LAUNCH Newsletter

Issue 19 | 2017 what’s inside LAUNCHees - WHERE ARE THEY NOW? LAUNCH PARTNERS WITH A MARKHAM HIGH SCHOOL 5 GAUGES OF TRANSFORMATION AND MORE... 321LAUNCH.ca Youth Unlimited (Toronto YFC)

LAUNCHee ALUMNIWhere are they now? LAUNCHee Katrina organized a Girls Conference in 2010 & 2011 focusing on self-worth and sisterhood in Christ. Since graduating with a Bachelor of Design and spending a life changing year at Bethel Church’s School of Ministry, Katrina and her husband Trevor now serve as Worship Coordinators at Springvale Baptist Church. Recently they recorded their 2nd worship album “Homecoming” (available on iTunes or trevtrin.bandcamp.com) and both enjoy leading and teaching youth in Springvale’s Worship Academy. LAUNCHee in 2008, Steven started Christian Youth Connection - an evangelism initiative spreading the gospel to youth in Toronto. Working as Staff Apologist and Jr. Scholar in Residence at The Ezra Institute for Contemporary Christians, Steven serves as a blogger (on The Gospel Coalition’s Spanish website) and a speaker / debater at churches, conferences and universities across Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America. LAUNCHee in 2007, Laura’s project was a free week-long Keep It Real day camp for kids in her community to experience God’s love through skateboarding and art. Since then, Keep It Real has continued to grow, encouraging this generation to be real (in words and actions) and to discover who God created them to be. Laura travels all over the world inspiring young people through speaking, skateboarding, graffiti, vlogs, as as a DJ, etc. Have an idea that could change your world? Apply today to get a Coach who’ll help you LAUNCH your project. Visit 321LAUNCH.ca for info.2 :: LAUNCH News

In 2014, LAUNCHee Shelly raised funds to help New Credit First Nation Reserve purchase a van. A van that would allow ministry to reach more youth in the community, building into their lives and contribute to lowering the suicide rate in the Reserve. Shelly is in her 2nd year of Nursing at McMaster University and volunteers with L’Arche in Hamilton.LAUNCHee in 2013, Michaela facilitated a tweengirl Bible study in Uxbridge called Upstreamand still connects with some of the girls today! She’sin her 2nd year of Public Relations at Durham Collegeand will complete her work placement this year at YouthUnlimited. In 2017 she’ll be busy with her part-time job,volunteering at Uxbridge Baptist Church’s youth group and getting married! LAUNCHee Joel hosted a Toronto March Madness Basketball camp in 2011 & 2012 for young men to improve their skills and learn about Jesus. After graduating from college Joel has been working in the IT industry and soon he’ll be attempting an Advanced Project Management (PMP) Certification.Upon completion, Joel plans on taking the Global PMP examination. He is also currently applying to join our LAUNCH Coach roster.As a LAUNCHee in 2011, Suraj began The Rebellion- a community helping gamers investigateJesus. With help from his friends, The Rebellion isstill going strong. Check out their promotional videoat RebellionHQ.com. Suraj now works as a SoftwareDeveloper for a company called Shopify in Waterloo.He and his wife Natalie have felt called to prayerfully live among peoplewho’ve not yet heard of Jesus through a ministry called MoveIn. For manyyears, Suraj has also been volunteering his expertise to help LAUNCH’sonline tools platform thrive. THANK YOU Suraj! LAUNCH News :: 3

How does a local HighSchool end up partneringwith LAUNCH?START ...Scarborough ChineseHERE... Baptist Church who invites LAUNCH to facilitate the A Board Member at Cornerstone Montessori Why Bother Growing Prep School (our gr.11 workshop and online 360 Leadership Assessment for leadership course their students, including.... acreditation partner) recommends LAUNCH to... Search: Coaches Do you (or someone you know) love coaching young leaders to acheive their4 :: LAUNCH News goals and grow spiritually, in character and in leadership? Do you live around the GTA? LAUNCH is looking for mature Christians to join our roster of Coaches. Contact [email protected] for details or visit 321LAUNCH.ca/coaching

...one student who asked ...this Teacher (head of the Me his Teacher at Markham to We Leadership Program atDistrict High School (MDHS) MDHS) to call LAUNCH and to complete the feedback discuss a partnership. Now 60 portion of his online 360 grade 9 students, all of them Leadership Assessment, passionate about world change, are growing in leadership through which caused... myLAUNCHtools.com assessments and inspiring workshops. THIS AIN’T THE END FOLKS... Who knows who we’ll partner with next?!Learn more about LAUNCHCheck out our latest video. Visit vimeo.com/54268149 LAUNCH News :: 5

Transformation has been at the heart of Youth Unlimited (LAUNCH’s parent organization) for a long time. As an organization, we are thrilled when we see positive transformation occur in the lives of the youth and young adults we work with. We are further encouraged when we see those very same young people bring about transformation in their own communities and beyond. Over the past year and a half, however, we have increased our focus on transformation, zoning in on how we can measure transformation and examining our effectiveness as an organization. This culminated in the launch of our 5 Gauges of Transformation initiative. For Youth Unlimited, the 5 Gauges of Transformation are Renewed Character, Healthy Relationships, Rooted Identity, Joyful Service and Clear Purpose. What a joy to see the growth we have experienced as we intentionally focus in on these areas. For more information on the theology and thinking behind the 5 Gauges of Transformation, visit: www.fivegauges.ca.6 :: LAUNCH News

GROW Your Leadership. ““ IMPACT Your Community. EARN a Credit. LAUNCH Leadership Course - Grade 11 Credit GPP30 Leadership & Peer Support Online and In-class Learning Apply Now for Fall 2017! Visit 321LAUNCH.ca/leadership-course for more info. LAUNCH has shown me that I may be young, and I may just be one person, but through my passion I can change the world… This course [has affected my] everyday life and will continue to change how I see the world in the years to come. ~ Jessica, Course Student LAUNCH helped me become a more confident [and] responsible“person. I learned and grew in my time management. This experience has really helped me in growing to become a good leader. ~ Samantha, Course Student“ LAUNCH News :: 7

LAUNCH FamilyUpdatesWe’re growing! LAUNCH is excited to welcome Alex Street as he joins the team as a Leadership Facilitator. Alex hasa unique ability to energize and inspire others to life change andfinding their purpose in Christ. He feels most alive when speakingto a group and his vibrant personality engages audiences of all ages. We’reso glad to have him on board! Dani Hoover has been faithfully serving as an Intern with the LAUNCH team. She provides much needed support in administration, workshops and events. Her passion for spiritual growth and developing leadership in young people will also getput to good use as a LAUNCH Coach.Here the LAUNCH Staff andtheir families (all 29 of us)gather together for fun andfood! Sadly our belovedTeam Shepherd Jan, andhusband Pete, weren’tavailable for the photo op.We love our team.LAUNCH COMES ALONGSIDE YOUNG CHRISTIANS, INSPIRING THEMTO WALK LONG-TERM IN THEIR GOD-GIVEN POTENTIAL BY EQUIPPING THEM TO GROW SPIRITUALLY, IN CHARACTER AND IN LEADERSHIP.LAUNCH is a program of Youth Unlimited ‘LAUNCH Youth Unlimited’57 Mobile Drive Toronto, ON M4A 1H5e. [email protected]. 321LAUNCH.ca