The first week of summer programming has been such a rewarding one. With 125 students ages 13-18 on site, The Ranch is bustling with activity. The young leaders we have this week have been going through meaningful rotations and listening…
Earlier this summer we shared a story about seeds planted at the Ranch—seeds of confidence, faith, love, trust and forgiveness. Slowly growing and maturing over the years, and by slowly we mean sometimes it feels like watching paint dry, we…
“Stupid.” “Poor.” “Idiot.” “Liar.” Danisha listens as her peers yell out words in the Gathering Hall. Then she contributes her own: “ugly”. It is Monday night’s assembly and the speaker, Lydia, has asked students to shout out words that they’re…
A group of 10-year-old boys gathered for small group time after Wednesday’s assembly. Matt, our Executive Director, had just shared how family is like a tree. It got the boys thinking: what are the roots of my family and what…
Serving students at-risk nearly every minute of every day for the better part of a week can be an exhilarating, although exhausting, position. Jesus taught on the importance of rest for the soul and our team leaders are no exception. Restored and refreshed leaders…
It was Wednesday and during my morning break I prayed, crying out to the Holy Spirit for more opportunities to talk about Jesus with the students on my team. I asked God to help me show the kids His love…