Inspirational, Stories of Young People
Some Seeds Are Slow to Bear Fruit
“God, I’ve prayed and shared and cried and given all I can and they’re no closer to you now than they were when I started…”
“God, I’ve prayed and shared and cried and given all I can and they’re no closer to you now than they were when I started…”
The first time he came to Madagascar’s Youth for Christ club, Famonjena was rebellious. He didn’t want to hear the Word of God. He just wanted to learn English.
A young girl and her mother find help and hope through the Day Center ministry in the nation of Georgia.
Stories like Ali’s are both an encouragement and a challenge to you and me. An encouragement in seeing how God is working. A challenge in realizing you and I might be the “somebody” in God’s plan for reaching and teaching young people His Good News.
Calitzdorp in South Africa has an urgent need for a new property as their current Kidstop location has been sold.
“When I prayed with the Youth for Christ staff that day, it was the first time I felt calm, deep down inside my heart…”
During quarantine, prayer was a way to participate in God’s work, so I found myself doing this a lot. Little did I know, God was answering my prayers.
You never know who needs to feel the love of Jesus just by being seen, feeling valued or even hearing the words, “I am proud of you.”
“Many girls are going to be blessed through that home,” Miriam said. “They are going to gain hope. They are going to gain peace. Most of all they are going to get to know the Lord and to give back to their babies the love and care they have experienced.”
Jill Meyer from Denver YFC’s “Parent Life” ministry shares what it looks like to be Jesus in the life of a young mom.
Learn why youth in Spain thank God for “Fridays”.
A young woman from Rwanda shares her story of transformation from prostitution to following Jesus.
YFC Australia is hearing from thousands of young people who are finding hope on social media through shared testimonies like Billy’s. Listen to Billy’s story and learn about the Hope Movement.
Ihor repeatedly suffered from violent physical and emotional abuse by his father, who abandoned him and his mother when Ihor was just a year and a half old. But then…
A struggling young man, an encounter with the Lord, the shaping of a leader who is impacting the next generation.
A young man from Rwanda receives a certificate to recognize his accomplishments related to the study of Scripture.
Inspiring story and encouraging ministry report from Africa.
A young man at a juvenile detention facility finds in Jesus the motivation to become more than just the product of his mistakes.
A shy, quiet girl who lost her mother before she was 2 years old goes on to become a Youth for Christ worker at a Day Centre in Ukraine.
A young lady impacted by YFC Armenia’s Day Care Centres ministry shares her testimony.
The Project Serve experience at a U.S. summer camp has a big impact on a young participant.
A student who attends summer camp with Youth for Christ in Cyprus finds freedom in Christ.
Because of you, leaders like Ericka are having compassionate conversations with young people everywhere.
Learn what God is doing through the ministry of Youth for Christ in the Czech Republic.
Praying mothers in Brazil lead a gang member to Christ.
Experience Moldova YFC summer camp through the eyes of an 11 year old boy named Radu.
Keyosha shares how Youth for Christ planted a seed of faith in her that led her and her family to Christ.
A young person impacted by YFC’s Day Centre program reflects, “I should love myself because God loves me just as I am.”
Angel loved the after-school program and activities but she rejected anything we taught her about God…
Teens from all over Sicily come together to celebrate Martina’s new life in Christ at her baptism.
I wanted my friend to have the same encounter with Christ that I had…to experience the new life I had. I prayed for her a lot, but I felt totally confused.
A Youth for Christ staff person recalls the moment a young man at the detention center knew he wanted and needed God’s salvation.
Kenya YFC Shares Highlights from their mission to Vihiga.
Meet a remarkable young lady from Moldova who shares her story about how God is using her to help others through YFC’s Day Centre ministry.
Homeless and parentless, Rachidi reached out to a helpline and found herself connected to Youth for Christ.
We marvel at God’s marvelous work in Marvel, a Nigerian student whose participation with Youth for Christ has brought about remarkable transformation.
An inspiring story about a troubled teen in the Czech Republic; YFC Burundi recognized by their President for their efforts in educating the future leaders of their nation.
