Young people want to be respected and be able to share their opinions at Teen Action Night.
     When respect is given, they tend to give back what they've received.
     As Shawn Patrick Greene, his respect, humor and knowledge encouraged audience participation.
     Pursuing God's best for your life often means giving up something that looks good.
     Shawn gave an excellent teaching on sacrifice and what it means to set aside something to receive something that's better. Going to jail for a friend is not a good thing. Hanging around with friends who break the law will get you into trouble. "No friendship is worth going to jail."
     He told the young audience about the benefits of giving up time to serve other people. Serving is another way of receiving because God blesses those who freely give. Shawn taught from the Book of Daniel in the Bible. He related the story of three guys who were thrown into a fiery furnace because of their faith. They would rather give up their lives than disrespect God and honor a worldly, selfish King. Read Daniel Chapter 3:10-30 It took courage to be willing to sacrifice their lives, but the end result was a life-changing promotion and prosperity.
You can watch Shawn's excellent teaching by clicking this link to Facebook.
    On top of being an excellent Youth Mentor, Shawn a dedicated Father, an Actor, Musician, Producer and Executive Director at The Great Lakes Christian Film Festival. Thanks Shawn for an inspiring time of sharing your heart.
     Evelyn Guash - another excellent youth leader urged the youth to get involved and be active in serving. She told them about an awesome opportunity at The Bread of Life Church on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 11 AM. It's called The Day of Warmth and happens between 12-3 PM. Folks can donate clothing and food to the community. They can also come and serve on that day. Lots of volunteers are needed. 

     You already know that Thanksgiving is right around the corner. 
     When Mrs. Triggs puts a turkey dinner together, folks know her heart is one of the main ingredients.
     A Buffalonian without a family-style Thanksgiving dinner might as well have dinner with a rubber chicken.
     Plenty of people, like over 4,000 of them, will get a dose of love from Mrs. Triggs and her army of volunteers. Mrs. Triggs is the chief volunteer. Nobody gets paid to put on a nice Thanksgiving Dinner for the community. Mrs. Triggs is good at shopping, good at preparing and directs a very well organized group of warm hearted servants.
     Please look at the list below. If you can supply some of the turkey dinner fixins, please contact Mrs. Triggs at 716-533-9753. If you would like to write her a check which is tax deductible, make it out to "None Like You/We Care" and send it to: None Like You/We Care P.O. Box 813 Buffalo, NY 14205  
     Her Funding Request is $1,665 (you can review her budget below.) You could drop off turkeys, cans of green beans, bags of mashed potatoes or any other item she needs on your way into the city. Or send her a couple of bucks. If it's easier to use PayPal, you can do that below and 100% will go directly to Mr.s Triggs to be used for this year's Community Thanksgiving Dinners. She needs these items this week or next at the latest. The dinners begin on Nov. 3rd and it takes time to organize and prepare with excellence - and that's the way she does it!
     At each dinner, you will also find the Jesus Wristbands from YWAP. They look great on your wrist, make a nice gift and tell folks about the love you have in your heart.
     Thanks for your time. Thanks for your help. We appreciate you. 

     YWAP Buffalo Director Becky Rogowski is well known for her servants heart.
     When you want to teach teenagers about serving, teens will trust someone they see living what they teach.
     A lot of young people are having fun and learning about leadership at Teen Action Night.
    People can learn about the future by studying the good and bad in church history. There are goods and bads in every  person and every organization. Improving what went well and avoiding the mistakes will help a church and the teens grow.
     Becky told the young folks that they're loved by Christ whether they serve or not, but serving brings blessings and helps everyone grow. Serving makes good things happen in a neighborhood, in a city and in the world! You can't work to pay for the right to go to heaven. Salvation is being saved by God from our sin as we believe in Christ. Salvation is already paid for!
     Here are a few of the leadership verses that the young people heard. 
Hebrews 6:10 "God is fair. He will not forget the work you did and the love you showed for him by helping his people. And he will remember that you are still helping them."
I Peter 4:10 "Each of you received a spiritual gift. God has shown you his grace in giving you different gifts. And you are like servants who are responsible for using God’s gifts. So be good servants and use your gifts to serve each other."
Colossians 3:23-24 "In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were working for the Lord, not for men. 24 Remember that you will receive your reward from the Lord, which he promised to his people. You are serving the Lord Christ."

