Cheyenne Koch

Youth ministry is all about being together and building relationships — with Jesus Christ, with peers, with parents, and with the local body of believers.  But what do you do when “together” is suddenly stripped away, and the whole country withdrawals in isolation to slow down the spread of sickness?  Quality time together, the very foundation of youth ministry is shaken to its core and we are forced to avoid contact with others, especially in groups of ten or more.  What can youth pastors and students do to remain connected and grow together in Christ? In a time of quarantine and social distancing, youth ministry can seem to have hit a brick wall. But this is the time for youth pastors to step up and lead.  As ministry leaders, we are probably more skilled in using the tools and social media necessary to connect with students in meaningful relationships.  In some ways it will be easier, but in many other ways it will require a ramp up of intentional efforts...

#LifeStory [ 14 ]   I am so proud of my amazing wife!  She jumped in to help a student on a field trip, got hurt in the process, but toughed it out and made the most of Adalynn's class trip to Washington DC.  April 17, 2016.  We left Sharpe Elementary at 5:00AM for Washington DC with Adalynn's 5th grade class for a week of touring and learning.  However, 3 hours into the trip, we hear people yelling for Mrs. Elyssa from the back of the charter bus.  One of the students was having a seizure!  Elyssa was the CPR and medicine administrator for our bus, but when she got back there, the girl was turning blue.  The girl's mom (a RN) was sitting next to her, but the seizing girl's teeth were clamped shut and her mom was yelling "I need an airway!"  They laid the girl down and Elyssa started chest compressions while another parent called 911.  The girl regained her color and stopped seizing as the motor coach pulled over on the side o...

#LifeStory [ 13 ]  August 24-31, 2013 On our 11th anniversary Elyssa and I went on our first BMDMI mission trip to Nicaragua.  Our team went to the village of Los Zarzales, where we saw about 3000 people in the village and surrounding area.  The people in that area were not as poor as others, but they were hungry for God's Word.  I helped with the youth service all week, while Elyssa served in the pharmacy.  I was amazed at how the teens would just sit and absorb God's Word. The first night there, Frank Kirby (Chico), asked me if I wanted to preach at any of the adult services.  I said no because I was unfamiliar with how BMDMI did things and because I didn't know the people.  Chico asked me again the next day, but I turned down the opportunity again because I had no idea what to say.  What could I say to connect with the people?  What did they need to hear? As the first two days went by, I had an opportunity or two to share the Goo...

Not too long after Adalynn trusted in Jesus as her Lord and Savior, Kinley started talking about wanting to get saved.  She was five years old, but didn't seem to understand everything, so we told her to be patient and God would help her understand as she got older.  Every night we would pray with her and when she asked about it, we would explain it to her and prayed with her that God would reveal Himself to her.  Kinley has always loved babies, and she has a big heart for orphans.  One night, while praying for the orphans, Kinley added to her prayer, "Jesus, please come into my heart."  Elyssa and I looked at each other, but didn't follow-up on it because we didn't think she was ready.  As time went on, Kinley turned 6 and was promoted to the Kidz Worship age group at church.  In Kidz Worship they give the kids an opportunity every Sunday to pray at the altar during the offering, and encourage them to talk to a leader if they want to know more...

#LifeStory [ 12 ]  August 17, 2012 I am living proof that the Lord has a sense of humor!  He's calling me to full-time youth ministry!  Almost a year ago, at our church's last Global Outreach Celebration, Elyssa and I both felt that there was more to life than just teaching and serving in our church, but we didn't specifically know what.  I had never been on a mission  trip, but I found myself thinking it would be great if we could somehow plan a family mission trip.  We talked about going to Washington State for a week to help a young couple there plant a church, and started making plans and discussing travel. But in January of 2012, our church's youth pastor of 10 years announced that he was called to lead the youth ministry of a church in Tennessee.  Our hearts were heavy as we cancelled plans for Washington, and committed to help work with the youth and keep things going until our church found another youth pastor. Daniel, Micah, and I met wit...

What we experienced at Youth Camp in 2012 left us all speechless and in awe of God's love and grace!  In the Spring of 2012, the church where Elyssa and I attended, the same church in which she had grown up her whole life, was starting to think about youth camp for the summer.  For the past 20 years the church had planned and organized it's own camp each summer, but as the previous amazing leaders stepped down or were called to serve elsewhere, the youth ministry needed new leadership to make it happen. Bryan Freeman boldly volunteered to take on the responsibility of organizing and directing the plans for Youth Camp.  After weeks and weeks of planning, the time had finally arrived.  On July 22, the Sunday morning before we left, we had almost 70 teens signed-up to go, but when we left the next day, only 55 actually showed up to go.  We weren't sure why, but we took the 55, knowing God had brought the ones He wanted. On that same Sunday night of July 2...

#LifeStory [ 11 ] In July of 2012, I went with several others from our church on my first "mission trip" to Lake Providence, Louisiana.  Our team of four adults and nine students partnered with many others through Mission Serve to paint and put shingles on the roofs of 7 homes in this very poor community. Before we left, I encouraged the adults and students to write out their personal testimonies and learn the "Romans Road" verses that are often used to lead someone to Christ -- Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:23; 10:9-13.  Our goal was to serve the residents of Lake Providence by fixing up their homes and thus try to meet their physical needs as we show them the love of Christ.  I challenged our group to share the gospel, and if necessary, use words. After we arrived, our group was divided in to separate teams to work on the various homes.  Only a few from my church worked on the same house as I, but we met and worked with a lot of other great people.  Living in the...