Minnesota
Gary and Valerie Maloney
After 6 years working with Youth for Christ in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, Gary and Valerie Maloney returned to Minnesota in December 2018. They remain full-time with Youth for Christ, but have diverse roles involving three aspects of YFC ministries, both regionally and globally.
With YFC Ireland, Valerie remains in her critically important role as Prayer Coordinator, which involves keeping prayer partners regularly updated on ministry developments and prayer requests. She also continues to mentor female staff and interns through Skype and FaceTime. Gary is Ministry Development Coordinator, facilitating applications and navigating longer-term staff and interns through the Irish visa process. They both provide pre-field equipping and preparation for accepted US candidates to ensure a smooth transition to the YFC Ireland team. At the behest of national director Simon Marriott, Gary and Valerie will return to Ireland to assist with special YFC-led ministry projects.
As part of the YFC International mobilization team, Gary and Valerie will network with Christian colleges, area churches and YFC chapters in Minnesota to share about specific staff and intern opportunities in predetermined YFC nations, including Ireland, which have requested more people to assist with existing and new ministry projects.
They will create, schedule and lead presentations at mission events and in classroom settings, schedule 1-on-1 meetings with prospective candidates, then help guide them through the application process with YFC International, based in Denver, CO. They also will follow up with applicants and assist with any pre-field training, as requested.
Finally, Gary and Valerie are serving as Leadership Development Coordinators at Prairie River Camp, which is part of South Central Minnesota Youth for Christ. Gary will recruit and disciple male high school and college-age interns, while Valerie will do the same with female interns in the months leading up to a Leaders in Training week prior to next summer’s camp season. They are excited to develop this important program, working alongside PRC’s new Program Director. They’ve seen the benefits of training and equipping YFC interns from their six years in Ireland, with many of them still serving in staff or volunteer ministry positions.