Breakout

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.

~1 Timothy 4:12

How do you reach out to a community stricken by a troubled youth? How do you convince an afflicted teen that the way things have always been are not the way they must always be? Community youth development helps these struggling adolescents to break out of the harmful cycles that bind them; therefore, breaking the negative cycle altogether.

What Harmful Cycle?

It is estimated that 5,000 males, many of them teenagers, are members of at least 39 gangs on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. With the presence of gang activity on Pine Ridge, overall crime rises in the form of violence, theft, drugs, alcohol, and more. What’s more? The teen suicide rate on the reservation is at least 3 times higher than the national average, and the rate of teen pregnancy is alarmingly high, as well. The youth of the reservation are clearly hurting; they need a place to feel loved—to feel a sense of belonging.

Breaking Out…

Wings as Eagles Ministries is pleased to announce its community youth development discipleship program, launched in April of 2013, for the teens of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The program is called “Breakout,” and the purpose behind the endeavor is everything the name implies.

This Christian faith youth outreach program will encourage the teens of Pine Ridge to seek out positive relationships and forge optimistic and heartfelt visions of a better future. Most importantly, “Breakout” will bring each adolescent to the Word of God by teaching and reassuring them of Christ’s unconditional love, without which life’s greatest difficulties can feel almost impossible to overcome.

Christian Faith Youth Outreach Program Details

  • Social Events | at the end of the day, they’re teens who like to come together and socialize. “Break Out” allows them to do so in an environment that fosters positive interactions. In its short tenure, “Break Out” social events have included pizza parties and game nights.
  • Testimonies | the Pine Ridge youth gather to share their individual stories of how they came to know Christ.
  • Worship & Prayer | an opportunity for troubled teens to ask for and receive the prayers of their peers to help them through their struggles.

In addition to belief in God’s love for them, the Pine Ridge youth need support, compassion, guidance, and a sense of belonging and acceptance. It is the ultimate goal of WAEM’s “Breakout” community youth development program to instill a sense of each of these crucial ingredients.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.

~ Matthew 28:19

Pray…

Please pray that God will soften the hearts of the Lakota youth so that they may openly receive the Word of God. Pray for the staff at WAEM that we may be equipped with the strength and love of God to lead these young Lakota! Praise God for giving us the opportunity to reach out to these hurting teenagers and help them break out of the harmful cycles that have taken over their young lives.

With your help, we hope to schedule “Breakout” trips in the ministry bus to various evangelical youth conferences in the region, such as the “DARE 2 SHARE 2014” teen outreach event in Denver, Colorado. These Christian faith youth outreach conferences are amazing opportunities for most of these teens who have never left the reservation. Help us make these trips a reality!