Stories From Our City | Directors Dinner

The engagement team was preparing for the Directors Dinner around the same time my internship at YU was coming to an end. The Directors Dinner is organized every other year as a way to connect with YU supporters and tell stories of God’s goodness and faithfulness through various ministries. As I joined meetings about the event I approached my work as if this might be one of the last things I did here. I didn’t know where God was calling me after my internship.

I was one of the event emcees and part of the planning team, I helped to shape the stories we would tell from the stage to the over 280 supporters joining us that evening.

When we got to the venue and I looked out at all the soon-to-be filled chairs and empty tables, my palms were sweaty and my face was flush. This was my first YU event, the first part of my role that couldn’t be done from behind a laptop screen or on a cell phone.

Pretty soon, after some rehearsals and setup, myself and Andrew, who was the other emcee, found ourselves on stage welcoming everyone to dinner. I fiddled with my headset microphone, and stuck strictly to the script. But in the glances I took up at the audience, I saw smiling faces and somehow felt oddly calm.

As I stood behind the podium, I realized this was my ministry’s frontline.

A work day in my life is usually filled with meetings at the office, emails about what to post on instagram, or talking to staff about all the wonderful work they are involved in so I can help tell their stories. I’m not directly involved with talking to kids or planning Bible studies.

But as I stood on stage and looked up from my cue cards, God showed me the tangible side of my work at YU.

So much of what I’d done over the last year was engaging with the supporters who were now at this event. They are the readers, listeners, donors, and prayer team behind all of what is happening at YU. I saw how many people it takes to make our ministries thrive. In all those people, from all walks of life, I saw the interwoven-ness of what God is doing.

Just like me, these donors aren’t leading youth programs on a weekly basis, but just like with me, God is using their gifts to bless and propel what He is doing in the city of Toronto and beyond.

As I stood on the stage helping to weave the audience through the stories we were telling, I had another conversation simultaneously. God was speaking to me through the stories I shared. He showed me a new angle, revealing himself to me through the work being done and the people who had shown up to hear about it.

Tim Huff was one of the last staff to speak that night. He talked about the role of grandparents in the lives of youth, and at first what he was sharing didn’t really seem to apply to me. Then, he talked about how he started at YU when he was just 22.

As I sat off to the side of the stage I felt a shiver go through me, I too was 22 years old.

Ok God, I thought. I’m hearing what you’re saying to me tonight, I’m ready to respond.

My next time on stage I didn’t look at my cue cards. I cracked a joke about that story being a bit too old for me, and shared how I found myself in a very similar situation to Tim when he first started in ministry.

Going off script was a way to engage directly with the audience, sure, but in that moment, it was also my way of responding to the conversation God was having with me all night.

I’ve since finished my internship at YU, but I'll be sticking around as our new communications coordinator. This move comes as a direct result of my talk with God that night, and the time I’ve spent leaning into Him since.

I’m not saying I’ll be here until I’m old enough to talk about being a grandparent, but I do think God is calling me to take my next step with Him, and that next step starts right here at Youth Unlimited.

If you want to learn more about our Directors Dinner, click here for a virtual experience of the event!