How do I get that? (Holy Spirit)
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…
National Leadership Academy lessons
Seven of our Leaders for Life, students in the final phase of our Next Steps Program, attended the National Leadership Academy (NLA) last week in Denver, CO. NLA is an intensive 4-day Academy for high school students, focusing on developing heart-led leaders through compassion to others and…
Planting Seeds
Sometimes the stories that come out of a week of programming aren’t harvest—meaning huge, mind-blowing stories of transformation. Instead, it is a week of smaller stories where many seeds of faith are planted. When you add up all of those seeds, it’s BIG. God promises that these seeds will…
Made on Purpose
It was her first day at the Ranch and Zoie was done. Longing for home she said, “This place is stupid!” Our staff members suggested a walk first before calling home. Faithe and Kaitlin walked with her to the dining…
Legacy of Leadership
At the Ranch for a retreat with his campus ministry, Scott listened as a full-time staff member described our summer program and the ways it changes lives of children. He learned about Cordell, who went from picking fights as a…
Grieving Young Leaders
In an ordinary low-income Iowa neighborhood, a group of young boys found a book bag full of guns. One of the 14-year-olds brought the guns home to show off to his siblings. In an upstairs bedroom he twirled a gun…