The following story was written by Rylie* in her own words. Minor, non-substantive edits were made for clarity and do not alter the meaning or intent of the original content. *Name was changed for privacy.
Hi, my name is Rylie* and this is my testimony. Growing up, I grew up in a household full of alcoholism. My parents were always fighting and at a very young age my parents split. My mom ended up moving and left me and my siblings with my stepdad bc she was going through her own problems and during the time I was with my stepdad, he was always drunk and I also dealt with SA, rape and lots of other things till I was about 11. Then my mom was in a better place and took me and my siblings back and we moved to New York. During this time I grew up in a catholic church was going through a lot of depression and anxiety and had lots of suicidal thoughts. It got to a point where I couldn’t take it and knew, I needed to get help, so one day when I was like 15 me and my sister started looking for a church to go to and we found lighthouse tabernacle and we loved it, and had been going for a couple of months.
One day the church was having an event where they were doing baptisms and I decided to give my life to Christ. That day I chose him as my lord and savior, but before that I had a lot of hate towards people that have hurt me and my heart felt heavy and that night God took all that weight off my chest and I felt so at peace.
After that I didn’t fully start living for Christ, I still kept doing worldly things and sinning, hanging out with the wrong people, but then one day, Kevin and Andy invited me to go to camp and at that camp not only did I meet great people and have so much fun but I felt God’s presence and I was empowered. After that, I have never felt so at peace and my relationship with God has been going strong. Choosing God as my lord and savior has been the best decision I’ve ever made, and I wanna thank Kevin and Andy for inviting me bc that camp truly changed my life in such a great way.
Rylie’s story is a powerful reminder that God is still in the business of rescuing and restoring broken lives. Even in the darkest moments, Jesus sees, cares, and is ready to lift burdens we can no longer carry on our own. Through a simple invitation to camp, God used Kevin and Andy, our YFC leaders at City Life in Central Islip, to open a door for Rylie to encounter the peace, hope, and purpose found in Christ alone.
At Long Island Youth for Christ, we believe every young person should have the chance to hear about Jesus and experience His life-changing love, just like Rylie did. We’re grateful for your partnership in making stories like this possible, and we invite you to continue praying for students in our community who are still waiting to discover the freedom and hope that only Jesus can give.