Ministry Director- Raphael Vergara
Raphael Vergara, YFC Ministry Staff
Hello! For many years I have been surrounded by the ministry of Youth for Christ. I have had the opportunity to volunteer and see the work first hand. Over the past six months, God has been working in my heart to answer His calling to serve in a staff leadership role. This past month, I was given this opportunity and I am now part of the ministry staff at Youth for Christ of Polk County.
YFC of Polk County strives to share the life-saving message of Jesus Christ with troubled youth and families in Polk County, Florida. Our ministry team firmly believes that the salvation of Jesus Christ can reach and change the lives of teenagers no matter their troubled circumstances. YFC ministry teams are actively sharing the word of God in after-school programs, neighborhood groups, and detention centers throughout Polk County.
As a team and throughout the days ahead, we are continually building relationships with troubled teens hoping they can come to know who Jesus is. No matter if we are at a YFC summer camp with a neighborhood group or in a detention center one on one with a teenager, we are building relationships and sharing the love of Jesus with these teenagers. As much as I enjoy building relationships with the troubled youth in Polk County, I also eagerly await to develop a friendship with you to explain how you can help support the ministry of Youth for Christ. With your financial and prayerful support, you can help missionaries like myself reach these teenagers with the Gospel.
I am now actively leading a Breakfast Club on Wednesday mornings in the Inwood area of Winter Haven. During this Breakfast Club, I and some volunteers, spend time building relationships with about 15 teenage boys from Westwood middle school. Alongside fun activities like playing basketball and video games, we have a Biblical devotion and breakfast each week. We hope to build relationships with these boys and share the message of Jesus with them throughout their middle school years and beyond.
Apart from Wednesday morning Breakfast Club, we will also take these boys to summer camp, paint-balling, water skiing, and many more memory-making events. These outings help our team build relationships with the kids as we share who Jesus is. Your financial contributions to Youth for Christ will allow neighborhood groups like this to share God’s word and make a difference in the lives of young people. From our ministry team and I, thank you so much for considering supporting this ministry financially. God Bless!
Keep me in your prayers,
Raphael Vergara
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“A Christ-centered leader must also be a Christ-centered follower.”
As I returned home from a 28-hour “One Heart” retreat in Atlanta, Georgia, the phrase above continued to run through my mind. The purpose of the One Heart retreat is for any new full-time missionaries joining the ministry of Youth for Christ to align their hearts with Christ’s heart in this new calling. Since June 1, 2021, I have officially served as a full-time staff with YFC. Over the last few months, I have seen teenagers begin a new relationship with Jesus, new volunteers coming to serve, and financial support from different people and in different ways.
Having worked in kitchens since the end of high school, I always based my work performance on praise from the food I made or the amount of money on my paycheck. However, the calling of being a Christ-centered leader at YFC requires me to understand God’s ways outweigh my performances. Luke 10:38-42 states,
“As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
I was being like Martha not Mary. I am learning that a leader for Christ must be a follower by sitting at the feet of Jesus.
As I make over 150 youth contacts in a week, I must remind myself, the volunteer leaders, and teenagers that we are not following or serving ourselves- we are following and serving Jesus!!! God is continuing to change my life in this journey as a missionary and allowing me to see changes in the lives of at-risk teenagers. As Christmas and the beginning of the New Year approaches, you may have been wanting to get involved with Youth for Christ through serving or giving. We cannot do this without you and would love to connect with you on ways you can impact the life of an at-risk youth locally. If you are interested, email me at [email protected] as the Lord leads you. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.
I am looking forward to sharing with you soon about what God has done in the lives of at-risk youth during this holiday season.
Keep me in your prayers,
Raphael Vergara