Tommy’s Story.

Growing up, things at home were rough. I was seven years old when my dad passed away; finances became really tight and we ended up with nowhere to live. We spent about six months going from shelter to shelter until we finally found a place to stay. It was a scary time; I felt no one cared about us enough to help.

My mom had begun dating a man named Charlie. He was really good to my mom and even let us live with him while we were trying to find a home. His sons, Kyle and Dylan, were both involved at Youth Venture teen centers. Kyle worked a shift at the El Cajon center, and he would bring Dylan, me, and my brother Jimmy with him. Then a friend from school invited Jimmy and me to join his junior high group. This group was run by Jeremy Miller, who was the director of Youth Venture Lakeside at that time. Since we were already familiar with Youth Venture and were living in Lakeside, it wasn’t long before we were hanging out there every day.

I was one of those kids who messed with people to build up my ego. My friends and I would all get into trouble together. We used to go into stores and steal things. We were mean to other kids and got suspended from Youth Venture and junior high group at Foothills Church several times. Some of my friends regularly smoked pot and drank alcohol and often pressured me to join them.

During this whole time, Youth Venture was like a family to me. Jeremy became my mentor, taking me through the Youth Venture lessons and trying to show me how God wanted me to live. Mark Hoffman, the founder, would frequently stop by the center and sometimes take us out to dinner. One time I was practically starving and Mark was there hanging out with Dylan. Out of nowhere Mark decided to buy Jack- in-the-Box for Jimmy and me.

That was when I realized the people at Youth Venture really cared for me. They wanted to see me do well; they wanted to see me walking with God and saw the potential and characteristics of a leader in me. They knew God had put me in this place at this time so that I would come to know Him and His plans for my life, and they loved me enough to walk through it with me.

When I was a high school freshman, my mom was diagnosed with cancer. She couldn’t go out anymore, and had to be in her bedroom all the time. We couldn’t spend time with her and it felt like we were slowly being drawn away from her. When she became too sick to work, we started having trouble keeping food on the table. That’s when my Youth Venture family stepped in. Eric and Donna Clayton went to Wal-Mart and bought us a bunch of groceries. Their actions reminded me how much God loved me and how He kept His promise to watch over me.

At summer camp that year, I was struggling with thoughts about my mom’s health. And I was more and more concerned about a friend who had become an alcoholic and a drug dealer. He was so broken.

I knew if I didn’t get serious about following Christ I would become just like him. I committed myself and my whole heart to God.

Most of my friends made similar commitments, and we started trying to hold each other accountable. Then I got the opportunity to attend Foothills Christian High School, which made walking with God even easier.

Today I’m a junior staff member at Youth Venture. I also help with a junior high small group, and I’m a leader in a high school small group at Foothills Church. My mom is still struggling with cancer and Charlie is still helping us. But I have so much more peace about my future. I’m able to see how God uses the difficult things I go through to benefit me and bless me. I’m so glad that God and the people at Youth Venture stuck with me even while I was messing around!

Although a family usually means people who are related to you, it can also mean people who choose to get involved because they really care about you. The people at Youth Venture became like family to me when I desperately needed direction.

Note: This testimony was written when Tommy was 18. He is now married with a successful career and is actively involved in church. He continues to volunteer at the very same center he attended as a kid all those years ago.