Mississippi Gulf Coast Youth for Christ

Dear Friend,
Our young people are in the time of their life where important decisions are being made. Some of these decisions can and will affect the rest of their lives.   At Youth for Christ we “Refuse To Lose” our young people to drugs, alcohol, gangs, rebellion, senseless acts of violence, the streets, or any other destructive behavior. We believe that through Jesus Christ there is HOPE. We are devoted to communicating the life-changing message of Jesus Christ to every young person.  I pray that you will become a partner with Youth for Christ to reach this seemingly hopeless generation of young people here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Your Partner in Evangelism,

Rev. Brad Holt

I have heard it said that people don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care. My name is Tracey Burkes and I’m from Cincinnati Ohio. I have been working with students for over 8 years, from youth groups to school assemblies. I can honestly say God has and is doing some amazing things in and through his people, those who are willing to go and surrender themselves to be used.

In Proverbs 16:3 it says “Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed.” I am so excited about what God is going to do this year through this ministry. Youth for Christ is a place where you go out of the four walls of the church, beyond what is easy, to letting God have complete control and using his word to save the youth of Gulfport Mississippi. I am completely honored to be a part of this year. With prayer, unity, and faith I have no doubt in my mind that He will do amazing things this year.

Through working in the schools, building relationships, being immersed in teen’s lives, working at the detention centers and in the Xtreme, I’m looking forward to God doing amazing things in and through me. I’m excited to meet teens and start to hangout and honestly do life with them. I see the heart that everyone has here, from the Board, to Pastor Brad, to the interns and the volunteers, and people we come in contact with. Only God can be right in the middle of it.

            Greetings! My name is Mitchell Tompkins.  I am 22 years young, and I am from Jacksonville, Florida.  My story started in Berwyn, Illinois on August 7, 1987.  I like to claim that I am from Chicago even though I only lived there until I was three.  After I was born my family moved to the wonderful state of Mississippi, where I was raised. The area where I grew up was not the best of places, considering there was a lot of poverty and drug use.  My mother raised my sister and me after she divorced my dad when I was in the third grade, so she somewhat had her hands full with working two jobs to support us. 

Given my home situation, numerous family deaths, and a plethora of bad influences, I started using drugs at the age of nine.  I am really not sure why I started using other than to be “cool.”  My drug use continued throughout my elementary, middle, and high school career. It occurred to me that I was no longer using to be “cool,” but instead, over the years, had developed a dependency that I did not mind having. I continued to use and abuse with complete disregard for my own health and safety.  Until one day, when I was 18 years old, it finally caught up with me and I suffered from an overdose of a grocery list of illegal substances.  On the morning of June 6, 2006, I was airlifted to the emergency room, but on the way to the hospital my heart stopped and I died for roughly five minutes. 

After the overdose my life dramatically changed.  I spent two months in the hospital and a physical rehabilitation center, where I actually came to know Christ because of a little old lady who was my physical therapist.  Over the past four years I have had my good times and my bad times, I have fallen and I have gotten up.  I moved to Florida in May of 2007 and was exposed to the power of God in numerous ways.  I joined Jacksonville Master’s Commission, a school of ministry, in September of 2007, and recently graduated from my third year. 

I said all of that to say this: I am just a guy from nowhere-ville Mississippi, who has been through every valley of life imaginable.  But, the experiences God has allowed me to go through over the past 22 years has both molded me into the man I am today and has given me a hope for not just myself but for the kids I believe God has prepared me to minister.  I am looking forward to what God is going to do in and through me this year in this ministry.  

Hi, my name is Eva Gonzalez.  I an the newest intern here at Youth for Christ and am from Jacksonville, Florida, although, I was born in New York.  I come from a military family.  I have a step brother and sister, as well as, a younger half sister who I adore.  I am really close to my mother.  I love the beach and dancing.

I gave my heart to the Lord in October 2007 when I was nineteen years old.  About four months later, I felt God calling me to attend the Jacksonville Master Commission, a school of ministry.  I completed two years of Masters Commission and it was there that I met Mitchell Tompkins.

While I was in Masters Commission, God revealed to me my calling to be an Evangelist.  I still don't know all the details of my calling, but I have faith that God does and He will continue to show me as time goes by.  I am excited about what God has in store for me this year and I know that it's going to be a great season of growth and preparation.

 

Hello everyone, my name is Jessie Nalley and I am from the great state of Alabama (Roll Tide).  Most of my life, so far, has been lived as a teenager, so naturally, they are who I get along with best.  The reason I have joined Youth for Christ is that my teenage years were horrible, on top of your average teen problems, such as school and girls.

I had my dad to deal with.  He made life almost not worth living especially after being diagnosed with Mutiple Scleroses.  Thank God for my mom, an amazing woman of God, because she was the one that brought home an application for a program called Masters Commission, a school of ministry.  Masters Commission was the catalyst for changing my life completely around.  I joined the Decatur Master Commission which taught me how to pray and serve.

My friend Adriam Mostella always says, "For the Kingdom is not a matter of talk but of power" (1 Corinthians 4:20.)  The first year of Masters Commission I prayed so hard for my dad and my prayers were answered.  He is now an awesome dad to my younger brother and me and is now an evangelist.  So I know prayer changes lives and relationships.

Now, my reason for coming to Youth for Christ is to show the power of God's Kingdom through prayer and serving this community and the teens who live along the Gulf coast. 

Hi, my name is Jordan Springer.  I am twenty one year's old and just completed my third year of Masters Commission, a school of ministry.  I was born and raised in a little town in Florida, name Marianna.  I graduated in 2008 from Springer Christian Academy in a class of my own (I was home schooled.)  I wear hearing aids, have false teeth, and wear contacts (you could say I am beyond my years.)

When I was eighteen years old I went on a ten day mission trip to the jungle of Ecuador.  It was there I cried out to God and  begged Him not to let my life go to waste.  God spoke to my heart and said "if you will give me everything you have, I will not let your life be wasted."  From that day forward I have made it my heart's goal to spend my life for Him, who has given His all for me.  As Isaiah 61:1 says, "The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness the prisoners."

Hi, I'm Joyce, one of God's workers here at Youth for Christ.  God has truly blessed me with such wonderful opportunities to serve Him.  Traveling from Lansing, Michigan to Louisville, Kentucky, then to Gahanna, Ohio, with my most recent previous stop in Hurricane, West Virginia I now am experiencing God's plan for me right here in Gulfport, Mississippi.  Not only have I moved to serve Him, he has blessed me with a terrific husband, George who is the pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church and our son, Matthew.  What more could I ask for?  How about a fun job at Youth for Christ, working with a Christ-filled staff, dedicated volunteers and all the teenagers I could ask for.  Now, that is a God-directed adventure. 

God has certainly taken all of my experiences in my life and used them here at Youth for Christ.  My careers have included working for 23 years as a banker, several years as a children's, youth, and/or adult education director at churches we have served, moving to Mississippi and working with the Hurricane Relief effort, and volunteering with other Christ-centered organizations.  With all of that training and experience He knew what He was doing when He opened up this door for me as the Assistant to Brad Holt. 

As I take on  each new day and wonder what God wants me to do I just keep on singing "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice."  That's easy to do at the Youth for Christ office, so stop by any time and let's talk and listen to how God is using us to fulfill His purpose.