Youth Works Christmas Store Report It seems like every year during the Christmas store season, we go through a cycle of excitement and optimism that carries us right up to the Christmas store. That optimism then quickly shifts to trepidation and ever so slight panic a...
Youth Works Spotlight by Layne Peters Summer camps create space for life-changing encounters with Jesus. Two days have passed since getting home from helping with Junior High Summer Camp, and I just got off my third FaceTime call of the day with Seth*—one of...
Youth Works Spotlight: by Alex Streeter, CLDI Intern Youth Works spends a large portion of their time mentoring students in the school system on the South Side. We offer before-and after-school programs and work closely in the school system as coaches, substitute...
Youth Works Spotlight: by Jackie Patten, Youth Works Director One of my favorite Youth Works icebreakers is “When did you feel most connected to God this week?” There are several defining moments of my walk with the Lord that set me on a trajectory of following Him,...
Youth Works Feature Walking alongside students in their day-to-day lives makes an eternal difference. Our gospel-centered, holistic approach to transforming the South Side community begins with building relationships. For youth, this includes meeting them where...
The roots of a person's struggles are often deep, intertwined and complex. No one singular "program" can address all of a person's challenges. Many of the people that CLDI serve have come from families and generations before them that have found themselves in patterns...
Words by Jackie Patten In light of Valentine's Day, our office has a “heart attack” game going around where we have to essentially bomb each other's work desks with goodies, candy and words of affirmation. The individual who chose me wrote words of encouragement that...
“That’s YOUR house?!” a young student yelled to me as I opened the gate that separates our backyard from Orchard Elementary’s play area. “Why yes, it is!” I yelled back. Later that week, we crossed paths on a neighborhood walk and was greeted with, “Hey you’re that...
A Series on the Eight Principles of Christian Community Development By Eric Basye In the fall of 2020, I began working on my Doctor of Leadership through George Fox University. I toyed with the idea for years, having completed one year of doctoral work through Fuller...
Where we choose to live has an impact on who we are in relationship with. Though we can, without a doubt, maintain strong friendships with those we are separated from geographically, the frequency with which we interact with them will likely look different than if we...