Small beginnings
now impacting
thousands
of students
BY JESSA MCCLURE
A lonely 19-year-old walks into a
crowded room, hoping to be
unnoticed. She has come to a
Campus Life meeting to find the
hope she is so desperately seeking.
As she chooses a spot towards the
back like she has for several weeks,
one of the Youth for Christ leaders
seeks her out and asks if she would
be interested in being mentored.
Claire Richey was looking for a
place to belong when she attended a
Youth For Christ (YFC) Campus Life
meeting at her former high school.
“When they found me at YFC I was
kind of like a lost little puppy,” Claire
says. “I realized that it was something I
wanted to be a part of. It was
something I needed in my life.”
The San Antonio chapter of the
national YFC organization is one of
the biggest in the country. It is
currently serving more than 8,000
students who are looking for hope and
a place to belong.
The local chapter began as a prayer
meeting made up of a handful of
concerned moms and has grown to
become an organization breaking
down barriers and helping to bring the
truth of Jesus to middle high school
students across our city.
“We have built official partner-ships
over time
with Northside
ISD, Alamo
Heights ISD, San
Antonio ISD, as
well as the
juvenile deten-tion
centers here
in town,” says
YFC San Antonio
CEO, Gilbert
Gilbert Hernandez is CEO
Hernandez. “In
for the San Antonio YFC.
conjunction with
them, we receive referrals for children
who might need mentorship, and
then we work with the local schools
to create mentoring relationships.”
Each mentor must complete a
six-hour training, as well as a
background check in order to begin a
mentoring relationship. The mentor
and the student must commit to a
year of mentoring, giving complete
closure. While it might seem strange
to put a time limit on a mentorship,
Gilbert said there’s a reason behind
this protocol.
“We want to give a proper ending,”
he says. “There are so many kids who
get left in the air. My dad left me, my
mom left me, my grandma left me. We
want to make sure that we put clear
parameters. We want to give kids
closure in this relationship because in
so many areas of their lives they don’t
have it.”
While many students move on to
college or the workforce after Youth for
Christ, the lessons learned and the
relationships formed last a lifetime. In
fact, many come back and become
mentors themselves. College-aged
students who have been through the
mentorship program are given the
opportunity to go through the Leader
in Training (LIT) program where they
become equipped with the knowledge
and confidence to evangelize to the
next generation.
Three years ago, the LIT program
only had four students, and today there
are 37 college-aged leaders who
commit 10 to 15 hours of their time
each week to serve the community.
“During the program we focus on
three things: grow, belong and serve,”
he says. “We educate them on the
A Campus Life small group enjoys time together at
the Pat Neff Middle School.
“We are just passionate for young people at Mr. W
Fireworks. I cannot think of a better ministry than
SAYFC when it comes to leading our youth to Christ
and mentoring them to become the leaders of
tomorrow. I have personally been involved in this
ministry for many years and seen
the fruit of their efforts firsthand.
Please join us in supporting this
important ministry in our city. ”
Dianna Wildman, Treasurer Mr. W Fireworks
8 www.saBeacon.com December 2019 / January 2020
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