Blog

Quarterly Message: Youth Horizons President Robert Garner

Greetings, this has been an exceptional first quarter of ministry at Youth Horizons. As I think about our journey to onboard our residential ministry for girls, three of our core values as an organization were present. These three values are Relationships, Community and Commitment. Building relationships, engaging the church and business communities and an unwavering commitment paved the way for this ministry. From the initial vision for program development, fundraising and the engagement of many people to God’s faithfulness, the Wren houses for girls are finally serving their purpose. The girls we serve are flourishing.

They are enjoying stability and receiving a tremendous amount of love and care. As I interact with them weekly, my passion and love for the work we do are increasing. Our goal is to keep the girls engaged in meaningful activities. They especially enjoy cooking. One of the girls asked me to teach her how to fry chicken. That was a pinnacle event for me. I enjoyed it and so did the girls. Board member Joy Eakins and her husband Eric hosted a Valentine’s Day dinner and dance. The girls took it to another level by dressing up in formal attire. It was great to hear how well the girls interacted with other couples from River Community Church. The girls also enjoy interacting with each other and becoming best friends. Gospel-driven is another Youth Horizons core value. Sharing the love of Christ in a non-imposing way has allowed an entry point for the girls to experience God and individuals from the community have sponsored the girls with their own personal Bibles. I am so thankful for what has become another avenue for Youth Horizons to bless youth. Our girls also enjoy interacting with youth on a weekly basis at Riverlawn Christian Church. I look forward to sharing more in future updates as we continue to minister to the girls in the Wren houses.

Easter Sun Run 2023

We are excited about the 2023 Easter Sun Run event. The Easter Sun Run is our biggest fundraiser and is one of Wichita’s most prestigious running events. Sedgwick County Park will be the host site on April 8. Please visit our website to register and for race details. To create a sense of community and fun, we are pushing teams this year. You may create and recruit your own team members or you can join a team that already exists. Descriptions of formed teams are located on the events page of our website. Teams are not for everyone so you can always sign up as an individual or family. We will continue with tradition and host a 10k run and 2-mile run. We also continue to host a 2-mile walk in honor of the late Jeff Wenzel, a co-founder of Youth Horizons. Whereas this event is about building community, it is also about family. Bring your entire family and participate in some of the Easter kidfriendly activities. A few activities for youth include an Easter egg hunt, inflatables, yard games and more. Come enjoy the food and entertainment and celebrate Easter with us.

Year 2023

I am looking forward to this year as I stand on God’s promise to provide. I am looking forward to engaging our church communities at a greater level. I am looking forward to speaking in the business communities in an effort to access the abundance of resources the Wichita community has to offer. Will you please stay connected with us? Will you think of us and offer up a prayer as the Holy Spirit leads you? Will you volunteer? Will you support us financially? The needs are great and we need you.