John Richmond

News from Youth for Christ - Feb. 22

2012-02-22T10:19:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends of YFC,
He's only 8 years old. He's definitely NOT in our ministry's target age group.
Neither is his mom. She's 22. When you do the math, you realize this boy was
born when mom was about 14. But he's been coming to City Life's Jump Off
ministry every Monday night for a few months.

His mom came two weeks ago. She told City Life's Andy Lightcap that she stopped going
to church a long time ago. But, she said that all her son talks about is the
Jump Off and that he can't wait to go each week. She also said that she needs
to be learning the things her son is learning...and that she wants to start
going to church again.

22 and 8 - not in YFC's target - but needing ministry, needing the Hope that only is
found in Christ Jesus. THAT's why we do what we do...because people need
HOPE.

From the Jump Off to Campus Life to Teen Parents to Excel and Break OUt - meeting a
kid (and sometimes a parent) one on one and sharing the love of Jesus is the
core of Youth for Christ - it is the core of our daily ministry.

With the Break Out middle school conference now just 3 weeks away, please continue to
pray for our staff as they prepare for the event. Pray also for the 600 students
and church youth leaders who will be attending. Pray for their hearts to be
prepared for what God will challenge them with over the weekend.

Pray for the kids coming with our City and Campus Life staff, too. Pray that God
would clearly speak to them and draw their hearts to His.

Thank you so much for the incredible part that you play in this mission to reach every
young person, one at a time with Jesus' love. Please know that our staff and
volunteers value and cherish your prayers and your generous giving very much.
Your partnership with us is vital as we move ahead to reach more kids, to impact
more communities for Christ.

God bless you.

For the kids,

John Richmond, Executive Director
CDYFC

Edge Video

2012-01-31T17:56:00.000-08:00

Here's a great video about The Edge Halfmoon climbing gym...part of the new CDYFC Adventure Center. Thanks to our Steve Prettyman for filming and editing this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07fgS0t20TM

New Contact Info & New Offices

2012-01-27T12:54:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends of YFC,

A move is usually challenging, almost always takes more effort than you expect, but, is typically very rewarding once you're done. I'm not sure if that's a completely accurate picture of a move, but it covers well this week's experience for Youth for Christ.

We began today the process of moving our offices up to the new YFC Adventure Center and The Edge Halfmoon on Rte. 9. We made tremendous progress, but there will be much more to move up over the rest of the week.

I'm telling you all of this to let you know that we have new contact numbers going into effect this week in Halfmoon:

Phone: 518-533-3617

Fax: 518-982-5544

Email addresses will remain the same. We have a new mailing address:

P.O. Box 443

Halfmoon, NY 12065

Our old # 518-783-5332 is still up and running and you can leave a voice message there too if needed.

We are so thrilled to be settled into our new space. Thank you for standing and praying with us through this move. Please continue to do so as we unpack, set up and move ahead with this new space that God has blessed us with - all to be used for His Glory and to see more lost kids reached with the life-changing message of His love.

God bless you. Enjoy your weekend.

For the kids,

John Richmond, Executive Director

CDYFC

Excel 2012 - Amazing Encounters with God

2012-01-27T12:53:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends of YFC,

"Just got back from Excel 2012 and it was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. I've gotten so much closer to so many friends this weekend and more importantly, God. I want the people in my school to see what I've seen and to have the same feelings toward our creator as I do. Now a note to people I go to school with: This doesn't mean that I wont screw up at times, but I'm happy I have a clean slate. Yes I am a Jesus freak and I cant wait until next year at Excel:)"

This was just one Facebook posting from a student who attended this weekend's Excel 2012 high school conference in Saratoga Springs. Over and over, we've heard from students and youth leaders about the deep, life-changing encounters with God they experienced at Excel. During our student testimony time in the final session last night, one girl could not even speak about what she is facing in her life and how God is rescuing her. A friend of hers then got up and told the rest of the kids in attendance how important it is for friends to walk through their life and their faith together.

Here's what another girl wrote to us today, "Just had the most amazing weekend ever at excel and God has revealed to me that I have more gifts than I thought I did. Excel brought my whole youth group of 45 people plus youth leaders closer to Jesus Christ and I am so thankful for him allowing us all to be there and praise God."

