I don’t know about you, but a common cry we hear in the church world is, “We need more volunteers!”

As I sat down Tuesday morning to plan out youth group on Friday night, I realised my lacking eye for detail was about to get me in trouble. 

With two of our youth leaders helping another church get their youth group off the ground and a few extra unavailability’s, I realised I was facing a Friday night with 4 adult leaders to approximately 35 rambunctious youth. 

The panic was strong, but so is the village.

I pulled in the best and brightest (Jono and Catherine) for an emergency brainstorm. Lists were created, Facebook call out posts debated, but in the end it all boiled down to one simple plan…

I needed to send two text messages.

Come Friday night, 5 adults turned up to be substitute youth leaders for the evening.

3 young men and 2 “youth parents”. My desperate plea for help had worked!

What they lacked in youth group leadership experience was more than made up for with enthusiasm, zeal, humility and love.

We had a fantastic night; I was filled with so much joy watching the interactions between the young people and this team. They led wonderfully, loved beautifully and brought so much fun and energy to the team.

It requires great courage and faithfulness to step in to fill the gaps, and these guys did an incredible job.

Even more exciting is the 3 young men who stepped in to fill the gap have now joined the youth team! 

That’s the beauty of Jude’s Village. We’re not alone, running a program, hoping for change.

We’re part of a wider community of people passionate about seeing young people in our local community thrive.

For several years now we’ve been practicing a multiplication approach—intentionally raising and releasing leaders, and supporting other youth groups to get started. This story is just one glimpse of the fruit.

Your generosity makes that possible. Every gift you give keeps multiplying—raising up new leaders, strengthening our youth group, and seeding new ones beyond our own walls. We invite you to keep investing in this multiplication story, because it’s working.

Love, Taliah