Foxfires call on young people to impact SA youth for Christ

The Foxfire Youth Team, which impacts thousands of young people all over South Africa every year with the love and truth of Jesus Christ, is looking for vibrant young leaders aged between 18 and 25 years old to give a year of their lives to serve on the programme.

Applications to join the 2015 Foxfires closes on August 31, 2014. The new recruits will undergo seven weeks of intensive training at the beginning of next year on how to motivate, counsel and communicate with young people, after which they will work in schools, prisons and youth groups throughout the country.

The Foxfires are the youth wing of African Enterprise. One of the main objectives of the programme is to empower young people to make personal and socially responsible decisions, which add value to the community through life-skills

“We find many young people engaging in perilous and immoral sexual behavior,joining gangs and getting involved in satanism and drug abuse,” says Julian Yon, Foxfire director.

“The drug problem in South Africa is alarming. If the foundation on which the young person’s life is built is faulty and cracked, then his or her whole life will collapse. The Foxfires tell young people about the love of Christ and how they can build their lives on Him as their firm foundation. They strive to change attitudes towards drugs and take time to counsel those struggling with addictions on a one-on-one basis. The problem has become so big that one organisation cannot solve the problem by itself. The Foxfires therefore encourage Christians in schools to come together,” Yon says.

Commenting on a recent Foxfires mission to Bredasdorp in the Western Cape, Yon says: “All glory to God for what He has accomplished.The churches in Bredasdorp invited the Foxfire Youth Team to be part of their mission week. Our main role was to work in the high schools and to make door-to-door visits. We have seen young and old encounter God this week. After Foxfires had taught lifeskills in the schools, many young people have said they want to quit their life of drugs. Some of them saw for the first time that what they were doing was leading them down a path of destruction. About 30 young people made first time commitments to Christ as they heard the Gospel being preached. Many opened up about their struggles at home and expressed bitterness and anger towards their parents. We helped these learners to understand that in order to break free from the past, they needed to forgive those who have hurt them. The door-to-door ministry was a real eye opener. Many people were blessed to know that God knows them intimately and loves them.”

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Another recent highlight was the Foxfire ministry to a church in Mariannridge, KZN. The Pastor of the church said: “Many of the young people who came for prayer were ‘saved’ in the true sense of the word. One young man’s story is undoubtedly the most profound and he has not stopped speaking about it.He shared with me, in the darkness of the streets, how Friday evening changed his life. He says he is no longer ‘sitting with those guys who just want to drink’. Furthermore he has told me how he has now made peace with himself (not planning to kill himself anymore), and he wants to make peace with his aunt and her family too.I thank God for this young man’s testimony and joy in the Lord. All have said the Foxfires were very inspiring and that they looked as if they were enjoying what they were doing! The dramas were authentic, and very moving. The last one on Sunday brought tears to my own eyes!!”

Yon says: “The health of our country is directly related to the health of our youth.It is into this context that the Foxfire Team aims to bring true change and hope into a young person’s life.”

He says the Foxfire year is not only a chance to serve and bring a Gospel witness to thousands of other young people, but it is a unique opportunity for personal growth which can be formative and determinative for each of the Foxfires for the rest of their lives.

Michael Cassidy, Team Leader of African Enterprise, South Africa says, “I can hardly think of a more valuable way for a young person to spend a year of their life”.

Click to join movement

Young people aged between 18 and 25 who have a burning desire to reach out to the youth of South Africa are invited to email the Foxfire programme for an application form or to find out more at foxfire@ae.org.za.