Here's a photo of just part of the 1,000 kids and leaders at Excel during one of the worship times. We are so grateful to God for witnessing His work in countless lives throughout the weekend. We are also thankful for the highly gifted men and women God provided as our ministry team of speakers and artists.

Thank you so much for the incredible part that you play in this mission to reach every young person, one at a time with Jesus' love. Please know that our staff and volunteers value and cherish your prayers and your generous giving very much. Your partnership with us is vital as we move ahead to reach more kids, to impact more communities for Christ.

Thank you. God bless you.

For the kids,

John Richmond, Executive Director

CDYFC

News from Youth for Christ - Dec. 9

2011-12-09T07:36:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends of YFC,

Esther was a young Jewish girl whom God placed in incredible, somewhat overwhelming circumstances. Her story in the book of the Bible that bears her name tells of God putting Esther in a position as the new queen in order to step up and speak up to save her people from annihilation by the evil Haman, even though going in to see King Xerxes to tell him could have cost her life. Though God is never mentioned by name in Esther, His hand of guidance and mercy is seen throughout.

Have you ever had an "Esther Moment?" What I mean is a moment where you took action, you took a stand, you did something that was risky, outside of your norm, even uncomfortable - but you did it because it HAD to be done. The time was right, the opportunity was before you...and the cost was potentially great.

I truly believe that for Youth for Christ, NOW is our Esther Moment. NOW is the time for us to take on the resources we have (such as the new YFC Adventure Center in Halfmoon) and to seek out the ones we need...all because the time is NOW to share the life-rescuing message of Jesus' love and forgiveness with young people. If we are to reach "every young person," as our mission statement says we will, then we need to act NOW.

If you think about the story of Esther in the Bible, thankfully, she didn't have to act alone. She had cousin Mordecai by her side for wisdom and encouragement. She had the blessing of the king so that when she did go in to him to save her people, he welcomed her with joy. We cannot share the message of Christ by ourselves - that's why it's so vital that we partner with you - as volunteers, as donors, as prayer warriors - partner to share this Esther moment together.

This panorama of The Edge Halfmoon shows you just ONE of the many Esther moments that we have before us. Only a little over year ago, the ground had even been broken for the new Adventure Center. Now it's nearly complete, the Edge climbing gym is open (The Edge website) and we are just beginning to see how God is going to use this place to reach more lost kids with His life-rescuing message.

Thank you. God bless you.

For the kids,

John Richmond, Executive Director

CDYFC

2011-11-17T07:27:00.001-08:00

Dear Friends of YFC,
As the Thanksgiving Holiday approaches next week, we at Youth for Christ have a LOT for which we are thankful to our Lord. The biggest news, in case you haven't heard it, is that we received our temporary Certificate of Occupancy last Friday from the Town of Halfmoon for the new YFC Adventure Center! Months of hard work and a double effort from our staff in these past few weeks brought us in line with what the town needed to see accomplished.

That C.O. was significant because the first of three of our annual banquets began this past Sunday (with another set for tonight) - and we needed to be able to use the new site for the banquets. Praise God for His provision! The photo below shows The Edge Halfmoon climbing gym manager Adam Catalano with the town of Halfmoon inspector presenting the C.O.

Power will be run to the building soon and then the Edge Halfmoon Climbing Gym can open! What an exciting time for us. Thank you for praying through this process - and keep praying as there is more work to be done before we can move in 100%.

As we think about Thanksgiving, I am also reminded of how thankful we are that every day we get to share the message of Jesus' love and forgiveness with kids. Just recently, YFC's Andy Lightcap had the privilege of leading a young boy named Joseph to the Lord. Joseph is a middle school boy who said for many weeks at club that he was just not ready to surrender his life to Jesus. A week ago, he made that choice and entered into a lifelong journey of faith. Now Joseph can't wait for his best friend to receive Christ as well. The enthusiasm of a changed soul is infectious!

Thank you so much for the incredible part that you play in this mission to reach every young person, one at a time with the life-changing message of Jesus. Please know that our staff and volunteers value and cherish your prayers and your generous giving very much. Your partnership with us is vital as we move ahead to reach more kids, to impact more communities for Christ.

Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!

For the kids,

John Richmond, Executive Director
CDYFC

News from YFC - Oct. 28, 2011

2011-10-28T12:33:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends of YFC,

Do you remember your junior high or high school years? When you think back on those times, what comes to mind? Do recall fond memories or do you cringe at remembering some very challenging and often painful events?

