This semester we’ve had a series of blog posts highlighting
each ministry. As the semester wraps up and we enter Winter Break, we want to
switch gears and tell individual’s stories, of both leaders and kids, of how
Young Life has changed their lives.
My mom went on Young Life staff
when I was 5th grade. My dad became a pastor when I was in 9th
grade. Needless to say I grew up in a Christian home, going to church, going to
Young Life. I went to camp every single summer, as a staff kid on my mom’s
assignments and as a camper with our area. I also worked at a camp for a month
my sophomore year of high school. I always heard amazing stories of God
transforming lives at camp. And I was jealous that that wasn’t me. I wanted to
want it, and when I didn’t get it, I grew resentful and angry. My freshman year
of college I went through training to be a Young Life leader and was placed on
the Young Life College team at the end of that spring semester. I was
completely absorbed in the Christian culture, but it didn’t mean anything to
me. I had my “other life,” making
more than my fair share of mistakes. It wasn’t until my sophomore year of college that I genuinely
started walking with Christ.
Summer after my freshman year, I
begrudgingly spent ten weeks at Discipleship Focus in Branson, MO. Growing up
in a Christian home, I expected a lot of the material to be familiar to me. And
a lot of it was. But the more I spent time in the program, the more God
whispered secrets into my ears; secrets that every Christian should know. But
few do.
At the end of the summer, I moved
back to Fayetteville to begin my sophomore year at UA. I stepped into my new
leadership role with confidence and excitement. It didn’t take long before the
life I had previously known started creeping back in. I got frustrated at how
easy it was for my fleshly, worldly desires to take control again. It was the
perfect opportunity to take what I had learned that summer and put it into
practice. But it was hard. I failed over and over again, but God was always
faithful to remind me of who I am and bring me back to Him.
I also grew frustrated with my
leadership abilities. How was I supposed to lead a group of girls when I was
either being a hypocrite or simply had no answers, no idea what to do? I felt
incredibly inadequate and unqualified, and often that translated into passivity
and failure.
There was no defining moment or
event where things turned around. But somewhere along the way, over the last
year and half of being a Young Life leader, God has confirmed that, no, I’m not
qualified for this. But that’s when His glory is revealed. When I am having to
depend on Him through my weaknesses, He is able to show His strength. It’s
still a process. But as I make myself available for Him to use me in His
ministry, I am continually blessed with a transformed heart. I couldn’t tell
you when it happened, but I am not who I was a year and half ago. I’m not who I
was six months ago. God has used Young Life, specifically Young Life
leadership, to transform me more to the likeness of Christ. He took something I
was bitter and resentful of… and made it beautiful.
Amy Stutts
Area Admin, Young Life College Leader
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