Kigali Christian School, operated by Rwanda Youth for Christ, provides excellent education to train young leaders and seeks sponsors for 75 new student applicants.
Why not use that fascination with sports to reach young people with something even more important than winning on the field or the court — the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
From his detention facility, he had a message for his friends: “I am changing. Every day I pray for each of you. When I get out, I don’t want to see you doing stupid stuff. I am changing and I want to see you changing, too!”
Youth for Christ has secured a building in Mullingar to have a permanent Drop-in center where young people can come and hangout. It will also act as a base for Youth for Christ in Ireland.
These stories from Rwanda and South Asia included here are a tiny window into the breath-taking things God is doing around the world through Youth for Christ, through you! Over 247,000 young people in over 100 nations have responded to the Gospel message this past year through Youth for Christ. That is worth celebrating!
As he began to open up about his home life, it was clear to see he was hurting and crying out for attention…
Jumping out of the ditch, a nefarious-looking group of young men hijacked our van full of teenagers…
They are so used to the sounds of war that many young people can tell the caliber of the artillery projectile simply based on the whistling sound…
“I was a radical Muslim and I dreamed of participating in Jihad and even becoming an active member of ISIS. But then I met Jesus and my life radically changed.”
Cynthia is one student among hundreds who found love, care and hope at a tender age when all seemed dark and hopeless.
The majority of the world’s teenagers don’t live in your neighborhood or mine. The largest percentage of the world’s young people live in the 48 least-developed nations. That means many of them are dealing with poverty, violence, and exploitation. Even more significantly, many are without hope and don’t have a relationship with Jesus.
Orphaned, abused and HIV-positive all before her 10th birthday, Mary was in need of a savior – and she found two.
Shenika shares how her fears were taking over her life and how God worked through a YFC ministry in Trinidad & Tobago by helping her trust in him and changed her life forever.
Pablo knew God existed but never had the chance to experience his life changing love until he was invited to a YFC gathering.
Learn about how Youth for Christ is planting seeds of hope in the lives of young people around the world, including other refugee young people.
Atttending a camp in Honduras, Miguel received his first Bible and was very happy that he learned more about his creator.
“This is something that has to be born inside of you” – That is what Eduardo Ramos thinks about having passion to serve others. He is a YFC volunteer, he talks about his passion and how he sees YFC in his country of Honduras.
Gemstones and a glass vase provide a power illustration that helps a young woman understand how God truly sees her.
An event in Slovakia features 16 hours of praise and worship on the street connected with evangelism and testimonies.
Sbangan is one of 38 peer educators who received leadership training and are working at influencing a rebellious generation of young people in her village to choose Life, say yes to Jesus and live a Godly lifestyle.
A young man encounters Jesus through the ministry of Youth for Christ in Bolivia.
A young man attending Chile’s soccer ministry becomes a follower of Jesus and begins small group discipleship.
The adventure is on when Sebastian and Carlos travel to their destination, where they thank God for having them as a team and for the great experience. Join them in this short video filmed at Bolivar City, Colombia. YFC Colombia has been working through this method helping youth live and stay healthy but over all bring them closer to God.
Nayeli Estrada is a volunteer at Youth for Christ in Mexico. She shared with us her amazing testimony and how God reached her through a Rap Ministry, and now this is how she is using her life to reach other youth.
A young man from Sierra Leone shares his heartbreaking story of pain and loss, as well as the new hopes he has since connecting with Youth for Christ.
Ester, from Italy, shares about Claudia – a life transformed through the ministry of Youth for Christ.
David is from Botswana. He found Jesus with a little help from some other nations. And now he is helping youth in his own nation find Jesus.
A young girl whose family had forced her to quit school to work in a factory felt hurt, used, and exploited. Then she joined a girls ministry run by Youth for Christ…
Jose Carlos Gutierrez is one of Youth for Christ’s world-changing young leaders. He took on the leadership of Youth for Christ in Mexico in January of 2008. In September 2008 Jose Carlos was sponsored to attend the Youth for Christ General Assembly in South Africa and it was there he caught the vision of reaching … Continued
Hear Vanessa’s story about how a soccer program in Winnipeg has connected her to Jesus and changed her life forever.
