One of the local ministries that Grace supports, and one I have the joy of being part of, is Young Life (YL). Though YL is still relatively new to the Newton community, its history here runs deeper than many might realize. In the early 1910s, Jim Rayburn, the founder of Young Life, lived in Newton for most of his childhood.
At its core, Young Life is about building relationships with middle and high school students and introducing them to the gospel. The goal is for leaders to step into students’ lives, meet them where they are, and consistently show up for them, earning the right to be heard through relational connection.
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a Leader Weekend with YL. To be honest, I wasn’t eager to go. I only knew one other person attending, and the thought of traveling far and feeling “alone” didn’t appeal to me. But I swallowed my pride, showed up, and quickly realized it was exactly what my heart needed.
Throughout the weekend, Justin McRoberts shared powerful messages about living a life modeled after Jesus. One point has stuck with me ever since:
"Nothing you do [in leading and serving others] is as important to God as who you are while doing it."
Ephesians 2:8-10 echoes this truth:
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Ministry and outreach are vital, but it’s easy to get caught up in the doing and forget the why. I’ve fallen into this trap time and time again, especially when ministry is part of my job.
McRoberts spoke about “living out the mission” through the story in Acts 8:26-38. In this passage, the Spirit tells Philip to take the road to Gaza, where he encounters an Ethiopian eunuch reading from Isaiah. Philip asks if he understands what he’s reading, to which the eunuch replies, “How can I unless someone guides me?” Philip takes the time to sit with him, explain the passage, and share the gospel. Moved by their conversation, the eunuch is baptized in a nearby body of water.
This story is powerful because Philip didn’t know where he was going, he simply obeyed when God said, “Get up and go south.” He followed when the Spirit said, “Go and join that chariot.” Often we are too quick to act when God is simply calling us to listen; first to Himself, then to those you want to love. As believers, we don’t grow the seeds, that’s God’s work. McRoberts’ final point resonated deeply: Philip was ‘on his way to…’ I know that if I focus too much on where I’m going, I risk seeing people as only a mission, and forget to love them as a person.
This is why I love Young Life. It’s a relational ministry where I get to be intentional about loving kids because God is so intentional about loving me. I invite you to add Newton Young Life to your prayer list and lift up the next generation of believers in prayer.
Blessings,
Jayden Smith