After months of being on campus and making connections, Lincoln City Life Club had finally launched just before schools closed. Leaders had taken kids to Winter Camp where they’d had incredible encounters with the Lord and strong relational foundations had been laid. And then everything suddenly stopped. 

Instead of canceling ministry, Josh Chambers and the Lincoln team got creative and found new ways to connect. They used Instagram to connect young people to messages of inspiration and hope, phone calls and text to reach out individually, Zoom to gather for discussions and learning, and often Josh would make time with a few guys to use face time or an app like Houseparty to live life side by side. Josh could be doing dishes or playing with his kids while his guys were playing video games or working on homework. Everyone could be “together”, laughing and talking about whatever came up. Real relationship. Real life. 

Then as summer started and the school year ended, the fatigue of meeting virtually for months set in. They decided to give everyone a break from screens and schedules. The Lincoln leaders still checked in with kids, but they put the Zooms and the apps on hold. 

But just a week into the break, Josh got a text message, “When can we start the Zooms again?” 

Young people are craving connection now more than ever. Virtual interactions may be imperfect, but kids need adults who empower and care for them more than they want to step away from a screen. We can’t wait to meet face to face with kids again, but God has been using less than perfect circumstances to bring people back to Him since the start and He’s doing the same thing now.