Meet Camila, from Youth for Christ in Brazil. Hear her YFC story and how a Youth for Christ program impacted her family.
Rose took seriously the challenge to read her Bible. Through that time she has seen her life change more and more.
Cláudia is from São Tomé and Príncipe, a small set of islands off the coast of Africa. Listen as she shares her heart about her nation and the youth of her nation.
Brayden’s story includes volunteers who listened and cared. If you can do that, you’re on your way to becoming a Youth for Christ volunteer!
A young man from Hyderabad shares his testimony about how God rescued him from the influence of alcohol and depression.
A young man from Morocco, raised in Lebanon, shares his story about how Christ has changed his life through the ministry of Youth for Christ.
A young blogger from England decides to involve her faith in her hobby of blogging and sees God at work in her readers.
Watch the remarkable story of a young man from Guatemala who attended a Project Serve trip as a translator and caught the vision of Youth for Christ, going on to become the National Director of Youth for Christ in Mexico and the Americas Area Director of Youth for Christ International.
A young girl teaches from the Bible at a VBS program in her country, where over 160 people are boldly challenged to follow Jesus.
A young woman from Kenya finds support from her Youth for Christ family following her conversion to Christianity, even as she is persecuted by her other family.
A current participant in Youth for Christ’s gap year tells about why he’s doing the YFC One gap year and what he wants from his time with Youth for Christ.
A Mongolian circus acrobat says yes to Jesus and pioneers Youth for Christ ministry in his country.
A student at a Youth for Christ Campus Life club shares what Campus Life has meant to him and how Jesus and his Youth for Christ staff have helped him through some recent trials.
A young boy who has never had the opportunity to attend school will now be able to do so, thanks to the persistence of some caring Youth for Christ staff people.
A young girl from the Ukraine meets Jesus at camp and becomes active in church and her local Youth for Christ ministry.
Youth for Christ has the privilege of providing training and resources to equip a young lady who hears God’s call to go to the youth of Macedonia.
Meet a remarkable young lady whose training in Youth for Christ opened the door for her to lead a young prisoner to Christ.
A talented young lady in Colombia receives a piano from Youth for Christ so she can keep studying and move forward with her talent.
Beverley, who did not grow up in a Christian home, came to Christ at age 14 through a Youth for Christ rally event in the Philippines. She dreamed of becoming a teacher/counsellor to assist others, but her family lacked the resources to help…
A young man in Lebanon shares his story about how their discipleship groups helped him understand that he is to become a servant to others.
A Youth for Christ intern says “I used to struggle with fear and anxiety to the point that I once passed out in front of my class at school while giving a presentation. But the teaching and relationships I experienced at Youth for Christ helped me discover my self worth, enabling me to begin challenging this fear.”
A young teen shares his experience with Youth for Christ in Lebanon and how weekly club meetings and a summer camp challenge changed the trajectory of his life.
When she was 13, Kristina’s dad was diagnosed with terminal lung and bone cancer. She was bullied in school. She was so stressed, she says, that she wanted to kill herself.
A troubled teen has a divine appointment with a Youth for Christ’s Juvenile Justice Director and goes on to play football for Florida State University and the Tennessee Titans.
Zac Young was a 19 year old passionate follower of Jesus undertaking an internship with Youth for Christ in Australia when he was tragically killed by a shark attack off New South Wales.
Making the most of several ministry opportunities designed to cultivate godly character and gain a clearer sense of purpose, Precious Moyo of Zimbabwe finds the courage to leave home to go to university overseas to grow further personally and spiritually.
A young man who reconnected with Jesus at a Youth for Christ camp in Fiji ends up volunteering with Youth for Christ and eventually becomes the National Director!
An angry and lonely young man turned off by Christian hypocrites comes to know Jesus as “the Saviour I don’t deserve and the friend I always wanted.”
