All It Takes Is One Person

Dear Friend,

Her name was Gracie.  If you met her, you would probably consider her a typical teenager.  No one really knew the pain she was experiencing.

Her father told police that her boyfriend had recently broken up with her.  The related emotions weighed all too heavily on her. She wrote on her Facebook page, "God hates me." The only response she got was stunning, "...and so does everyone else."

Gracie felt she had no one else nor anywhere else to turn in her most vulnerable moment.  She decided the only way to stop the pain was to end her life - and that's just what she did.

I share this true, very recent story with you not to shock you or to make you sad - but to CHALLENGE you...to CHALLENGE us. If one person had told her that she was loved; if one person had let Gracie know that there still was REAL HOPE in life; if someone spoke Jesus' words of forgiveness and healing to her, Gracie would probably still be here.

It's our responsibility every day to communicate the life-rescuing message of Christ to others.  We are all charged with it.  For us at YFC, we are more specifically called to share that Hope and Truth with teenagers.  And the amazing thing is that it really can take just one person: a staff member, a volunteer, a neighbor, a youth leader - just ONE to make all the difference in a kid's life.

As I sit here today, I am so grateful for the hundreds of lives we've been able to speak into at YFC.  Staff were sharing today about conversations they had with kids throughout this past week, some of which led to kids turning their lives over to Christ!  The relationship with those kids started with "just one" - conversation, staff, volunteer.

Be sure you are speaking God's Hope, Truth and Love into someone's life today.  You never know how much of a difference that "one" effort of reaching out can make.

Thank you for praying for us and for the kids to whom we minister. Thank you also for your very generous giving.  I  hope to see you at one of our annual banquets, coming up early next month. Please check the panel to your right for more information.

God bless you!

For the kids,


John Richmond
Executive Director