Please pray for the following needs as you are able. Thank you.
1. The YWAPBuffalo Director Becky Rogowski and Pastor Mark Robshaw are attending a meeting at South Park High School regarding greater community engagement. Pray that they can learn new ways to teach young people to respect themselves and their neighbors.
2. This week's Teen Action Night. Please pray for the youth to be teachable and the mentors to increase.
3. The Buffalo Police Engagement Team will be taking six young people from Teen Action Night to Saturday night's Buffalo Sabre's hockey game. Please pray for teachable mentoring moments between the Police and the teens.
4. Nine Minute Speakers - Each week we invite a guest speaker to share a life story for nine minutes. Please pray for God to send more speakers our way who have a heart for Christ and compassion for young people.

     You are probably very excited and you most likely missed the friendship, music and food.
     When the first Saturday of each month rolls around, we celebrate in a good neighborly way.
     As always, everyone is welcome to participate in whatever way the Spirit leads you.
     Positive words only are spoken, negative words make people feel broken.
     You are invited to sing, dance, display art, read a chapter or share in whatever way that gives gratitude to God for who He made you to be. If you speak, please be uplifting and do not put anybody down. 
     This is a Christ-centered event, but you don't have to be a Christian to attend. Come as you are. You can come to participate and just sit and enjoy.
  WHEN: Saturday Oct. 5, 2019, 6-9 PM
  WHERE: Bread of Life Church 1638 South Park Ave. Buffalo, NY 14220
  WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE: Yes
  FOOD: It's free! You don't need to, but if you have a dish to pass that would be cool!
     Someone should ask you if you need prayer. If we forget, please ask Young to have someone pray with you.
For more information please contact 716-830-8240 Pastor Bob Kuebler or 716-570-1175 Young Hee 
For all those who want to participate, please RSVP and come by 5 pm for rehearsal. 
2019/2020 Schedule: 11/2/19, 12/7/19, 1/4/20, 2/1/20,3/7/20/4/4/20,5/2/20, 6/6/20 (picnic)
This is a youth With A Purpose sponsored event. Although there is no cost to you, it does cost money to run the program. The costs are minimal thanks to the generosity of Young Hee providing the food and The Bread of Life supplying the building, heat, electric and sound system as well as volunteers to run it. There will be a basket if you want to chip in a coin or two. 
Thanks we appreciate you and look forward to seeing you on the First Saturday of every month.

     Young people sometimes need some space to explore the deeper issues of life.
     When "Space Thursday" rolls around at Teen Action Night, we separate the guys and girls.
     Answers to questions about personal issues come more easily in small groups.
     People tend to be more transparent when space is created between guys and girls.   
     Becky Rogowski does an excellent job as the overall YWAP Director for the Teen Action Night Program at The Bread of Life in Buffalo, NY.
     Evelyn Guash is masterful at holding the hearts of young girls and making them feel precious as they learn how much God loves them. Pastor Bob Parsons spoke to the guys about the importance of accepting Christ as the leader of their life. 
​     We're grateful for all the mentors, volunteers and cooks who make the Teen Action Program a place where young people are eager to be.

     Young people forming personal relationships with Police Officers creates peace in the neighborhood.
     Walls of disrespect come tumbling down when people get to know each other in a friendly atmosphere.
     As people in authority present themselves with a servants heart, acceptance and respect are normalized.
     Police have always been welcome in community centers run by YWAP and they always will. Thank you Buffalo Police Department, your Neighborhood Engagement Team is planting seeds of neighborly love!
​     This weeks leadership lesson was about greatness. What is greatness? How can you be great? The world will recognize an athlete as a G.O.A.T. or the "Greatest Of All Time." Funny thing about time, as it passes our opinions of greatness change like the winds of time. Rules change, players grow bigger and stronger, some even take supplements in an attempt to become super human. Being great at sports may not mean anything if your character is shoddy. People may cheat to win and that tarnishes any greatness that you may have.
     God has a different way of looking at greatness. It's almost a race of perseverance to receive a crown of humility. laying aside your own rights and serving other people is the path to a more excellent way of life. Help enough people and when you're in need. God will send someone to take care of you.
     More importantly, the greatest story ever told is about Christ. It looked like he was a loser; rejected, convicted, tortured, punished and executed. That doesn't sound like greatness, but it is. He sacrificed everything so that all people would have a chance at greatness without sin and live forever free in heaven - where there are no losses or competition. 

