New Life at YFC’s Downtown Teen Center

Did you know Johnny Cash visited YFC’s Downtown Teen Center? The year was 1978, and Johnny (of course, we’re on a first-name basis) came into the headquarters on Divisadero to pay a visit after a show.

YFC’s home base was purchased in 1974. It is a 10,000 square foot, former fire station converted to a server location for an East Coast bank. No, there’s no fireman’s pole, it’s one story. But yes, there was an odd men’s-only bathroom complex with green tile and showers that was converted into men’s and women’s restrooms for use in this new youth center. It was a good space and an important hub for the region’s volunteers, staff, and kids.

Well, so it was that J-Cash (as I sometimes call him) had to use the restroom and walked in on our very own Alan Doswald – a little shock and awe. Here’s the point I’m getting to: for the last 50 years, this location has seen a lot of ministry, new relationships with Christ, and yet only a hodgepodge of TLC – it’s time for new life at the Downtown Teen Center. The green tile needs to go.

This is the place where we do faith and fitness classes, monthly teen night gatherings, boxing programs, anger management classes, volunteer trainings, evangelism trainings, staff meetings, creative arts programming, neighborhood outreaches, and so on. It is in the zip code of 1,000 teenagers, and we reach about 100 kids a year currently. Kids love us, but building isn’t doing many favors, and we desire to effectively welcome so many more kids.

This place needs restrooms that every kid can access, even ones who use wheelchairs. We have great potential spaces for teens to be mentored in, but currently, only a small number of spaces are safe for mentoring with windows into them. We need to remove dark corners and make the building more welcoming and obvious for kids to navigate. We’re talking mentoring rooms, training rooms, program rooms, concrete floors, lighting, doors, and accessibility. This is exactly what we are doing.

We are embarking on a $500,000 renovation of the downtown Teen Center to create more space for Christ-sharing relationships. We are helping kids find new life in Christ, here and now, in an accessible and vibrant space near them.

Now more than ever, centers are an increasingly effective tool for engaging teens. While YFC works with kids at 50 locations, only two are our own facilities. These are strategic regional locations where kids can access relevant and ongoing programming that disciples them into a relationship with Jesus. Will it take permits? Yes. Will it be painful? Yes. Is it worth it? YES.

What we learned with the Campus Life Center is that what we intended for a small region actually drew kids from all over the city. It became the place where we did monthly Campus Life events, weekly Group Life gatherings, baptisms, and day camps, more than we at first envisioned. An improved Downtown Teen Center will expand and deepen ministry with teens in South Fresno and beyond.

I realize this may not be your passion point. In fact, that was me before we built the Campus Life Center. But I was won over after I saw how important and useful the tool of a physical location is. Brick and mortar isn’t the main thing, but when done right, it sets the stage for our main thing: Christ-sharing relationships.

If you share my determination for evangelism in South Fresno, for accessibility, and for securing Kingdom ground for the future, here’s how you can join:

1. Check out the project details at yfcnow.org/newlife.

2. Join with a special, one-time gift or two-year pledge towards this center.

3. Come for a tour at a one-hour presentation about the project (email Jameson@yfcnow.org for dates).

Join me in helping kids find new life in Christ, here and now, in a building that speaks it, shows it, and represents it. Let’s remove old barriers and make it happen for these kids!

Together,

Jameson | Executive Director