It’s amazing to look back over the past year and see how God has been at work building His kingdom through Leverage Ministries. 

Several years ago, a group of individuals followed God‘s leading to establish a nonprofit ministry with the goal of encouraging people to use their time, talent and resources to spread the Gospel, both locally and abroad.

A little over a year ago, they took another bold step of faith and asked me to be the Executive Director of their vision. After much prayer and with God‘s clear direction, I accepted this challenge. Together, we established a Board of Directors with various gifts and talents, but all with hearts to see people come to Jesus.

I want to give all of you who have been praying and financially supporting us a return on investment in regards to all that God has done through Leverage Ministries in the last year. It has truly been nothing short of a miracle. 

• We now have 12 board members praying and giving direction to our mission.

• We’ve been able to share the gospel with more than 3,000 at-risk youth in Central Florida area.

• More than 30 of these kids have made decisions to say yes to Jesus.

• We’ve had the opportunity to host two weeks of summer camp in addition to our regular weekly ministries.

• We’ve seen God provide financially when we’ve needed it most.

• We had a mother call to thank us for the way her son is changed.

• We had a young man say to us, “I now see that I have a Father who will never leave me like both my parents did.”

• We had a young lady celebrate Christmas for the very first time and receive her first-ever Christmas gift during one of our holiday parties.

I believe it is also important to point out that 88% of every dollar given goes to direct ministry with these teenagers.  Your continued support is the lifeblood that allows us to reach hurting youth. Thank you for leveraging your resources for the Gospel.

As the end of the year approaches, we are setting big, bold goals to start the new year off well. Will you give to Leverage Ministries, whether as a monthly ministry partner or with a one-time gift? You can visit www.leverageministries.org or click the link below to donate. 

Also, pray for us as we prepare for a busy and important time of the year. The holidays look very different for these teens, and we do everything we can to make it special for them. Stay tuned for information about holiday events and opportunities for you to be involved.

In His Service,

Scott 

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Dear Friends,

Have you ever had a “case of the Mondays?” You know…those days when nothing seems to go right and you’re just in a bad mood?
 

A few weeks ago, in mid-July, I had a serious case of the Mondays. (And it actually was a Monday.) It was the first day of our summer basketball camp, and the Leverage Ministries staff was up early to get things ready.
 

The day started going downhill fast when the two vans we had reserved weren’t ready for us. In the weeks prior, I called three different times to confirm the van rentals. But when we showed up at 9 AM to get them, there were none on the lot, and the staff at the rental place acted like they had no idea what I was talking about. It took quite a while to sort out the mess, and the entire time, I was frustrated and ready to cancel camp.
 

They finally found two vans at a different location, but things just continued to go wrong after that. Roadblock after roadblock kept popping up before we had even picked the boys up for camp. I couldn’t keep the frustration and discouragement from putting me in a bad mood. I definitely didn’t feel prepared to direct 30 middle school and high school boys in basketball camp or share Christ with hurting these teens.
 

But on that Monday morning before the camp officially kicked off — when I was so discouraged and ready to quit — I received a call from the mom of one of the boys. She shared with me about how much her son’s life had changed since he got involved with Leverage Ministries. 
 

She said, “Pastor Scott, he’s a different kid. His behavior has changed. He’s stopped cussing, and he’s respectful. I just wanted to call you and thank you for all you’ve done for my son. Please don’t ever stop doing what you’re doing. It saved my son. What you’re doing is making a difference.”
 

This teenager had accepted Christ earlier this year, and I had watched him change. It was exciting to hear that he was living this out at home as well. His dad is in prison for life, his 13-year-old sister just had a baby and his mom is doing the best she can to provide for her family. Knowing that our work had made a difference was a much-needed reminder from God.
 

I walked into the gym with a new attitude, and we went on to have a great week of camp.
 

Ministry can be really hard, but calls like that make it all worth it. Seeing Jesus change the lives of these at-risk teenagers is worth it.
 

Thank you for your prayers and continued financial support. We couldn’t do what we do without you.
 

We have some exciting things coming up this fall, so be watching your email and the Leverage Ministries social media for announcements about upcoming events. 
 

We appreciate you!

Scott Hirdes, on behalf of Leverage Ministries 

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Dear Ministry Partners,

Thank you all so much for all of your prayers and financial support for our first-ever Leverage Ministries Summer Camp.

Remember that old Toys ‘R Us commercial jingle, “Where a kid can be a kid!”? That’s what camp is really all about—for the boys to get a few days away from all of the mess and experience God. Each one of these boys at camp is dealing with so many issues at home and in their lives. It’s hard for many of us to grasp what they have to shoulder at such a young age.

You can see from the video that it was an awesome week in the Ocala National Forest. The boys were able to swim, fish, play games, and enjoy several other activities throughout the week.

But the most important activity that we did throughout the week was to build relationships with these hurting teens and gain the right to be heard. Our goal is to introduce each young person to Jesus and to let the boys know that He desires to have a personal relationship with each of them. 

A young man named Luke was with us at camp. He was the very last kid to sign up, and I almost did not take him because we were full.  But it is hard for me to say no when a kid wants to be part of our ministry, so I called Luke on the Monday morning we were scheduled to leave and said, “Pack your stuff because you are going to camp. We will make room.”  

I am so glad that I made the decision to bring Luke with us because he is one who said "yes" to Jesus during the week. I had the opportunity to talk to Luke one evening, and he shared with me that his dad was in prison for first-degree murder. When his dad was sent to prison, Luke’s mom joined the Army and left him to stay with an aunt. He hasn’t seen or spoken with his dad since he went to prison, and he has not seen or spoken to his mom in more than five years.  

As we were talking that evening, Luke told me that he trusted Jesus and that he knew Jesus would be the first person in his life who wouldn’t leave.

Please continue to pray for Luke as he learns more about Christ but also as he struggles every day with the feelings of abandonment from his parents. I am so grateful that God prompted me to take Luke to camp, even if we were “full.”  I’m thankful for all the boys who went and that many of them said “yes” to Jesus for the first time.  

Your support of Leverage Ministries is crucial in allowing us to reach the abused, abandoned and arrested youth of Central Florida.  Please continue to pray for each of these young men and our follow up ministry with each of them.

In His Service,

Scott Hirdes
Executive Director