A spark of interest for Sparta Young Life began with a simple invitation.
It was the fall of 2017 when a woman named Amy took a chance by inviting her former neighbor, Kristin, to the Northwest Grand Rapids Young Life Fall Banquet. Kristin not only showed up at the banquet but also took her friend Angie. Both Kristin and Angie were mothers of children in the Sparta area schools.
Young Life had been thriving on the Northwest side of Grand Rapids in both Kenowa Hills (established in 2015 by a group of students and teacher) and Comstock Park schools (established in 2016 after the success at Kenowa). Young Life Area Director Jake Wielhouwer sees each Fall Banquet as an opportunity to come together as a community, share stories of what God is doing through Young Life, fundraise their area budget, and kindle a vision for the future. At that time, Sparta Young Life seemed like a distant dream.
Kenowa Hills & Comstock Park Joint Club | February 2019
Following their fall event, Wielhouwer reached out to these women from Sparta and met for a cup of coffee one January day. Together they dreamed about what it would take to start Young Life in Sparta. Their shared vision led to an interest meeting which took place in February of 2018.
“As a result of the meeting, we now had a passionate group of parents that formed the Sparta Community Committee,” said Wielhouwer. “They were able to catch the vision of how God could use Young Life to work towards making sure every kid in Sparta knows they are loved by Jesus.”
Later that spring, even more community members gathered for a second interest meeting.
April 2018 Interest Meeting: “The lifeblood behind Sparta Young Life! Here are our heroes!”
“At this point, we started to discern and look for a staff person. God had his perfect timing when Carolyn Williams, a Hope College student graduating a semester early in December, became our candidate.”
Carolyn Williams joined Young Life as a Staff Associate for Sparta Young Life this past January. Carolyn grew up in East Grand Rapids where she first became involved in WyldLife, Young Life’s ministry to middle schoolers.
“I have been involved with Young Life ever since middle school when I began attending WyldLife club,” Carolyn shared. “I became more involved in high school and began my personal relationship with Jesus at Young Life camp. I was a junior leader for WyldLife my senior year of high school and was a WyldLife leader at Holland Middle School throughout my time at Hope, and a team leader in Holland for the past two years.”
Carolyn Williams with her fiance Zac at Young Life Camp.
What brings Carolyn the most joy and satisfaction about Young Life is the deep relationships that form between leaders and kids.
Young Life equips Christian adults to walk head-on into the world of adolescents (think high school hallways, lunchrooms, the student cheering section, and other places adults don’t typically like to go). Young Life leaders build genuine friendships with teenagers over time, showing them how their lives have worth, meaning, and purpose because of who they are in Christ and what he’s done for them.
“Young Life has brought so many people closer to Jesus through those relationships,” Carolyn shared. “I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of a brand new ministry in Sparta. It is my hope and prayer that the community of Sparta will experience God’s light in a new way.”
August 2018 Prayer Walk: “Covering our community in prayer and ready to start a new school year! Praying for God’s provision in Sparta YL!”
Carolyn, along with Area Director Jake Wielhouwer and a strong group of Sparta community advocates hope to launch Young Life in Sparta this spring.
The key to starting a brand new ministry is to connect community leaders with Young Life staff says Matt DeHoog, who serves as Associate Regional Director for YL in Kent County.
“One of my favorite parts of my job is connecting local community members that care deeply about their community with Young Life staff,” shared DeHoog, who met recently for lunch to connect Jake and Carolyn to Nate Wagner, a local Sparta pastor.
The dream of so many is finally becoming a reality. Sparta Young Life is hosting an Interest Meeting on Monday, March 4th at 7pm to update the community about the launch and to introduce Staff Associate/Team Leader Carolyn Williams and other volunteers.
“Jesus captured my heart through the ministry of Young Life in high school,” says Carolyn. “It is my hope that the community of Sparta will be able to experience the same.” [Tweet this]
>> MORE ABOUT CAROLYN: Carolyn Williams is from East Grand Rapids, and just graduated from Hope College in December with a major in psychology and minor in communication. One of her favorite things to do in her spare time is to watch the sunset at the beach. She is engaged to her high school sweetheart Zac (who she met through Young Life) and they are planning an August 2019 wedding. Zac will be on the team of YL volunteer leaders in Sparta. You can connect with Carolyn on Instagram or Facebook with questions about Sparta Young Life.
>> MORE INFORMATION about the March 4 Interest Meeting is available HERE.
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