I Have Travelled the World on Zoom...
“I have travelled the world on Zoom, having now had coaching assignments in over 40 nations,” said John Courtney, a veteran Youth for Christ Canada staff member who now is coaching national Youth for Christ staff around the world. “I am embarrassed with how little I knew beyond Canada and the USA, given all of my 47 years of ministry leadership in Winnipeg. What an education and eye opener with so much discovery… I had no idea leadership could get as complex and hard as it is for some in other countries around the world. I am humbled to be able to serve and support many Youth for Christ National Directors who face enormous challenges yet are ‘all in’ for reaching the youth of their nation.”
Here are just a few of the challenges John said he has seen Youth for Christ addressing:
- 61 of 194 orphan sponsorships at a Youth for Christ orphanage lost due to COVID-19
- Transporting over 5,000 refugees (many of them youth) from occupied territories
- Caring for 200 Armenian youth (7-12) affected by war
Parents unable to afford school (girls 8-19) leading to the worst forms of labor and prostitution - Youth who escaped war in Ukraine now struggling with post-traumatic syndrome
- Many villages cannot be accessed using public transportation, and needing motorcycles to reach these youth
- In one sensitive nation, 70% of children suffer from violence in their home (UNICEF, 2022)
- Youth spending many years in juvenile detention without any educational services
- Number of teen pregnancies overwhelming
- Working with 150 youth with disabilities
Reaching youth in Nepal — home to 125 people groups — 80% Hindu - Reaching youth in East Africa — 94% Muslim
- Reaching youth in Ecuador — 90% increase in drug addiction since 2021
“Youth for Christ is present in all of these situations — bringing hope and help and the message of Jesus,” said John.
We are so grateful for your partnership in this outreach with us. God is working through you in the midst of all these difficult situations. I hope you had a chance to read the story in our last EVERY newsletter of how God is using Youth for Christ even in difficult places like Iraq. I hope, too, you rejoiced in how He is calling and using young men and women like Luis in Puerto Rico (also featured in the newsletter) to raise up life-long followers of Jesus.
Would you consider a generous gift toward the outreach of Youth for Christ around the world this month?
Gratefully,
Dave Brereton
International Director