Pastor shares his faith with youth

Youth for Christ reaches out to all kids

By KATINA TENGESDAL, Staff Writer ktengesdal@minotdailynews.com

Larry Stenson, executive director of Minot’s Youth for Christ, has always enjoyed sharing his faith with youth. As the recipient of the 2008-2009 Minot Character Counts! Coalition Builder Award, he was recognized for his dedication to improving the lives of area youth with his advice and support.

Stenson began his journey working with youth in 1970 as a freshman in college in the Los Angeles area, where he first began working with the Youth for Christ organization.
“I’ve just fallen in love with this age group (high school). I think it’s a very important age group. At this age, and even before, kids are making some important decisions about what they want to do. It’s a critical age to impact kids spiritually,” Stenson said.

From that time on, he worked with youth in Los Angeles, Seattle, and Minot. Throughout his work, he’s noticed differences in yesterday and today’s youth.

“Kids have changed incredibly, even from when I started out in a much more liberal area like California. Kids have a lot of the same issues they did then, and some bigger ones. With the advent of the Internet and other media, which is now much more a part of their life, they pick up on the trends more quickly,” Stenson said.
“Kids are facing bigger issues than they ever have, for example, with the threat of AIDS, and break downs in the family structure,” he added.

Through Youth for Christ ministry, Stenson hopes to keep an open communication with youth, speaking to the issues that most concern them.

“We consider ourselves to be a relational ministry. We want the kids’ response. We believe we have to earn the right to be heard, by building a relationship with them, and then we can share Christ with them,” Stenson said.

In most years, there are common issues that the kids want to discuss. Stenson, along with Youth for Christ volunteers, speak to those issues that matter to the kids.

“It seems every year the common issues are acceptance, friendships, getting along with parents and siblings, self image, and love, sex, and dating,” Stenson said.
The message of Christ, Stenson said, really speaks to the biggest issue most kids face – that of self-acceptance.

“I really believe the message of Christ is, come as you are. It’s a message kids are desperately trying to find, through relationships, entertainments, or abuses like alcohol. But, as the Bible says, if anyone is in Christ, the old is gone and the new has come. I think that speaks to what kids are searching for,” Stenson said.
“We’d love to see every kid in the Minot area come to an event where they can hear the message of Christ, in a way they can understand it and ask questions about it. We’d like to reach them all,” he added.

Youth for Christ is still trying to do just that. Since 1998 they have owned a building in Minot, called The Rock, where they hold regular meetings and special events. The building is uniquely decorated, to create a comfortable atmosphere.

“We have a pretty neat little center here. Some of the kids have a bias against going to church, and we’ve been able to have some very unchurched kids hang around. We want to give all kids the opportunity to make an informed decision to follow Christ,” Stenson said.

“For some of them, who haven’t been raised in a church home, it’s sometimes a new message, and that can be exciting,” he added.

A new feature they have added this spring is the Solid Rock Cafe, which is a meeting place for kids open Friday nights from 7 p.m. to midnight. The Solid Rock Cafe offers a place for kids to play video games and table games, watch music videos, socialize, and purchase snacks.

“We wanted to create a place where kids can hang out, especially for those kids who aren’t comfortable with formal meetings. We’ve had as many as 37 kids here for the cafe,” Stenson said.

Other special events Youth for Christ hosts include an all nighter New Years Eve party, a city-wide youth rally, high adventure trips, smaller Bible study groups, individual and family counseling, some fundraisers, and character building assemblies for schools.

This year alone, Stenson said, he has had the opportunity to work with 1,500 different kids through Youth for Christ events.

Throughout his work with youth, Stenson has been encouraged by Psalm 71:18, which states, “Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.”
“Our greatest hope is that the kids will take with them a lifelong faith that will matter, and we hope they stay involved with the church and keep growing,” Stenson said.

Source: http://www.minotdailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/532669.html?nav=5616