By Tom Cook, Sioux County Director
Summer is always a tough time for students to find things to do here in our small, rural community. That is why Siouxland YFC is glad we have the privilege of having the Sioux County Teen Center available every Thursday for the students as a way for them to have something safe and welcoming to come. Students find their way up here by walking, carpooling, or riding their bikes. The students truly want to come to the Teen Center and we are averaging 35-40 students each Thursday.
It is awesome to see how the Teen Center has become a family tradition. This summer, we saw several different siblings of older students coming to the Center to check things out. Many enjoyed it so much they also attended Day Camp. It is great to see that families trust us as an organization and as leaders to keep sending their kids here as they age into our programs. This demonstrates a lot about the relationships we have built between the families and the community.
Just as families value their relationship with us, we also value them. We continue to stay in contact with students that have graduated or moved away from the community. Some students contact us or our leaders for advice on relationships, colleges, or moving situations. They are looking towards us for that advice because we have had that privilege to build that relationship with them and they trust us. We also have students that move away that keep in contact with us and when they move back will even come back up to the Teen Center because of that trust and safety. Stories like this keep happening, even this summer.
Schools might take time off and close their doors, but we at Siouxland Youth for Christ do not. We continue to build those authentic, Christ-sharing relationships so we can have the privilege to speak into students’ lives year-round.
To learn more about Sioux County City Life, click here