For Detroit-native Lester Anderson, coming to Grand Valley State University in Allendale—a place he had honestly never heard of—was a bit of a “culture shock.” But the community and friendship he soon discovered through Young Life College made the transition easier.
“The first time I heard about Young Life was through an invitation to the Grand Valley college club. It was a culture shock for sure, definitely not something I was used to. I instantly noticed how close people were to each other.”
Apparently, that wasn’t a thing for Lester as he recalls growing up in Detroit.
“With strangers, you usually put that wall up first.” The gracious welcome these strangers demonstrated at Young Life club was kind of intense for Lester. He left with no intentions of going back.
But the following week, guess where he found himself: back at Young Life. The Christian hospitality and authenticity he experienced drew him back. And before long, he was involved in a small group.
Lester with Eastern Ottawa Young Life
“GVSU Young Life was a unique opportunity to walk with peers, discover Jesus, and learn more about how to live that life at college,” recalls Lester.
Young Life’s philosophy of “earning the right to be heard and meeting kids where they’re at” resonated so much with Lester because of the welcome he experienced at GVSU Young Life that he decided to become a leader. He first led at GVSU for two years and then at Jenison High School.
“At GVSU people were intentional to get to know me and not to try and change me.” Lester wanted to be that kind of authentic, caring person to the next set of kids.
Lester’s years at Grand Valley and in Young Life were very transformative. “I loved GVSU. It was life-changing to open up, learn about myself, and discover who I am.”
After he graduated in 2015, God led Lester through a series of important ministry and leadership experiences. The first was as a volunteer leader in Young Life’s Student Leadership Project.
“SLP was a really cool experience,” he shared. “I have never been apart of something like that with Young Life before, discipling and building up seniors to be leaders on their campus.”
Lester (far left) at SLP
After that Lester moved back to Detroit where he worked for City Service Mission, a ministry that facilitates youth mission trips all across the country.
But West Michigan was missing Lester and those who knew him well were hoping for an opportunity to get him back to this side of the state.
An opening at Wedgwood Christian Services following Sara Webb’s change in position to Regional Capernaum Coordinator provided an opportunity for Lester to return to the Grand Rapids area and to be involved with Young Life again.
“We are so excited to have Lester as our staff person at Wedgwood. He is uniquely equipped to be a powerful presence in the lives of kids and is a super gifted leader,” shared Kevin Eastway, Associate Regional Director for the Western Great Lakes Region.
Wedgwood is a Grand Rapids non-profit providing a wide range of social services to meet the needs of hurting children, youth, and families. Staff at Wedgwood walk with kids through some of the toughest problems they may face: substance abuse, developmental delays, involvement with the law, sex trafficking, abuse & neglect, sexual abuse & sexual behavior issues, learning difficulties, school expulsions and more.
Young Life and Wedgwood have partnered for over twenty years to reach kids in the foster care system, the juvenile justice system as well as kids in the educational system.
Wedgwood has employed a full-time staff person to run Young Life on their residential campus. This staff does contact work, runs club, organizes volunteers, brings kids to camp, and oversees YL ministry at two of Wedgwood’s schools: Lighthouse Academy and Hope Academy.
For Lester, the foundation of Young Life at Wedgwood begins with contact work: knowing kids by name, spending time with them and inviting them to “come and see.” He’s bringing the same inviting, dynamic presence he experienced at GVSU into his leadership at Wedgwood.
“It’s about building relationships with kids and staff, trying to let them know I’m here for a while and to knock down walls that may be up…it’s telling them that despite what their past is or what they are currently going through, they are loved.”
Currently, Lester is assembling a team in order to begin club again in the spring. He would love to see this team consist of both Wedgwood staff and people from the community. He also hopes to form a Campaigners group in the future as well.
Please join us in welcoming Lester Anderson to Wedgwood Young Life! If you’d like to know more about Young Life at Wedgwood and how you can get involved there, contact Lester.
More about Lester:
Lester Anderson (pictured left) holds a degree in sports management and non-profit management from GVSU. Lester is a die-hard sports fan of all Detroit teams and enjoys watching movies or playing video or board games in his free time.
