As we have been dissecting our YFC mission statement throughout November, we are looking into each program that allows for “working together with the local church and other like-minded partners to raise up lifelong followers of Jesus who lead with their godliness in lifestyle.” This week we have the privilege of hearing from Jennifer Omerso, New Albany Campus Life Director.
Omerso attends Graceland Baptist Church, as well as Parkway Southern Baptist Church, and has been serving with YFC for 13 years and loves every second of it. She shared that working with YFC and youth ministry has changed her life for the better and she actually excitedly anticipates the exhaustion that ministry brings at the end of the week!
“I look forward to the full exhaustion at the end of each program, which probably sounds strange, but I love knowing I gave everything I had to show those kids [that] they are loved, known, and wanted by a Heavenly Father,” said Omerso.
Omerso works alongside other churches to provide a variety of ministry in New Albany including but not limited to: New Albany High School Campus Life, Hazelwood Middle School Campus Life, and Scribner Middle School Campus Life. All of these programs allow for churches in the local community to volunteer and help our YFC program guide students to Christ.
Omerso considers herself blessed to be able to work alongside volunteers that have a passion for youth ministry, such as her niece-in-law, Emma Omerso, who contributes greatly to YFC’s summer camp partnership with Silver Heights. Emma attends Parkway Southern Baptist Church and serves as a camp counselor during the week for students.
“When the week starts out, it’s a bunch of middle/high schoolers who may or may not be strangers to each other, but by the end of the week, they’ve grown in love and in Christ along with each other,” said Emma. “As a counselor, the week is quite a roller coaster, but it is so worth it to see kids from all different backgrounds finding a place where they feel loved and accepted by the camp staff, but especially by Jesus.”
Emma shared that YFC is not always made up of students who have been a Christian their whole childhood, but there is a wide variety of students with a multitude of backgrounds that are in different seasons of faith.
“There is a wide gamut of church experience, Bible knowledge, and life backgrounds – but they are all searching for some hope. Working with YFC helps me to reach kids who I wouldn’t normally cross paths with in my normal church ministry,” said Emma.
In addition, Stephen Pierce from Sojourn Church in New Albany has played a large role in New Albany High School, Hazelwood, and Scribner Campus Life programs. He is also involved in Uptown Youth Collective with Omerso, an organization that meets on Monday nights in New Albany to create a safe environment for youth to hang-out. Pierce shared that he teaches, leads, and works as the comic relief with other volunteers; however, his main goal through these activities is to form Christ-sharing relationships with the students.
“It provides multiple opportunities for forming relationships. It takes a lot of time and consistency and being able to serve in both allows me to build relationships with students and other volunteers,” said Pierce.
Pierce explained that if he could share advice with a new volunteer, he would mention consistency. He said that learning the students’ names and giving them positive memories, will likely cause them to recall those memories in difficult situations.
Also, Omerso shared that being able to serve the youth in our community has led to many spiritual blessings for her to receive as a leader, as well as deepening her connection with God.
“Serving youth has shown me time and time again the way my Heavenly Father loves me. He is patient, kind, and faithful at all times. I know I could not have stuck with youth for so long if He wasn’t continuing to sustain me and teach me right alongside them,” said Omerso.
All in all, God is doing something big in YFC programs, whether it be changing lives in the moment, or planting seeds along the way, He is on the move. We love our local churches that support this mission of bringing students closer to the gates of Heaven.
Pierce said, “It’s given me a tangible experience of God being active. If someone were to ask, ‘Is God real?’, I could just respond with, ‘Yep. Come see him at work at the middle school.’”