March Everyday Champion: Chris Rickelman

Chris Rickelman – Central Indiana Youth for Christ

What is your profession or vocation?   I work for Central Indiana Youth for Christ and am a Campus Life director.

How are you an Everyday Champion for Youth? Teenagers have a deep need to be seen, heard, known and loved.  Our role as Campus Life directors is to come alongside teenagers in order to build bridges of authentic relationships that can hold the weight of truth.  Through weekly programs, shared experiences, and honest conversations we help teens understand that they are valued, loved, and created for a purpose.  We walk with them in difficult times and spur them on to greater things.

	What impact do you hope to make on youth?
	My hope is to help teens navigate the turbulent waters of adolescence.  To walk with them, care for them, and ultimately point them to a life changing relationship with Jesus.

	What's one thing that you wish an adult had told you when you were a young person?
	The reality is that someone did tell me.  They told me that I was created by and designed for a relationship with God.  They loved me, challenged me, showed me authenticity, and pointed me towards a relationship with Jesus.  I hope to communicate those same truths to the teens I work with.

What do you want to do next to support youth?   My desire is to train and equip more adults to do this very thing.  To pour into the life of a teenager.