With excitement and gratitude we welcome Taylor Johnson as the very first Area Director for Lowell-Saranac Young Life, the newest Young Life ministry in the Western Great Lakes Region. Taylor, his wife Nicole, and their four children will move from the Houston area to Lowell at the beginning of June 2022.
Taylor was born and raised in Texas, but Nicole is West Michigan local. They have been married since 2011 and have 4 children. In 2016, Taylor and Nicole became volunteer Young Life Leaders. In 2018, Taylor was brought on as the Area Director for Young Life in Pearland, Texas.
Taylor and Nicole started praying about the possibility of moving back to the Grand Rapids area at the beginning of their marriage. Ten years later, by God’s grace, Taylor was offered the Area Director position for Lowell-Saranac Young Life and has accepted. They are very excited to move here and officially be a part of the Lowell-Saranac Young Life community. They are also looking forward to being closer to Nicole’s family.
The Johnsons have a passion for helping students feel safe, connected, and valued. Ultimately, through friendships and connection, they want to see students find their life in Christ. Their prayer is that Young Life would be a bridge for students who do not know Jesus to find life in him and in his Church.
The start of Young Life in Lowell-Saranac is the result of God giving Herb Herbruck, a Saranac native and long-time Young Life supporter, a very specific assignment when he was on a 2020 trip to Israel: it was time to start Young Life in the town he’d grown up in.
Here is how Herb explains it:
“Reluctantly and completely ignorant of the start-up process, I made a call to Matt DeHoog, Associate Regional Director for Greater Grand Rapids Young Life, and told him I believed God wanted Young Life in the community I grew up in. Matt began to cry and told me he’d been waiting for someone to come and help expand Young Life into this area.
While still on that trip in Israel, I made my own plans and strategy for how this was all going to happen and who I might wrangle from my connections in the community to be involved. I have to smile and shake my head now as I realize almost none of those folks are currently involved. God had entirely different plans and people He had been preparing. God was going to do this without what I thought I was bringing to the table. He began to bring people out of the woodwork with enthusiasm and eagerness for Young Life in their community.
God blessed us with resources from so many that we have already been able to hire a full time staff person for our area! He’s put together an outstanding committee of gifted believers—most of whom have never witnessed a club first-hand and most of whom don’t yet have middle school or high school age kids.
I believe God is actively preparing the hearts of our middle schoolers, high schoolers, parents, and teachers in Lowell and Saranac. While I know God means to draw kids into relationship with Him in this new area, I had no idea of the work He wanted to do in me and the friends who would join the committee to help prepare the way. We continue to be amazed at how God provides when people are willing to serve.
I grew up on a farm in a small town. My dad was known as a particularly godly man in our community. I believe this new area is, in part, an answer to the many prayers he prayed while he was alive for people in our community to know Jesus. My dad passed away 25 years ago, but I do believe He is rejoicing in heaven as this story unfolds.”
We’ve been praying for Young Life ministry to start in Lowell & Saranac since 2004 and are grateful for the amazing committee that God has knit together, led by Mario & Becky Franciscotty.
Please pray for kids and Young Life in the Lowell and Saranac area as God reminds you. And, be sure to listen for any assignments God may give you in the meantime.
Taylor & Nicole Johnson with Matt DeHoog 
Committee Chairs, Mario and Becky Franciscotty 
Lowell-Saranac YL Committee
Do you know a Lowell or Saranac student who would be interested in getting involved with Young Life or going to camp this summer? Do you know a Jesus-following adult who loves kids and wants to invest in and build relationships with teenagers in this community? Head to our Facebook page or check us out online for all the latest news and events.
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