Facing the Challenges of Teen Pregnancy

 

                                                                        Amanda Ridenour and husband, Ryan

    YoungLives Porterville, under the leadership of Amanda Ridenour, is now making plans to begin in the fall. Amanda, daughter of Bill and Diana Perry of Porterville, is excited about the YoungLives ministry, which gives support to teen-aged parents under the age of eighteen and helps them establish healthy families in their communities.

    The umbrella organization, Young Life, first started in the 1950’s as a Christian outreach to high school students. Later, it expanded to include Wyld Life, for junior high school students, College Life for college students and Capernaum, for special needs kids.

      In 1991, the YoungLives program began in Visalia, California. With about one thousand babies born to teenage mothers each year in Tulare Country, there was a great need for this ministry.

     About two years ago when a young couple who attended the youth group at Amanda’s church announced that they were expecting a baby, Amanda and her husband Ryan Ridenour, the youth pastor, wondered how they could help. Ryan began taking them to Visalia to the organization’s monthly Club Night, where they met other teen parents, participated in various activities and heard the message of Christ from the Bible.

      Ryan introduced Amanda to Karen Cordoza, the administrator of the Tulare County program. Eventually she was hired as an area administrative coordinator. When Amanda began feeling a great need to begin YoungLives in Porterville, she and Karen prayed together and doors started to open.

       Amanda is excited about meeting new people and sharing the love of Christ through building relationships. She and Ryan both have a passion for this ministry.

      “It’s a mentorship program,” shares Amanda, “building relationships, becoming friends, being there when the family isn’t supportive. We try to be an ear to listen without judging.”

       Ryan adds, “We try to go into their world, loving them without expecting anything in return. That is a true sacrifice that opens amazing doors!”

       Amanda hopes to establish a committee from the community, recruit and train new leaders, start Lunch Clubs at several of the local high schools and hold monthly Club Nights. At these meetings, teen parents will find support, spiritual guidance and will be able to talk about the challenges they face.

      In June, Amanda will be working at Woodleaf, the Young Life camp located north of Marysville. She will be the work crew “boss” of high school volunteers who come from all over the country to help run the camp.

      Then in July, she will travel with a group from Visalia to a Young Life camp in Arizona specially geared for YoungLives, with over 250 teenage moms and their babies in attendance. The cost of the camp is raised by donations and service projects in which the students are involved during the year. In 2014 she hopes to be bringing girls from the Porterville area to experience the week long camp.

      Amanda, with Ryan’s support, is helping to meet a great need in our community. Thank you Amanda, and Ryan too, for allowing God to use you in such a special way!

       

“This is love; not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1John 4:10-11 NIV

 For more information, you can contact Amanda at:   amandaperry10@gmail.com  The Young Life website is www.younglife.org

Published in the Porterville Recorder on 5-31-13