A seventh grader gets help with her reading and pronunciation through a Youth for Christ-run literacy program in Manitoba, Canada.
A young Englishman reluctantly gets involved with a Youth for Christ group in Chile, and finds that it has become like family not just for the young people in the group, but also for himself.
Western Australia’s Mike Albany shares his story about his journey with Youth for Christ and how it evolved from being a transitional step to something “bigger and better” to becoming a passion and calling from God.
Enrolled in an internship program with Youth for Christ in Australia, Jess tells her story about how connecting with people at Youth for Christ helped her in her faith journey.
Laura Bronson, a gifted and passionate 25-year-old, is working full-time at making Christ known through skateboarding, graffiti, and speaking engagements across the nation and around the world through a new ministry called “Keep it Real.”
A young girl from the Ukraine gets connected to a Youth for Christ club near her local cinema and decides to follow Jesus.
16 year old Sonia becomes the first young person in five years of Youth for Christ ministry in Italy to public declare her faith in Jesus, after praying to begin a relationship with him at summer camp.
A young girl in Ukraine starts her journey toward God through a Christian club that became like family to her.
A troubled young man in Zimbabwe hears the voice of God calling him out of a life of sin toward ministry to the hurting young people around him.
A 14 year old girl from the streets of Ukraine attends a Youth for Christ camp and is now a regular attender at their day care centre.
Meet Nick, a young man from Canada, who came to know Christ through a community event and was later mentored by a Youth for Christ worker who has journeyed with him for several years.
Epiphany was just 15 when she was kicked out of her home. This brought her into contact with Youth for Christ in Melbourne, Australia, who helped find her a home and began journeying with her. This is her story.
Josh spent part of his childhood homeless on the streets of India before being adopted in Australia. In high school he encountered Youth for Christ through lunch time programs and after school discipleship programs, where he always had lots of questions…
Salohy story intersects with Fitia’s story and she hears God’s story.
A 15 year old from Madagascar learns how to forgive after having her sins forgiven.
Billiana, a young Kenyan woman, receives the help she needs and encounters Christ.
A young man from Kenya trades a life of drug and alcohol abuse for a life serving God and is finding confidence sharing his faith with others to help them see that only God can satisfy.
A young man finds hope and purpose through Youth for Christ’s “City Life” program, becoming a role model to others like him who have been affected by crime, drugs and poverty.
Read Tootie’s story and learn how this young woman handled the death of her mother with the help of City Life (Youth for Christ) staff and students.
Francis once lived on the streets, where he encountered Youth for Christ; now he is off the streets and is attending a Bible believing church.
A young man on a bad path is shown love and encouragement by his Youth for Christ mentor and turns his life around.
A young Serbian struggling with depression is reminded of his conversation with a Youth for Christ worker who told him about Jesus, and finds healing through prayer.
A Lebanese teenager shares about her journey with Youth for Christ, and about the role Youth for Christ played in lifting her faith in God to a place of higher priority in her life.
A young teen previously placed in over 50 foster homes arrives at a YFC Australia’s Teenage Foster Care home where he forms a special bond with his carer and begins a healing transformation.
A typical teen at Royal Palm Beach High School (USA) tells her story of the new life she’s found in Christ.
A young teen in the Ukraine decides to repent at winter camp, becomes involved in his Youth for Christ Rock Solid program, and is on the fast-track to leadership through his acts of service.
A victim of severe abuse, neglect and abandonment finds a friend at a Youth for Christ drop-in centre and decides after a failed suicide attempt that her life is worth living.
David Jordan runs Youth for Christ near Austin, Texas (USA) and meets with those Austin students who want to attend before school on Fridays.
Saved at 17 at an outreach event, Kim is now being trained by Youth for Christ to be an effective church youth leader and missionary
Born in Rwanda, Jean Baptiste Mugarura grew up in a family that practiced Islam and ancestral worship at the same time. He says of his time growing up, “Amidst instability at home, I needed someone to cry to. I learnt that there was a God who is greater than everything and everybody, and that this God is good and is a loving God who cares for me.”
