Thank you so much for providing the resources so that we can have such a great time with Aiden and help him grow closer to God and even be baptized. This is so amazing! We thank you from the bottom of our heart! And we look forward to the continued partnership with you. For the 26/27 school year. May God bring great revival among the youth of the Rogue Valley!

 

Caleb is a young man who when he joined our clubs sometimes had to be asked to leave for a while. He struggled with anger during games and being disruptive when we weren’t playing games. He kept coming though and amazingly he’s now matured into a great high school kid who actually is a helper in the very Middle School Club he used to get kicked out of. Through 71Five he has connected to a local church and has become part of their youth group. It is so awesome to see a young man who has struggled and had much adversity in his life actually turn around through the ministry and give back to young people who are in the same spot that he once was in.

 

It is the glory of God to see souls pulled back from a dark path to one filled with light! It is because of faithful donors, givers and volunteers that we are able to participate in what God is doing in this generation. The book of Acts is given to us to see how God works in every generation! God is not dead, He is alive and well and is rescuing people! It’s because of people like you, we are able to see a harvest in the Rogue Valley among our young people! Thank you so much for bringing life to our youth!

 

SHANE SKIRVIN, 71Five Campus Coordinator – North Medford
(541) 646-1475 | shane@71Five.org

“Lord God, you are my hope. I have trusted you since I was young.” Psalm 71:5 ICB

Because of you and your generous support, we can be in young people’s lives for the long haul! Many times faith is not a sprint but a marathon. We plant seeds early and often [Mark 4:26-29] and strive to maintain a presence in a young person’s life to testify to God’s story of who he is and what he wants to do in their lives. I have been in a young man’s life for several years now, and he seems to wrestle with pessimism and a lack of hope. I have been concerned that he would just stop coming to the club all together. I have continued to pray for him as we share God’s story of hope. I’ve noticed a definite shift to him being in the back and un-engaged, to being present during discussions, listening more and more, and actually participating in our discussions! The other day he came forward after discussion and asked for a Bible and said, “I need to start reading it!”

This is such an answer to prayer and we are only able to have a presence like this in this young man’s life because of people like you! Thank you so much for being there for this young man and bringing to him the story of God’s Hope!

 

SHANE SKIRVIN, 71Five Campus Coordinator – North Medford

(541) 646-1475 | shane@71Five.org

“Lord God, you are my hope. I have trusted you since I was young.” Psalm 71:5 ICB

The Bible talks about us having different abilities and talents.  Not everyone has to be an evangelist or a pastor, in fact, one of the most effective ways to reach people that I have seen is demonstrated by a young lady, Kalli. She has been coming to 71Five Campus in North Medford for a long time now and has been a huge part in increasing the attendance of the high school club by simply inviting friends. She has a “come-and-see” attitude (John 1:39-46) that really works!

 

It is really encouraging to realize that extending an invitation or being excited about something is such a draw to people! Jesus said when He is lifted up, He will draw all people to himself [John 12:32]. I love seeing how Jesus can use a simple and seemingly casual invitation to change who a person is forever! It is awesome how God uses small things like this, as hinges for big doors to swing on. In this spirit, I want to make a simple invitation for you to “come-and-see” by joining what we are doing and be a part of this mission to reach the lost youth of Southern Oregon. Thank you for your support in helping this young woman who is so eager to reach her friends for Jesus!

 

SHANE SKIRVIN, 71Five Campus Coordinator – North Medford
(541) 646-1475 | shane@71Five.org

 

“Lord God, you are my hope. I have trusted you since I was young.” Psalm 71:5 ICB

I was surprised by the fact that after speaking at 71Five’s High School Camp there was a group of seven or eight young men gathered to speak about theology and church history for close to an hour!  For anyone that’s worked in or around youth group ministry this was a surprising encounter, but Gen Z boys are starting to change the world!  There has been an increase of 30 million US adults who claim to be following Jesus since 2021.  This growth is mainly fueled from Generation Z and Millennials.  At the same time, a recent study found over 40% of Gen Z report feeling persistently sad or hopeless and many people feel that is what’s driving the younger generations to look for an anchor or some stability in life.

 

These are very exciting times to be in youth ministry!  We have an awesome opportunity, you and I, to reach young people with the gospel!  Many of them are looking towards heaven and asking for help.  This is a golden opportunity to reach them and be a part of the Great Gen Z Revival!  Please consider helping us with financial resources, your time, and your prayer.  Let’s not keep silent, at such a time as this, [Esther 4:14] let us stand up and reach these youth, for Christ – AMEN!

 

SHANE SKIRVIN, 71Five Campus Coordinator – North Medford

(541) 646-1475 | shane@71Five.org

“Shane, you are one #$%*&#!” Brayden, a young man at my middle school club, had just told me clearly and articulately what he thought of me. He had been out of control and rude, yet when I confronted him about his behavior, he got mad at me (funny how that works). Regardless, I could tell that deep down, Brayden actually wanted to be at 71Five. Sure enough, the next week, he skateboarded back and apologized. While his behavior hasn’t always been great at Club–with ups and downs and ups again–he knows that we care and provide a safe space for him.

