A little five-year-old girl was standing on the deck of a cruise ship right before it was about to leave port. Everyone was waving goodbye to family and friends, but the little girl was hidden in a sea of people and couldn’t see anything. She asked her father to put her on his shoulders so she could see. As soon as she could view the expanse of the port, the water, and the sky she exclaimed, “Daddy, I can see farther than my eyes can look!” Vision defined by a five-year-old.
Vision is key. It's important, even critical, to look beyond what we normally see. It's God's territory...His vantage point…outside our comfort zone...an unfamiliar spot for us.
This past summer I stood on a river bank lifted on God’s shoulders and, like the little five-year-old girl, I saw farther than my eyes can look. It was powerful, a little scary, enlightening, but most importantly, shed some clarity on the future of YFC.
I will share this vision over the next few months, but let me start with a couple of top priorities.
1. YFC will recruit, train, and develop Missional Community Leaders who will build an army of volunteers to do excellent ministry in schools and neighborhoods, in small groups and large events, and most importantly in 1-on-1 Christ-sharing relationships with a teenager. This will launch us forward to being connected with 20,000 teens in our 12-county territory.
2. Completing the final stage of our succession planning is a top priority. We will raise up the ensuing generation of leadership for YFCNIN over the next two to three years to position our ministry for continued success and growth. This will take some intentional steps on my part and letting go of some of the reins going forward. I am excited to be a part of coaching, mentoring, and serving YFC as a community liaison, active in business development, planned giving, and casting vision for the future with our executive team and board of directors.
Just picture 20,000 teens hearing the gospel message and hundreds of hearts being transformed, an army of hundreds of teens and adults trained to help hurting youth and a new generation of leaders called and focused on impacting our youth culture.
Thanks for standing with us. Your continued encouragement, support and prayers are one of the key elements to our success.
Larry Lance, CEO