Many students today bring a wide variety of pain and problems with them to school. They feel alone, they feel rejected and they feel that no one cares for them, even though they may have a few friends. The pain in their life is often so strong that they resort to harming themselves or others to try to deal with it.

The freshmen class at S. Colonie High School recently dealt with that pain and loneliness in a series of four Point Break anti-bullying programs. As they went through the day, they met some of their pain face to face. Toward the end of the day, the Point Break staff encouraged students to talk openly about their experience in front of their peers. Over and over, they shared things like:

"Today has been a Point Break moment for me. I'm going to change who I am."

"I'm so sorry for the pain and hurt I've caused so many."

"I want to thank _____ (friend's name) for always being there for me."

"I know I'm not alone in what I'm dealing with."

One senior girl who attended along with the freshmen class said that she wished there was a program like Point Break when she started high school. She share that she witnessed several senior boys slam an underclassman into a wall just a few days into this school year - and she said and did nothing about it. She said she should have, but she didn't. She challenged the freshmen not to make the same mistake.

Now, one half of the students at S. Colonie have gone through Point Break. One half of the students can make a lasting difference on their entire school culture!

That's just one of the reasons why we do what we do.

As you've seen in recent emails from YFC, our Annual Banquets are coming up November 13, 17 & 20 at the new Adventure Center in Halfmoon. These nights will provide us with a celebration of what God has done to bring the facility about and what He's going to do with it to help us reach more lost kids! I hope you will join us. You can contact our office via the information below if you are interested in attending.

The area of the new facility that will be opening soon is The Edge Halfmoon Climbing Gym. You can follow it's opening both on Facebook and through The Edge Website. The photo below shows what you'll see when you walk into the gym.

These are exciting times for us and they are VERY busy times, too. Your prayers for strength and wisdom for me and our staff are so needed. Thank you so much for standing with us in prayer, in financial support and as you share YFC's ministry with others. I am so grateful for your partnership to reach lost kids here in the Capital Region.

For the kids,

John Richmond, Executive Director

CDYFC

News from Youth for Christ - Sept . 30

2011-09-30T13:39:00.001-07:00

Dear Friend of YFC,

When you've helped someone - maybe a neighbor, the family of one of your children's classmates at school, have they ever asked, "Why did you do this for us?" It's a fair question - one that one of our staff got to answer just recently.

Our Teen Parents Mentoring program took a group of teen moms up to the Great Escape and Splashwater Kingdom this summer. The girls went without their kids, which is unusual for them. At the end of the day, when they were exhausted and some needed to get back to their children, we found out that our vehicle didn't work.

While other rides were being arranged, the girls took it all in stride. They were even grateful for the help, for the trip to the park...gratefulness is not a typical response for them. On the way to dropping off one of the girls, she asked our Ruth Lightcap, "why do you do this?" Ruth was then able to share that it's because of God first loving us that we love the girls, care for them, help them, are patient with them when they walk away from God, when they complain.

It's all because of Jesus' love! And that's the prime motivating factor behind ALL of YFC's ministry to lost kids - we love them because He first loved us! That core belief will never change!

As we move through this new school year, we are, of course looking forward to the many new ways that we can share the love of Jesus with lost kids through the new recreational center in Halfmoon. The Edge Climbing Gym is progressing VERY quickly. The gymnasium and office space has its sheetrock up and the electrical and plumbing run. In fact, next Wednesday, our YFC staff will hold a painting party for the new offices.

Please continue to keep our staff and volunteers in prayer as we progress through this year of ministry, as we begin preparing for the move to the new building and as we look to launch our three annual banquets at the new site in November. Banquet dates are Nov. 13, 17 & 20.

Thank you so much for your support and prayers for this ministry. God bless you.

For the sake of the kids,

John Richmond

Executive Director, CDYFC

2011-09-16T06:57:00.001-07:00

Dear Friend of YFC,

"But, I'm just not comfortable doing THAT!" You've probably heard someone say that recently. Maybe it was a family member, a co-worker, someone on a sports team. The truth is, most of us are not usually willing to regularly step out of comfort zone.

One of the amazing traits of our ministry staff is that, for the most part, they step out of the comfort zone regularly to reach lost kids.

