She is a teenager, with all the pressures and obstacles that come with that title in today’s world. She is also a mom, caring for the needs of a little one. She often finds herself without the support and resources needed in her role of mothering. She is isolated from her peers, overwhelmed with demands, and without hope. This is who we want to reach with the unconditional love of Jesus.
Springfield Young Life has long held the goal of reaching every adolescent in Clark County with the love of Jesus. After several years of praying, we launched a branch of the ministry this fall specifically designed for a group of teenagers who were not being reached through traditional Young Life programming: teen moms. This new ministry is called YoungLives, and it uses the philosophy and methods of Young Life, but tailors them to meet the unique needs of teen moms in our community. The heartbeat of YoungLives is mentorship. Through YoungLives, women intentionally build relationships with teen moms and their babies in order to show them the unconditional love of Jesus.
This fall, God has faithfully provided women who want to invest in this new ministry along with community connections who have enabled us to connect with teen moms seeking hope and relationships in Springfield. Our community partners invited young moms to attend Trunk-or-Treat with us at Central Christian Church. Through this partnership, we were able to meet four young moms and their beautiful babies.
Toward the end of November, we hosted our first YoungLives event and invited the moms to a dinner and craft night. We shared a meal together, made handprint turkeys with the little ones, and began building relationships with the young moms who attended. As a team we have met seven moms, visited one mama and her new baby girl in the hospital, given out diapers, provided needed baby gear, exchanged encouraging text messages with the girls, and started earning the right to be heard, hoping to share the good news of Jesus in the weeks ahead. We are so grateful for the unique platform God has given us to begin building this new ministry in Springfield, Ohio.
If you would like to find out more about how you could be involved in YoungLives, contact Mandy Marous ([email protected] or 614-425-1342). We are looking for women who want to serve as mentors as well as people to provide food and childcare for our events.
Mandy Marous | Director
YoungLives
