the HEART behind the Fair

What is God doing at the Niverville Fair?

This past Saturday, May 5th, there was a small gathering of people at John Henry's to hear and spread the vision of what's happening behind the scenes for the Fair, this year and years past.  Here's an excerpt of the heart that I (Mark) shared:

       To be involved in a ministry such as the Drop-In Centre, one must face an ongoing battle between relationship and events.  Two forces; each with the ability to consume or abandon each other.  But what about working together?
       In my 10 year-tenure in youth ministry, I had become a little jaded from event planning coming out of a lack of relationships.  So instead I spearheaded a ministry lifestyle of availability and relationships, abandoning the events.  But there was something missing to access our youth and this town.
      You've probably heard the saying that it takes a community to raise a child, well in the years of our youth ministry we've seen that to be the case.  And so we've sensed that it's as if God has given us a key to unlock a door into our community, that speaks its language, brings unity and therefore the very holistic relational approach we've hoped for.  So the Niverville Fair is a tangible vehicle to get started on the larger scale vision of seeing long term transformation in Niverville.
       As for the Fair weekend itself, our vision as YFC staff is to step in the gap to intentionally connect with our youth.  A tradition has developed of wild drinking and drugs, especially Friday night, and sadly this tradition has been growing in fame, drawing more and more youth in each year.  The last few years we've been throwing a wrench into the system, and this year's wrench has only grown with bringing in the band RED.  We've also just seen a vision birthed for this year's fair, where we offer a chance to respond to Red's concert with a late night worship gathering right after the show. 
       On the town ministerial front, we're looking largely to bring together the body as one, and see God move through it, reaching out to the lost, and disenfranchised believers alike. We as YFC staff have been commissioned to spearhead this vision with the unified blessing of the local pastors and spiritual leaders of our community.  What an honour!

So with all that said, check out the VISION video!
 fairvisionvideo

1 on 1 x 110

This school semester we had our very first student in the history of Niverville YFC (as far as we know) sign up for a full credit volunteer placement with us. This means 110 hours of volunteer labour!!!

We're so stoked on this, and not because of the free labour actually. Yes, we'll get a few more things accomplished around here (hopefully) but really it will take us much more time out of our schedule to facilitate all the work.

So why are we stoked?
It's 110 hours of building into this young man's life!
And for this...we will make necessary sacrifices, hopefully instilling godly character, new experiences, and values with eternal impact! Oh, and not to mention a high school diploma.

So YFC welcomes Jared (a.k.a. Jar-Head or Helen Keller)

skate or die

There's a very interesting door that God is opening into the youth culture.

In the last year, a skateboarding scene has developed unlike anything Niverville has ever seen. Young people have been flocking to our skatepark by the droves (as you've probably already heard a few times), creating a natural connection between us YFC'ers and the skaters.

Now pretty much every culture has the potential to be consumed by either good or bad forces. Skateboarding is no exception, it can be infused and transformed by faith, or manipulated to destruction by the world. The opening door we have in front of us is a chance to infuse this culture with faith to a deeper level. We make plans. God laughs...and then He directs our steps.

We hope and pray there will be regular times at the Drop-in coming soon, where having a "skate sesh" will involve discipleship, prayer, open-hearted discussion...with the Way, the Truth, and the Light!

Please pray this will come about. And soon!

a year in review...

2011 - the year of the timelapse, the year of slow motion.

to understand what we mean, please check out this relatively short vid that was shown at our Banquet in November.

Christmas on the Frontlines

Merry Christmas!

from all the frontline youth workers at Niverville Youth for Christ!

What's a Gym?

Imagine a gymnasium the size of....

an average room?

This is what we have going for us at the Drop-In: a gym that is quite small, even tiny compared to an average gym. Yet it seems to be just enough space to be desired by many in and around our town.
Just in case you don't know what a gym is...

Anyway...back to the Drop-In Gym:

• Groups come from surrounding towns to rent out our place because it has this little gym option (as well as many other options).
  
• Local skateboarders come during winter months to brush up their skills in the gym.
• Teenagers and young adults with a lot of pent-up energy come ON A REGULAR BASIS to play hockey, and other sports in the gym.

Yeah, our gym has been a conduit for positive energy usage...BUT, more importantly it has been a major contribution to facilitating connection and relationship with many hurting young people out there.

The gym that was known as too small, too crammed, and too restrictive has become THE tool of ministry for us as of late.
Who woulda thunk it?

Now I'm just thinking what a bigger gym could do at our Centre. Hmmmm....

Hearts Out in November

Thursday, November 17th. 2011.
The town of Niverville gathered together for the annual Youth for Christ banquet at the Heritage Atrium.

The place was nearly full, as were stomachs and many hearts. Jordan St. Cyr and band played their hearts out (with an upright bass...nice!), and Daniel Williams shared his heart out on the topic of fatherlessness. Us YFC staff also shared our perspective of this topic, and what we're up to. Not that the evening went off without a hitch, but there was such a heart-warming response from you...the community of supporters around us. This wasn't just about the Drop-In Centre, but bigger...God is stirring up something inside His people and it was and is exciting to be a part of it. So thank you to all who were and are a part of it. We're blessed, AMEN!