If building relationships with kids means taking on the challenge of the high adventure ropes course - they do it....even if standing on a thin cable 40 feet in the air is not their first choice of activity. If going outside the zone means sitting with a kid they've just met and sharing the love of Jesus to someone who's hurting - they DO IT! Going outside the zone might also mean spending an overnight awake with a group of slightly hyperactive middle school students to play games, have fun and share Christ.

Take Ray Lightcap, our Spiritual Development Director, for example. He and his wife Ruth (Teen Parents) spent the week of Blazefest last month heading up our meal team for both the kids and the artists who came to serve. Saturday, Ray and Ruth served up the hot dogs and soda to the several hundred people gathered for the Fest...and for the hiphop music (not usually on Ray's most-listened-to list) playing there.

A girl named Faith came up to him and asked Ray if he remembered her. He did not, but she went on to tell the story of how he prayed for her at Blazefest last year and what a tremendous impact Christ is having in her life today. One girl, one connection, one impact of Christ over a year's time. It took Ray's going into the uncomfortable zone to be encouraged by Faith's story. Jesus' love for US is the calling on us to serve Him and to share that love, forgiveness, salvation and gift of Heaven with lost kids.

Probably the biggest news at the new YFC rec. center in Halfmoon is the "mud-slinging" going on in the future home of The Edge Climbing Gym. Crews are putting up the cement surface on the walls, in preparation for their final construction phase. Interior wall frames, wiring, plumbing and other sections are now going in...all at the same time, so the place is much busier than it's been in a few months. We even have our front door in now as you see below:

We are grateful for the progress, but realize that we have a long way to go to its finishing, and more people and funds that need to be raised up in order to reach that goal.

Our ministry staff are just about ready to launch this new school year of weekly ministry. Pray for them, their families and our many volunteers. Without our volunteer core, we could not sustain the ministry we currently have as well as move forward to new areas. Specifically, would you please pray that God would indeed bring about new people to become involved as staff and volunteers for YFC.

Thank you so much for your support and prayers for this ministry. God bless you.

For the sake of the kids,

John Richmond

Executive Director, CDYFC

News from Youth for Christ - Sept 1

2011-09-01T13:33:00.001-07:00

You've probably seen the TV game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? The host asks contestants a series of multi-choice questions. When the contestant wants to lock in their answer, their letter choice, the host asks, "Is that your FINAL answer?"

In the myriad of conversations our staff has with kids, we find often that sharing Christ is more of a continuing conversation than it is a answer at any one given time. Zack was a freshman in high school when we first met him. He went to church and youth group regularly, he claimed that he was a follower of Jesus Christ. One evening in a small group setting, Zack admitted he wasn't so sure any more about his faith. When prodded a bit deeper, Zack said he really wanted to "check things out" about faith in Christ - if he was to be sure about this journey, he wanted to be COMPLETELY sure. So the conversations continued in the months to follow.

Fast forward to Zack's senior year. He said he had found what he was looking for. He said that all of the conversations, all of the reading, studying the Bible he had done had indeed convinced him that following Jesus was the best decision for him to make. It took a few years of relational investment on the part of our staff, but Zack is now a COMMITTED Christian. He now knows his final answer.

For kids like Zack and for others, such as those who attended our recent Blazefest HipHop Camp in Schenectady, a final answer on Christ may come quickly...or it may happen gradually over time. Rest assured, though, that it is our commitment to ministering to kids that we will NEVER give up sharing the Gospel message - never stop asking kids about beginning a relationship with Jesus.

On another note, the construction of the new recreational center in Halfmoon is progressing quickly. The interior walls are going in, the climbing surfaces are about ready to be cemented over and the wiring will go in soon. We are also scheduled to close on our mortgage for the new building THIS AFTERNOON - PRAISE GOD! Please continue to pray that God would bring a buyer for our current offices in Latham.

As we move into Fall, would you also lift up our various ministry staff in prayer. Our weekly Camps and City Life Clubs will be kicking off in a few weeks along with the Teen Parents Mentoring Program and Juvenile Justice Ministries. Pray for those working with our contractors on the new building as well. And please pray for our finances - for ongoing ministry as well as the new facility.

Thank you so much for your support and prayers for this ministry. God bless you.

