When Vicki Wagonis-Bryers and her husband moved to Mackinaw City two years ago to enjoy their retirement, never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined doing what she is doing today—hanging out with teens and preteens in her small northern Michigan town.
Before retirement, Vicki spent 37 years as a manager for the Federal Aviation Administration. She has always had a heart for adolescents so it didn’t take long for her to notice there wasn’t much offered for the middle and high school youth in her new town of Mackinaw City.
“I looked around and saw it was an older community. I knew there had to be young people because there’s a school here,” observed Vicki.
There is one school in Mackinaw City, a small one with 186 students Kindergarten—12th grade (85 students in middle and high school combined). In this small town, Vicki wasn’t the only one who noticed a big need.
Pastor Dave Wallis from Church of the Straits had the same observations about youth in the community and posted a job opening at his church for a part-time youth director with a two-year commitment. Having recently learned about Young Life at a meeting in Cheboygan led by Associate Regional Director Erin Iafrate, he was amazed to see how Young Life’s mission went hand-in-hand with the new job description they had just made.
Vicki read the posted job description and was intrigued.
“I’m very youth-oriented,” she said. “I had children myself and really loved young people. I read the job description but figured they wanted a young person or college student. I prayed about it and went to talk with a good friend at the church as well as Pastor Wallis.”
Both Vicki’s friend and pastor encouraged her to apply for the job. She did, had an interview, and was chosen to be the part-time Youth Director at Church of the Straits.
Right from the start, Vicki and Pastor Wallis agreed on a vision for the youth in their area. “Our vision wasn’t just for the few kids in our church. We needed to draw in and appeal to all the youth in the local school.” Their vision aligned perfectly with Young Life’s incarnational approach to youth ministry.
Young Life goes into the world of kids, crossing barriers to build bridges of authentic friendship. Young Life leaders have eyes to see every kind of kid. The ones who sit with their families in the pew each Sunday and those who would never darken the doorway of a church. The ones already active in youth group and the ones who long to feel connected and loved. The ones who are easy to reach and the farthest out kids.
In November, Vicki started her new position and has been mentored and trained by Erin Iafrate along the way. “Vicki has a great vision of building a team of adults from the community to reach out to youth not just in their church, but beyond.”
Starting a small town youth ministry has taught Vicki to be creative and think outside the box for volunteers. For now, three adult leaders have stepped up to help (the pastor being one of them) and a few high school kids have been asked to help lead games.
This team was able to launch Mackinaw Straits WyldLife in the middle of March and has held three clubs so far, with plans to meet twice a month.
“What an exciting time for the middle school kids and growth for me as I share Jesus with the kids,” shared Vicki.
Erin describes what’s happening in Mackinaw City as a community-wide, “all hands on deck” effort.
The city has given permission for WyldLife to use the local rec center as a hangout spot. The church has provided a storage room that will soon be redecorated to provide a cozy meeting space for small group Bible studies. The school administrator allows Vicki to stop in for lunch to meet students where they are at. And other local churches (a Catholic church and another Bible church) are joining in the conversation and coming together to reach adolescents in the city.
“The churches in Mackinaw City love our youth!” shared Vicki enthusiastically.
“Today’s kids are under pressure,” says Church of the Straits on their website. “Pressure to fit in, make friends, perform and even to make it through another day. We want the youth to know we care and there is more to life with Jesus. More freedom. More fun. More hope and a greater sense of belonging and purpose than they can see right now.” [Tweet this]
What a hopeful message the kids in Mackinaw City are hearing from caring, Christian adults.
Mackinaw Straits WyldLife has been a huge win for middle school students in the community. Next, they hope to launch Young Life club for high school students in the fall.
It all began with a part-time youth director who stepped out of retirement—and her comfort-zone—with a passion to show kids the freedom, hope, and purpose they can have through Christ. She had zero Young Life experience but one thing she had was a heart to reach the next generation.
“People often think that the best youth director or Young Life leader has to be a college student. But here in the small town of Mackinaw City, we see that it takes everyone,” said Erin Iafrate.
It takes everyone. It takes a grandmother, it takes the pastor, it takes someone to come out of retirement, it takes parents serving snacks, it takes shy student leaders to lead the games. It takes a whole village to reach every kid.
>> JUMP ON BOARD If you live in the northern tip of Michigan or have any connections in Cheboygan county, our hope is to continue to grow Young Life & WyldLife in the Tip of the Mitt. Get in touch with Erin Iafrate for more information.
>> FINANCIALLY PARTNER with Tip of the Mitt Young Life to help newly launched ministries in Northern Michigan.
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