people in this city, did you know that? They're pretty much the best! Anyway, tonight was definitely a collaborative event: West Salem MC'd, South Salem did the big group game, Vida Joven (our spanish speaking Young Life) did the up front game, and I spoke. Tonight I shared the story of the Great Banquet in Luke 14. I Shared that though some of us have felt like we are outsiders that aren't welcome around Jesus the opposite is true. Jesus is all about bringing in the smelliest, loneliest, most awkward, dirty people He can find. In fact, Jesus is about bringing everyone to Him because that's where we all belong. I showed the music video for, "I must Belong Somewhere" by Bright Eyes and asked the group to consider joining Jesus and realizing He's where they've always belonged. All in all tonight was amazing. In fact, I got choked up thinking about where we've come in such a short time. This time last year, a couple Sprague Young Life leaders invited a couple students to check out this thing called Young Life at the All City event. There were only a handful and this year we probably had 25 of our own students there (we were competing with a choir concert! what a bummer!) and had 8 of our leaders there. Goodness, we are blessed and God is good! We'll be back in February and our leaders will be very present in the school all throughout January rebuilding momentum to get the spring semester off on the right foot! Thank you all for your prayers and your support this past year and a half! You are a community that is an answer to prayer!! -Mat

December is here! WOW!

Well tonight was, once again, a huge blessing! I just can't believe how incredible our students are, and the leaders that surround Sprague Young Life. If you prayed for the dream team of Young Life leaders and God answered, well, you'd get this team! I am SO thankful for all they do and all they sacrifice to tell people about Jesus, it's just amazing! Young Life was great tonight! We had nearly 50 students in the room, and the energy was just incredible! I think we've finally really created a culture of students that love to sing and yell and laugh and interact with everything going on. It has taken what we do on Monday nights from a show we put on to a party, and it's the best feeling in the world! Tonight, while singing "Only Exception" by Paramore, students we're singing so loudly and so well, that I didn't even need to lead! What a great blessing to be a part of this incredible ministry! Caitlin Marshall gave the talk tonight and told our students about the hope that the resurrection brings. She told us how even though sometimes it seems like God isn't there, when we feel like the early disciples after Good Friday, before Easter, well, we can still know that Easter is coming. That Jesus did rise and because He isn't in the ground some where we can put all of our hope in Him. She did a masterful job and reminded me that I definitely don't have to speak every week! With leaders as talented as this, it would be insane to not get them upfront more! Special thanks to the Gillette's for hosting us for dinner! And of course, to Mark and Rebecca Butler for hosting us and our rambunctious crew for Young Life once again! We couldn't do it without those named, and so many of you unnamed prayer warriors and financial donors. Thank you all SOOOO much for ALL that you do! I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Also, if you are reading this and thinking, "Gee, I'd love to get involved in meals or in financial support" please feel free to let me know!! Thanks again! -Mat