For the sake of the kids,

John Richmond

Executive Director, CDYFC

News from Youth for Christ - August 17

2011-08-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

Dear Friend of YFC,
Sometimes, you just never know what situation might bring you to a conversation about Jesus. That's true in particular this week at the Blazefest HipHop Camp in Schenectady.

Over 100 kids from around the city have gathered at the City Life Center in the Bellevue neighborhood to receive instruction in various elements of hiphop: DJing, graffiti art, rapping, break-dancing and beat-making. Each area is led by instructors who are followers of Jesus and experts in their fields. Each day, conversations about art, hiphop music and life in general have led to deeper discussions about faith in Christ. One boy who came the first day, rapping lyrics filled with plenty of vulgarity, switched his approach on day 2 and wrote and rapped about God.

As all of our YFC staff do whenever they are with kids, the artists, staff and volunteers at Blazefest are building trusting, loving relationships with these kids - and sharing their stories of what it's like to follow Jesus, to be surrendered to Him.

The new recreational facility in Halfmoon continues to take shape each day. The plywood is going up on the indoor climbing gym walls and now the interior wall frames are going in.

There is an excellent article and interview about the new building that you can find from the
Spotlight Newspaper: http://bit.ly/oolMe9

Thank you for reading these notes each time they are released and for praying for kids and the YFC staff and volunteers. You are an integral part of our ministry and we are so grateful to the Lord for you. God bless you.

For the sake of the kids,

John Richmond
Executive Director, CDYFC

Amazing News of God's Healing in Chris!

2011-08-05T10:01:00.000-07:00

HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS??? CHRIS' CT SCAN REPORT SHOWED THAT THE CANCER HAS BEEN REDUCED BY 50%. THANK YOU LORD!!!

Chris and I have recorded a video about this amazing healing.

You can watch it HERE!

Thank you for praying for Chris and me through some VERY challenging, difficult and faith-testing times. And please KEEP PRAYING for Chris' COMPLETE healing.

God bless you,

John and Chris

Further building progress pics

2011-03-10T07:48:00.000-08:00

Building is starting to take shape

2011-03-04T12:23:00.000-08:00

The crew has been putting up steel for one week now. We are so excited to see this taking shape in 3D. They estimate 7-8 weeks to enclose the building, which will bring us into April, when a slab can be laid on a thawed, dry ground. More updates to come next week.

Back in the Point Break season

2011-02-28T10:25:00.000-08:00

We are very excited about the month of March where we will be in front of hundreds of kids, helping them eraticate the atmosphere of bullying in their schools.

We begin with Watervliet's 7th, 8th and 9th graders this week.

We then travel to Longmeadow Massachusetts where the PTA has asked us to run a Point Break for their freshman class.

On the 15th, we are at Berne-Knox-Westerlo High school and, on the 23rd, we begin our process with the Albany high school freshmen.

If you feel that this anti-bullying program would be of great help to your local Middle School or High School, please contact your school administrators and ask them to consider a Gotcha Back or Point Break workshop for their students.

Footings and cement walls nearly complete

2010-12-20T12:42:00.001-08:00

The construction project is moving along very well. We've been fortunate to have just very light snow thus far. The crew is working hard in the chilly weather.

The cement walls are nearly complete all the way around and steel structure should be going up just after Christmas.

You can keep an eye on the progress with regular pictures updated on the rock gym's Facebook site: The Edge - Halfmoon

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas.

Nearly cleared and leveled

2010-11-23T07:58:00.000-08:00

Just a few days of earth moving remain as we prepare to pour footings for our new building. By Christmas, we should be looking at a huge framework of steel out on the property and by Feb. 1 we should have an enclosed building with a cured slab.

Things are moving along nicely.

Keep up to date with our Facebook page....The Edge - Halfmoon.

I'm Sorry

2010-11-23T07:47:00.000-08:00

"Thomas Jones, I'm Sorry"

"Brittney MacCann, I'm Sorry"

With lumps in their throats, students stood to offer apologies to their classmates. Those simple but powerful words were all they could muster as they fought off the tears. They were all that was necessary. The two parties knew what had happened and experienced reconciliation that day.

Last Thursday, we finished up our fifth Point Break workshop with the Colonie freshmen. Next we are off to Berne-Knox-Westerlo where we will take every student grade 7-12 through our middle school and high school anti-bullying and suicide prevention workshops.

