We held our first “Punch & Paint” event at PVYC on January 20th, 2017.  It was an awesome night full of talented teenagers!  A huge thank you to Janet Mylin who shared her wisdom as well as her talent with our youth.  It was amazing to see how different and unique each painting turned out to be, even though we were all painting the same picture!  How awesome that we were made with our own creativity that makes us uniquely us.

Fall Retreat 2016 was an awesome weekend full of fun, friendship and challenges.  We wound our way through the mountains to Doubling Gap Center, home of Camp Yolijwa.  What a beautiful place to see, hear and feel the voice of God!  The theme for the weekend was”Uprising.”  Our speaker for the weekend, Jason Ostrander, did an incredible job of helping our students relate to Peter and help them realize that the characters of the Bible are not that different than themselves, nor were the challenges they faced, much different than the challenges they face each and every day in their faith!  There were many exciting activities to keep our students engaged:  A 4 mile hike up the mountain,  3 on 3 basketball tournament, rock wall, zip line, game room, snack bar, and a huge pond with paddle boats.  It was a great weekend to get away and be refreshed by God’s beautiful creation and His word.

Our last big event for the summer was Staycation 2016!!  We opted to stick around and explore some of the great things our area has to offer instead of skipping town.  We started off Staycation 2016 with a Spikes game — it was hot, but lots of fun!  After the game, we cooled down at the movies with popcorn, sodas and the latest Ice Age movie.  We later checked in to the Ramada and enjoyed their amenities… like the pool!!  Our students were tired, but managed to put away a good number of Domino’s Pizzas before the night was over.  The next day we split into teams and went on an amazing race-style scavenger hunt that took us all over town.  It was a fun way to end an awesome summer!

This year our students had the life-changing opportunity to attend the LIFE 2016 conference in Kansas City, MO.

Christian Speakers – Our students had the incredible opportunity to hear words of life and wisdom from some of the most inspired Christian leaders of today.  Francis Chan, Jefferson Bethke, John Stumbo, and Tim Meier all spoke Spirit-filled words of life and wisdom into our teens.

Christian Artists – Jordan Howerton Band, Trace Bundy, Micah Bournes, Justin Flom, About A Mile, Sojourner.  God has gifted each of these people/bands with awesome talent!  We were so blessed to have had the opportunity to experience their gifts and talents throughout the week at LIFE.

Seminar Speakers – All of our teens had the opportunity to choose from a variety of speakers during two separate sessions each day on a variety of topics that are relevant to the struggles and issues they deal with today.  Topics included:  Reading the Bible as a narrative, Creative writing as a spiritual discipline, What are you going to be when you grow up?  Christ, Creation & Science….Do we need all three?  As well as some more controversial topics, like:  Loving my gay friend, Climbing out of the black hole of depression, Between broken and beauty; the story of former stripper, Harmony Dust.  These speakers were incredible.  No matter where our teens are in their walk with God, there was something for them each day to learn.

Renew the City Community Service – Our students took an afternoon to serve in the community as well.  Hey spent  hours cleaning out a tree row, cutting and dragging brush, picking up garbage and working alongside other teens to help restore a Kansas City park area to its former glory!  And it was hot!!

Momentum 5K – Our teens had an opportunity to run a 5K.  The funds raised went toward the ministry of a brand new C&MA church that will launch in Kansas City in 2016.

Beyond Ourselves, LIFE Offering – Our teens also had the opportunity to give to help others.  The LIFE offering was taken this year to help Syrian Refugees.  Our teens learned about the struggles and hardships these refugees are facing and how their sacrificial giving can help.

From one of our students:

“Life meant to me a lot of things. It showed me lots of new things and challenges that I need in my life. It also showed me that there are people like me out there, teens struggling with there faith. Life meant that I could be myself around total Jesus freaks like me!!”

Our students have so many fun memories from this trip!  Goofy and silly ones from our long bus ride, fun times with friends, making new friends, as well as serious, life-changing memories about how God used this time to speak to their heart, give them a new direction, or convict them of something in their life that needs to change.  This trip may well have been a changing-point in a teen’s life, a commitment that will lead to lasting change and faith in Jesus.

Saturday, May 21, 2016 was the 1st Annual PVYC 5K/10K Walk/Run.  We had over 55 runners & walkers despite the cold and wet weather!  Thanks to everyone who volunteered and ran/walked to support PVYC!!