A teenager who messed around with drugs and alcohol, Emily was always pushing the boundaries a little too far. Learn how Youth for Christ in Melbourne, Australia introduced her to the Lord and got her on the right path.
A depressed and angry party girl who fought constantly with her father meets Jesus at a Youth for Christ summer camp and is beginning to experience many positive changes in her new relationship with God.
A young girl named Tina, oppressed by the spirits she once thought she controlled through occultist practices, is introduced to Jesus by a Youth for Christ staff person, and set free to help others.
Abandoned by his parents and left to fend for himself at only 10 years of age, Shawn Roberts was forced to grow up much too fast. Abused, neglected and despairing, Shawn was ready to give up. That’s when God spoke to him, beginning a journey that would forever change his life.
Meet Sandy, a young leader who serves the young people of Madagascar with his gifts as a trainer, speaker and rapper.
Rick has had his life turned upside down by Jesus. Rick was one of the older teens in the Don Dale Juvenile Detention Centre in Darwin, Australia, having been caught up in a gang. He started having some God conversations with Tim Ezzy, a long-term volunteer with Youth for Christ who visits the Centre each week.
Born in Senegal, Mendy Nino came to know Christ at 13. Mendy was later mentored as part of Youth for Christ’s young leader program. He is now working with other African leaders to inspire boldness in evangelism as Generation 21 brings the gospel to the continent of Africa.
Beaten and left for dead after a gang street brawl, Rodrigo needed help. And help is exactly what he found, as a group of “prayer mothers” from Youth for Christ came to his bedside at the hospital…
From the Campus Life program in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to the national camping ministry of Youth for Christ in the USA, Molly Ramseyer has been used by God to reach thousands of young people around the United States.
His brother was just out of jail and he was heading in the same direction. As one of the Netherlands’ Caribbean immigrants, Lionel was an unchurched teenager with only trouble ahead.
Learn how your investment in Youth for Christ’s Young Leader initiative has empowered a young man from Fiji and opened doors for ministry in other nations of the Pacific.
A passionate young leader in Guinea Bissau receives mentoring and coaching to become the director of the youth centre in this West African nation.
BJ’s mother left when he was six years old. Left behind, and often caring for his disabled older brother while his father’s alcoholic binge drinking escalated, BJ plunged into depression and despair. When BJ began high school his father remarried and the physical abuse began. Afraid for his own safety, BJ approached his school guidance … Continued
A young visionary mobilizes a team of gifted professionals to create a virtual world that ministers to 40,000 regular users online, and sees thousands of young people come to faith in Christ each year.
John describes his life as “always looking for something.” But it was when he found Jesus that he says he found purpose for his life. Once John found that his relationship with Jesus made a such a significant difference for him, he began to wonder how much difference it could make for others.
Dima is a busy man. He is sought after by multiple churches and like-minded organisations to help organise and lead sports outreach. He leads a small group Bible discovery group with Muslim boys and girls he met on the street and in parks at different sports venues. He asked them to consider coming to a … Continued
A young custodian at Taraja Boys Home in Kenya is shocked and fearful when he is asked to take on the leadership of the home as the previous leader feels led to move on. Unable to escape God’s call, he accepts the challenge and is finding God’s grace is more than sufficient to sustain them.
When Brooke was 13, her parents were busted for selling drugs. The family was split up, so she went to stay with friends. Eventually Brooke moved back home with a drug habit. Her father would bash her mother. So her mother would go out drinking, leaving Brooke to look after her younger brother and sister. … Continued
Having relapsed into drug and alcohol addiction, a young man in Uganda becomes depressed and suicidal. Desperate for someone to talk to, he followed a sign to a Youth for Christ counseling facility. Soon, the young prodigal was coming home to God’s transforming grace and love.
In Rwanda, a young man who survived the genocide has become a believer, received training as a young leader, and is reaching thousands with the good news of Jesus Christ.