Inside a large octagonal enclosure,
dozens of young people crowd
together,
shoulder-to-shoulder,
crouching, facing the center and
waiting for the chaos to begin.
Suddenly a ball is dropped in the
middle, and it’s bedlam. Shrieks,
laughter, shouts, much jumping and
slapping at the ball ensue.The object
of the game is to avoid being struck
below the knees by the ball. Get hit,
and you’re out.
The number of survivors quickly
dwindles, and eventually the final
two players face off, eying each
other warily, looking for an opening,
a chance to strike, an opportunity to
become: Octoball Champion.
At least until the next game.
Octoball may not be a varsity
sport (yet), but it’s a perfect example
of the kind of fun high
school students have come
to expect from Young
Life. Wild games, wacky
skits, high energy music,
an unforgettable camp
experience, spontaneous
road trips, great food, and
a sharing of the Gospel
message are hallmarks of
the non-denominational
outreach to adolescents,
which has spread around
the world since its
founding in Texas in 1941.
And this year, Young Life has
come to Franklin County.
Young Life was founded and
continues to operate on the belief
that, to connect with young people,
you have to meet them in their
world, on their terms. As such,
nearly all Young Life chapters are
anchored by a high school. The
ministry’s approach to connecting
kids with God is based on building
relationships, earning trust, and
“
winning the right to be heard.”
“
The primary thing that sets
Young Life apart is the emphasis
we put on leaders going to where
kids are,” says Steve Schmitt, Young
Life area developer for southwest
Virginia. “We’re not building
something kids will come to, but
going to where they are.”
For more than 30 years, Schmitt
has been meeting kids “where they
are,” as a leader at Blacksburg High
School, an area developer in the
New River Valley, and now as an
area director, working with rural
communities throughout the region
that are seeking to start up Young
Life chapters. In the spring of 2011,
he met with a group of Franklin
County residents who hoped to
bring the ministry to the county.
Schmitt says the time it takes
to get a local Young Life chapter
started varies by community. Some
people are unfamiliar with the
ministry, and some may see it as a
threat to local church youth groups
–
something that Young Life
goes to great lengths to reassure
churches that it has no such intent.
Because gathering support – prayer,
volunteer and financial – early on
in the process is so crucial, things
usually move slowly.
Jane Jacobsen heads up the local
committee that has ushered Young
Life into Franklin County, and she
says members realized from the start
that they had to be patient – and
prayerful. The result, she said, has
been nothing short of miraculous.
“
God has answered our prayers
immeasurably more than we could
have imagined,” she says.
At key steps along
the way, the foundation
for Franklin County
Young Life has been
solidly built. A series
of meetings with local
pastors, including a
pastors’ breakfast, were
largely positive, with
a number of churches
offering
support.
Schmitt joined Jacobsen
and other committee
members in meeting
with several business
leaders and government officials,
and came away encouraged. In
November, the ministry’s first
annual fundraising dinner was a
success, drawing nearly 200 people
and raising more than $10,000. And
perhaps most significantly, Franklin
County Schools officials, and the
by Tom Rickard
Decidedly
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