The programs are now BOCES approved, which will open the doors for many many more schools who have desired to bring this to their school but were too tight on their budget.

We look forward to seeing a positive in as many schools as possible both here in the Capital District and around the Northeast.

Trees are coming down

2010-11-09T12:39:00.000-08:00

The first trees fell on Monday as snow was falling. We have hit a tiny slow-up, as a bit more archaological digging has to be done on Wednesday, so we need to stay away from one corner. But things are happening fast here.

"Like" our climbing gym on Facebook (The Edge - Halfmoon) for tons of pictures and updates.

Clear to Clear

2010-11-05T11:25:00.001-07:00

We have made it through the permit and paperwork and are set to go. We have hired Keller and Sons to do the clearing and site preperation and they should begin on Monday.

We also have our three banquets this week and Point Break events as well.

November will be extremely busy, but incredible things are happening all across the board.

More photos of trees coming down to follow....

Point Break delivering Hope to Kids in Sch'dy

2010-10-22T05:51:00.000-07:00

This week we hosted three powerful Point Break sessions for Schenectady HS freshmen, as we work our way through the entire class. The fast paced day of games, discussions and teaching times keeps the kids engaged and learning crucial honest communication skills.

Each day seems to bring with it a different group of kids who are struggling with slightly different issues in their lives. One day, 90% of the room stepped forward saying that "Drugs or alcohol are or have been a problem in my family". Another day, 80% shared that they had seen domestic violence in their home. And a third day brought a group in which 75% had seriously considered hurting themselves by cutting, burning or other means as a way to deal with the pain in their lives.

In total this week, we hosted 215 students at our City Life Center, and by the end of the week, 16 of those had stepped forward to let their peers, teachers and guidance councilors know that they have a current plan for taking their lives and desire help.

Giving kids this outlet for taking off their masks and being real with the struggles and the pains in their lives allows them to begin the healing process, and we are so honored to be in a position to help kids address these deep wounds and to find hope.

Archaeological Survey reveals a Pre-Contact site

2010-10-06T06:21:00.000-07:00

Wandering through the property right now is like floating through a sea of pink flags. Fifty feet in any direction is another pink flag and a little pile of dirt.

Our Edge climbing gym manager, Adam Catalano, arrived at the site on Monday around lunchtime to catch up with the archaelogical survey crew. After wandering for 15-20 minutes, he finally found them, nearly finished with what seems like several days worth of work.

Tracy, the foreman on the project, revealed that the test pits had uncovered three chert flakes, evidence that Native Americans had spent some time here making cutting tools and hunting as animals came down to the creek for a drink.

What does this mean???? Well, fortunately, the site is in the corner of what will be our parking lot, so if we give that area a 25' buffer and leave it undisturbed, we can move along with clearing land and erecting the building.

PRAISE GOD!

Keep checking back for pictures and documentation of the progress. We'll now race to get a slab in before the hard freeze.

Archaeological testing next week

2010-09-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

We are excited to have contracted with Hartgen Archaeological Assoc. out of Rensselaer for our cultural relevancy site testing. With a staff of 40 individuals, Hartgen has grown to become the largest privately-owned cultural resource management firm in the Northeast and a recognized leader in the field. In their 30+ years of business, they have completed more than 300 surveys in Saratoga County including more than 30 surveys in the Town of Halfmoon alone.

The Phase I process involves researching of the property, which will be done this week, followed by the actual field testing, which is scheduled for next week. Up to fifty shovel pits will be dug in a grid pattern, covering the project area. Each shovelful of dirt will be screened for artifacts that may be of pre-contact (Native American) or historic significance.

Depending on the findings, a final report should be available within two or three weeks of the field work, and we will be notified of whether it is safe to proceed with excavation and construction.

Lets all pray for nice clean dirt.

DEC okays, but cultural tests to be done

2010-09-13T12:32:00.000-07:00

It seems that with all exciting projects come both victories and snags along the way. In the realm of building projects, there are many hoops to jump through, from the town planning board, to the Department of Environmental Conservation and even the local historical society.

If you remember from the previous blog entry, there was a chance that we may have had to have test pits dug on our intended site in order to determine if this is a site of cultural significance. Well, we have infact been asked to hire a firm to do the cultural testing. We are currently receiving bids and hopefully can move through this process quickly.

