My name is Kathie Fitzpatrick, and I'd like to talk to you about Young Lion's Youth Ministry Program.
Currently, This program is a faith-based, Bible principles program that has been designed for children and teenagers who are incarcerated. The Juvenile Detention setting is not a happy place. It is filled with hopelessness, darkness, and despair. I arrive through the same doors where police bring young people, and children as young as nine years old. They are often handcuffed, and out of control when they arrive. The look in their eyes is dark, and oftentimes filled with indescribable pain, and emotional hurt.
This is certainly not what God had in mind for the lives of these young people! Through the dark forces of poverty, bad peer pressure, drugs and alcohol use, and a myriad of other bad choices, their lives and emotions have been ravaged sometimes beyond description. Some teens are fortunate enough to have only a brief one-time stay due to truancy, or some other light brush with the law, scared enough to never return! But many of these young people are already being shaped into a pattern of serious criminal behavior, and are already repeated felons. Society already wants to chalk them off as hopeless. But I know better.
After a number of years working among these youth, I believe I have a predictable formula for helping to turn many of these "at-risk" youth around. Myself and my team conduct three Young Lions Youth Services on Friday nights, and one afternoon group for the girls on Monday at the Yakima Youth Detention facility in Yakima, WA. This involves a caring team leader, and group volunteers who are trained to show these needy teenagers that God truly cares about them, and their future. The sessions are both evangelistic, introducing spiritual principles from the Bible, and consist of practical life application to sensitive youth issues such as anger, overcoming drug addiction, healing from abuse, suicidal tendencies, dealing with past hurts, teen sexuality, and more. Society believes these kids will never turn around. I know they can... with God's help. If you are truly called, and interested to work with "at risk" teenagers, I invite you to take an exciting journey with me. Start a Young Lion's group in your area today!
Read more about Kathie and the Young Lion's organization from a news article from the International Bible Society. Click Here »
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