     Young people usually come in contact with Police only when their in trouble.
     Well that was back in the day folks! The times they are a changing!
     After their visit to Teen Action Night, they left a very positive impression on the hearts of young people.
   Police do a lot more than arrest people, the Buffalo Police Department Neighborhood Engagement Team is bringing unity to a city. They showed respect to the young people and made them feel like valuable members of the community.
     After they played some volleyball and basketball, they shared some valuable wisdom before dinner was served. Two Officers spoke about several timely and sensitive  subjects. They covered bullying, the terrorism of 9/11, suicide and saving lives by speaking up. Someone who speaks up and tells someone about a potentially deadly situation is not a tattle tail or a snitch - they are being courageous and responsible. 
     YWAP would like to say thank you to the Buffalo Police Department and all Police everywhere for putting your lives on the line to keep our communities safe. Your job is not easy and can be very dangerous. We appreciate you and we are proud of you.
You can view a video of the Police Officers speaking to the youth by clicking on the following links:
Buffalo Police Visit Teen Action Night on YouTube
Buffalo Police Visit Teen Action Night on Facebook
     The YWAP Director shared a leadership lesson on "How To Be Happy." You can read about it on the picture in our photo gallery. We also were honored to have Pastor Miguel-Haniffa Solier share some news about a great opportunity for youth called The Back To School Conference. Thank you Pastor for caring enough to invite our youth and your  willingness to pick them up in your bus.​ Videos of this week's leadership lesson can be found at the following links:
How To Be Happy On YouTube
How To Be happy on Facebook     

     You may not know what it's like to live in a cave, but the choices we make can put us in dark places.
     When Pastor Randy told the young folks about his past life, they listened attentively.
     Alcohol and drugs can lead people to dark places and Pastor Randy almost died in a dark place.
     Perfect people don't exist. "God doesn't use perfect people. He uses people He's perfected."
     Pastor Randy talked about being obedient to God and listening to His voice. "Be obedient in small things and God will open big doors." At one turning point in his life, a man gave Pastor Randy a Bible with a prayer written in side. "May the Lord keep you until your time. Maranatha (the Lord is coming.) Since then, Randy and his wife Kathy have travelled to many countries and shared the love of Christ with thousands of people.
     You probably noticed that he's in a wheelchair, but don't mistake that for a limitation, Randy is still speaking in churches and doing one on one mentoring. You can't stop this former caveman, he's a mountain man for Jesus who helps others climb the mountains of life! Thanks Pastor Randy and Kathy, Jesus loves you and so do we.
     This was the first week of Teen Action Night's new season at the Bread of Life. Members of the Buffalo Police Department Neighborhood Engagement Team came for a short visit. They came back a week later to share and play volleyball and basketball with the young people. More on that in our next article. 
Videos of our Leadership Lesson can be found here: 
"How To Be Popular" (Facebook)
"How To Be Popular" (YouTube)
The video of Pastor Randy's inspirational message can be found here: 
"Pastor Randy Once Lived In A Cave" (YouTube)
"Pastor Randy Laid His Heart On The Line" (Same Video on Facebook)

     Young people received backpacks and school supplies at a community event called "Gabe Day."
     When a guy gets a day named after him. you have to figure he was a very special guy.
     As a well liked and admired young man, Gabriel Isaiah Texidor left a heart imprint on those who knew him.
    Plenty of community organizations came together to honor Gabe and his family. Backpacks and school supplies were given away and people made speeches. The Director of Youth With A Purpose knew Gabriel well. They climbed mountains together. A copy of his remarks are posted below.

     You have to hear his story to believe it.
     Way back in the day, he lived a different life.
     And then his life was saved.
     Pastor Randy Smith is alive today only by the grace of God.
     Thursday, September 5, 2019 marks the return of Teen Action Night at The Bread of Life - 1638 South Park Ave. Buffalo, NY. Pastor Randy is this seasons first Nine Minute Life Speaker. Our program happens from 6-8 PM and is for 12-18 yr. old's and includes physical exercise like volleyball and basketball. We also have a craft room. We eat a good meal and learn some life leadership skills. It's a family affair and some young people bring their younger siblings. Call us if you need more information. Did I mention that this is free? 
If you're interested in learning more about youth ministry, we offer Mentoring Internships.