 

Because of you and your support, we can present the Biblical God who loves second chances to Brayden (see Luke 15:20). Just from talking to him, I can tell that Brayden has had people give up and walk away from him. Thanks to you, we are here and in his life to show him a different type of life and love. One that doesn’t abandon him when he’s going through a hard time, but one that loves, forgives, and even calls him to forgive others: Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. [Matthew 18:21-22] You are, quite literally, holding out a lifeline to kids like Brayden. Thank you so much for being a part of his story with your life-changing support.

 

 

“Shane, do you believe in ghosts?” I was startled by the question this young lady was asking me, for one, she had previously never spoken up during our lesson time, and two, it was not directly connected to the lesson that I was sharing. Despite that, it ended up kicking off a 45 minute long intense discussion among the Middle Schoolers about the spirit world and encounters they have had! I was grateful that this young lady dared to ask such a question and then to share some supernatural experiences she had had. I was shocked to see how important and relevant this discussion was for this age group! And, I found it was a wide open-door to speak about the supernatural truths that are in the Bible to Gen Z/Alpha! I believe God is using the attraction to the spirit realm as a gateway to reach these kids for Christ!

 

Right now there’s a huge opening to speak to young people about spiritual truths. According to a CDC report, 42% of Gen Z struggle with persistent hopelessness, nearly 30% describe themselves as having poor mental health, and 22% have considered suicide. They are searching and are spiritually hungry. The previous generations have told them that there is nothing beyond this world; but they know deep down inside this is a lie. Many of them are looking for God in all the wrong places. The online community known as #WitchTok, has 45 billion views on TikTok! More people in Generation Z are into spiritualism than they are any kind of organized religion. But the good news is that they are hungry for something more than this world, a hunger that God himself has placed inside them that will not be denied! (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

 

You and I have an unparalleled opportunity right now, to speak into this generation with the truth of God’s hope for them! Thank you so much for joining us in the fight as we surge through this open-door to reach the youth before the enemy does! Now is the time for us to act, come join us if you’re not already in this fight with volunteering your time, financial support and persistent prayer! As Jesus says, the harvest is ripe (Matthew 9:37-38)!

 

Weekly clubs have been going well at 71Five Campus in North Medford. We continue to teach God’s story of Hope through Bible teaching and discussion. One young lady Alice, recently said during our discussion defiantly “Her life… Her rules.” It is sad to see that our society has taught young people that they are more importantly individuals independent of any obligations to anyone or anything else. Cultural lies that are designed by the enemy to make kids isolated and lonely and to make them ripe for terrible ideas and temptations. At the same time, Sophia is another young lady at club. She has been asking great questions about faith since she returned from the 71Five Camp last summer. Asking questions such as, “What does real repentance look like in my life?” Sophia is asking with earnestness and sincerity! Revelation chapter 12 describes a great cosmic war between spiritual powers with humans being rescued by one side and devoured by the opposing side. Tragically one girl sees her life as being all about herself not realizing that there are much bigger forces at work, while another girl has begun to realize she must repent and join a side!

 

Because of you and your crucial support, we can share with young people the real history and the present reality of the world, and together we were able to, as it says in Ephesians 6:12, wrestle and fight to pierce through the darkness that evil cosmic powers use to capture our young people and destroy them. Thank you for reaching the youth of the Rogue Valley with God’s story of Hope! Which is so much greater than anything else!

 

 

Here at 71Five, we had an awesome summer with camps being the focal point. The last camp of the summer we had was Middle School Camp. Which was an excellent time to pull away from the business and busyness of life and have an adventure with our middle school kids and our high school helpers. It was a great location and we enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Southern Oregon. More importantly, it was a time to focus on building up these kids spiritually, focusing on their long-term spiritual formation (Galatians 4:19). At the personal level with kids there’s nothing like camp to break down barriers to authentic relationships when everyone is sun-burnt, tired, sweaty and a little dirty! One kid there when we were casually talking about how long he’s been a part of 71Five clubs, remarked that he felt like my biological kids were his siblings and that he was part of my family! This young man has been through so much trauma in his life and it was touching to see how he felt about us. We are only able to reach his life and be a part of his life because of your generous donations of time and money to enable us to reach out to him. 

 

Apostle Paul says how will people go and do ministry if they are not sent by others, Paul goes on to say how will people call on and believe in God if they never even get a chance to hear about Him, and they can’t hear without someone intentionally preaching to them and people can’t preach unless they are sent [Romans 10:14-17]. It’s because of your vital support we can reach the young people of this generation! As Apostle Paul says it’s a beautiful thing! We are all concerned about the growing darkness in our society and world, and this is how we shine a light into that darkness! Your incredibly important support is for such a time as this [Esther 4:14]!

 

 

I recently talked with a young man about God because of you and your generous giving! We were able to set aside time, place, and even meals so that we could gather as a group with some young people and talk about not just becoming a believer in God (theism) but a disciple of Jesus Christ (a follower and believer in Christ). This young man had been dealing with a lot of trauma and life’s difficulties and at first, was not sure if Christians would even like him. But he was open to the message of becoming a new person in Christ—he seemed far from God. Of course, we know no one is far from God now because of Christ (Eph.2:13). We could share this great news with this young person so that he could become born again and join the Church of God, because of people like you we can have these God-appointed conversations! 

 

I am both thankful and excited to be part of God’s outreach to people with the hope of the Gospel, is there anything more important? Thank you so much for being a co-laborer in this work! (Rom. 16:3).