On all other fronts, the project is moving along quickly. The DEC has signed off on our site work, our wetland delineations, storm drainage and sewer lines. These are all victories.

Please continue to pray for the cultural studies to go in our favor.

Contracted with Bast-Hatfield, plus item of prayer

2010-08-19T13:42:00.000-07:00

After receiving several bids from area companies for the construction of a pre-fab steel building, we have contracted with Bast-Hatfield. They have a great reputation in our area and will build our facility with a three foot cement wall all the way around to further protect against water intrusion.

Big Item of Prayer here...

Trees should begin to come down shortly, assuming that the state and local agencies in charge of protecting culturally significant sights, are able to quickly sign off on our property as free from historical significance.

Because we are within a mile of a previous sight of significance, there is a chance that preliminary test pits could reveal something that needs attention. The test pits happen pretty quickly but if cultural digging needs to take place, this could set the construction back several months.

Although cultural significance is exciting, we are hoping for expedience in our building construction.

Teamed up with Rockwerx

2010-08-05T10:46:00.000-07:00

Another Rockwerx masterpiece gym

CDYFC is very excited to have teamed up with the Northeast's premier builder of indoor climbing facilities, Rockwerx. Rockwerx has an incredible portfolio of amazing gyms all over the country and particularly here in the Northeast.
Their concrete over plywood structure allows for the feel and texture of real rock while still keeping reasonable costs and route setting flexibility.
The 10,000 square feet of climbing will be the largest and most incredible gym within 100 mile radius.
The design phase now begins with the expertise of both Rockwerx and CDYFC staff collaborating to create the perfect gym to meet the needs of our community and the mission of our facility.
Once complete, The Edge will surely be a destination for novice and advanced climbers of all ages here in the Greater Capital District.

Check back soon for updates on things like: land being cleared, contracts being signed and buildings flying up.

We've Been Approved!!

2010-06-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

Great News!! Our building project was granted the approval by the town of Halfmoon planning board last night. This was an important step in order to proceed with our vision. In fact, without their approval we were dead in the water. The town meeting was very positive. The board voted unanimously for our project and seemed excited that we are building in their town.

Now we are submitting a request to DEC for a permit that allows us to tunnel under a creek to connect to the county's sewer system. Please pray that the process would not be held up. We also have to apply for a permit to clear the property and apply for a building permit. I am sure there are other permits that we have to apply for that I don't know about yet.

We are obviously excited about this vision God has granted to us. Please don't hesitate to call me if you would like more information about our YFC Recreation Center.

Building Update

2010-06-07T13:15:00.000-07:00

Next Monday, June 14th, we will be presenting our YFC recreation building at a public meeting for the town of Half Moon. Please pray that we receive a favorable response and are granted the town planning board's approval.

Hopefully, the next day we will start clearing and grading the property, order the building and continue to raise funds. I'm not sure how the Lord will do this, but we will try to follow Him. If anyone has any questions regarding the building, please don't hesitate to call me.

Also, our giving the past two months has decreased considerably compared to last year. We continue to remain faithful to what God has called us to do... share the life changing hope that only comes from knowing Jesus Christ!

Thank you for your faithfulness to reach young people.

National Day of Prayer

2010-05-06T02:08:00.000-07:00

Today is our national day of prayer. A time when we as a nation thank Our Father for his Hand on our country. This is one of my favorite quotes from one our founding fathers.

Mr President [George Washington, Constitutional Convention],

The small progress we have made after 4 or five weeks close attendance & continual reasonings with each other--our different sentiments on almost every question, several of the last producing as many noes as ays, is methinks a melancholy proof of the imperfection of the Human Understanding.

We indeed seem to feel our own want of political wisdom, since we have been running about in search of it. We have gone back to ancient history for models of Government, and examined the different forms of those Republics which having been formed with the seeds of their own dissolution now no longer exist. And we have viewed Modern States all round Europe, but find none of their Constitutions suitable to our circumstances.

In this situation of this Assembly, groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our understandings?

In the beginning of the Contest with G. Britain, when we were sensible of danger we had daily prayer in this room for the divine protection. - Our prayers, Sir, were heard, & they were graciously answered.

All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity.

And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance?

I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth - that God Governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?

We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings, that "except the Lord build the House they labour in vain that build it." I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better, than the Builders of Babel:

We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future ages.

And what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing Governments by Human wisdom and leave it to chance, war and conquest.

I therefore beg leave to move - that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the Clergy of this City be requested to officiate in that Service-- Ben Franklin

If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? Our founding fathers built this nation on this truth. Maybe, like Ben Franklin, we should implore His assistance and blessings everyday.

May God continue to Bless America!

John Richmond

Point Break Continues To Gain Interest

2010-04-29T11:59:00.000-07:00

It has almost been 1 year since we've started Point Break. We have done 11 Point Breaks with about 1000 High school students attending and 2 Gotcha Back (our middle school program) that had 120 students attent. It has been such a great success, that we have 13 schools interested for next school year.

Please pray that God would continue to open the doors for this service. With this tool, we can play a part in changing the culture of our schools.

Also, take time to look at our new building plans. This new facility will be an incredible asset for the Christian community that will have a great impact on our young people.

Thank you for standing with us. We are so thankful to Him who has granted us great favor to continue to reach out to this generation.

John

Point Break Impacting Teens' Lives

2009-05-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we presented our first pilot of Point Break to 100 area high school students at our City Life Center. To say that it made an incredible impact is an understatement!

In front of their peers, over a dozen teens stood and admitted that they had a current plan to commit suicide. Over 30 teens confessed that they have had thoughts about suicide sometime in the past year. Point Break addresses the underlining issues of low self esteem and gives teens a better hope for the future.

Six or seven kids stood and asked forgiveness from their peers for how they had treated them in the past. It was great to see the teens valuing each other and willing to openly admit their faults.

The teachers that came were really impressed with the program. They left raving about the positive results. The principal related hearing countless optomistic comments. On Monday morning when one of our staff members, Ray Villegas visited the school, he saw lots of kids wearing their Point Break t-shirts!

Pray for this program to continue to have an impact on these teens and to bring forth fruit in their lives. Next Monday, May 11, we will be presenting the program to another group of teens from the area. Please pray for these kids who have no hope!

-John

Point Break Anti-Bullying Program

2009-04-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

We are very excited at YFC to be able to present two pilot programs of 100 kids each of Point Break to one of our local area high schools. This program is a 7-hour intervention course designed to break down student defenses and barriers and instill positive values in the hearts of high school students.

In a survey directed to middle school students conducted by Arnie Cole, surprising results indicated that 60 percent of 8 to 12 year olds are being bullied at school. Of that 60 percent, 10 percent of them are being bullied every day. This is a big issue among young people that needs to be addressed.

In the Point Break cirriculum, the concentration is on seven major issues: bullying, willingness to reach out for help, gossip, self expression, judging, empathy and having a hopeful outlook on life. These areas are presented in four specific teaching segments and interspersed with small group activities and surveys that make the program interactive.

Point Break is a proven intervention program that actually works to counteract many negative elements in schools such as bullying, teasing, gossip, harrassment, violence and suicide. It identifes the factors that have been connected to such negative events and provides positive ways to help teens create an atmostphere of expression, hopefulness and awareness regarding destructive behavior and attitudes.

We are grateful for this opportunity to provide this important program to area schools. It creates an open door for YFC to step in and help teens to create a safer learning environment. We hope that by providing this course that it will open more ministry opportunities in more communites in our area!

For the sake of the kids - John

Welcome to my blog!

2008-08-05T13:00:00.001-07:00

We are so excited at YFC to "keep up with the times" by communicating to you, our partners, in new ways.

Instead of receiving a monthly prayer letter from each specific ministry area or staff members that you are connected with, we will be publishing this newly designed Youth Matters. We’ll keep you updated with a post of upcoming events, prayer requests, teen testimonies and ways you can get involved. You will be directed to each ministry’s website and prayer blog, to read more frequently updated news, prayer requests, praise reports, family news, etc. on any of the ministries you are interested in. We will be able to mail this new version of Youth Matters at bulk rate postage and save time and $$ each month – in printing and postage costs.

We hope you will welcome this change and frequently check out the websites/prayer blogs for the specific ministry area that you are most connected with. AND we hope you’ll visit the others as well, to learn more about the scope of our ministry and how we all are working together to reach kids throughout the whole Capital Region.

Thanks for standing with us… helping us love kids in Jesus’ name. Your partnership is making a difference.

--John