Steve Garnier lives in Leesburg with his wife Susan and their three children. All five are active with Young Life. Steve graduated from Falls Church High School and spent his college years at Lebanon Valley College (PA). He began his volunteer leadership with YL in 1985, working with several Fairfax high schools over the years. In recent years Steve has been focused on WyldLife in Leesburg. Why? "God hasn't let me stop," says Steve; as well as "to have an impact on kid's lives in a life changing way". Steve is a Business Analyst/IT Project Manager with Fairfax County Land Development Services and enjoys skiing and snowboarding whenever possible.

Bob:  You've been involved with Young Life for quite awhile. Give us a brief overview of what that involvement has looked like over the years.
 
Steve:  My involvement has varied over the years.  I was unfamiliar with Young Life until my senior year at college.  On spring break I visited a club meeting with about 75 kids that my sister and brother-in-law were leading in Fairfax.  I was hooked immediately.  There had been no ministries of this type in my high school and I immediately saw the positive impact that Young Life could have in kid's lives.  I started as a volunteer leader right out of college and was off to summer camp at Saranac Lake with Oakton and Madison High Schools almost immediately.  Later that year I moved to South Lakes and Herndon High Schools and served as a volunteer there for seven years.  We had great team members during those years and for several years it was kind of a family affair.  In addition to all the other great team members, I was able to serve as a volunteer at South Lakes/Herndon with my sister, brother, brother-in-law and my wife.

Bob:  When you moved to Loudoun, your involvement with Young Life didn't end. What happened?
 
Steve:  After our daughter was born in 1991 my wife and I decided to move off of the frontlines of club, campaigners, and contact work, and we transitioned to serving as adult helpers. During those early years of Young Life involvement we moved into Loudoun County.  At that time Loudoun County Young Life was just being formed and we were torn between providing support to the Fairfax community in which we served and new Loudoun community in which we lived.  For several years we tried to support both financially, but finally realized that we were being called more towards Loudoun and supporting the ministry that would eventually serve our kids.
 
About 5 years ago, a volunteer WyldLife leader from Leesburg asked if I could help out one week in club and I agreed. Deja vu!  I was hooked immediately. That one week of help has somehow turned into 5 years of getting to know middle school kids in Leesburg.
 
Again it has become somewhat of a family affair. In addition to serving with the greatest team of volunteers ever assembled, I have the privilege this year of having two of my children as club kids with my oldest daughter also volunteering as a high school leader. Occasionally my wife, Susan, will assist in club, completing the whole family set.

Bob:  A lot of people get burned out in youth work, or they transition into something else. What's the secret that has kept you so tied in through the years?
 
Steve:  The secret, if there is one, is family. Sue and I decided early in our relationship that ministry should be shared in marriage; otherwise the demands of any ministry can too easily become a stress point in the relationship.  I had several years where I was single and free to serve with few other demands on my free time and that was great. I then had the opportunity to work as a leader with my new wife and that was better.  When kids eventually came along we were able to step back from Young Life and focus on family life while providing support in other ways.  It also provided the chance to get more involved in our church family by volunteering with the youth groups.

Bob:  There are leaders who are single, and they can pour their lives into ministry, but don't have that same family encouragement and purpose that you are speaking of; and they seem to get burned out early on. Any ideas of why that happens?
 
Steve:  I think issues of burnout are closely linked to unmet expectations and we all too often have expectations that are set by ourselves rather than by our Heavenly Father.  As I venture into any work I tend to develop high expectations, which can easily lead to disappointment, but burnout doesn't occur until disappointment convinces you that the task is no longer worth the effort.  I think I have avoided burnout because I learned at a young age that this ministry is God's and not mine.  I'm just a tool he has chosen to work on the task of taking Good News to tomorrow's generation. Understanding God's role in this is very liberating because if I'm just a tool, then God is responsible for the work in kids lives. I'm just fortunate that he allows me to share in it.
 
Bob:  Tell us a little about WyldLife. What is it and what is going on in western Loudoun?

Steve:  When most people think of WyldLife they generally think of what we call "Club".  Simply stated, WyldLife Club is the most fun that can possibly be packed into an hour!  It has best been described as controlled chaos.  Club in Leesburg is run by a combination of adult and high school volunteer leaders who are committed to making friends with middle school kids in their own environment.  Our goal is to provide a meaningful, positive atmosphere for students to have fun while clearly presenting them with the great message of Christ's love.  We do that by combining games, humor, personal testimonies, media clips, popular songs, and a lot of creativity at the bi-weekly clubs. If I had to sum it all up, I'd say that we strive to make kids feel loved and accepted while helping them develop healthy friendships.

Bob:  Besides club, what else is going on with WyldLife in western Loudoun?

Steve:  If you check out our web site you'll find that there is a lot more to WyldLife. One of our specialties is camping. Young Life runs many premier properties nationwide, including Rockbridge right here in Virginia.  We usually head to camp in August. There, kids can discover the adventures of a lifetime by climbing the ropes course, hurling off of the famous "blob", mountain biking, and participating in countless other activities.  Based on our past experiences we unabashedly promise students that it will be one of the best weeks of their lives.

Bob:  So who comes to WyldLife? What schools do kids come from?

Steve:  At Leesburg WyldLife we welcome middle schoolers of all backgrounds, regardless of their religious beliefs and decisions. We specifically invite kids from Harper Park, Simpson,  and Smarts Mill Middle Schools in Leesburg, but we love kids and also welcome home school kids and students from Dominion Academy.  (Because there is currently only one WyldLife club running in western Loudoun, students from Blue Ridge and Harmony are welcomed as well).

Bob: How can parents or any other adults or even high school leaders help out? What kind of help do you need? What kind of people do you need?

Steve: Great question, thanks for asking.There are so many ways that people can help out - some are simple and require little time and effort; others are more intense commitments. A relatively easy way to help is when parents offer neighborhood kids a ride to club - since this is for middle school and the kids aren't driving yet. This is a tremendous help and is often the difference in whether a kid is able to attend or miss club. We've also had adults offer to bring snacks and drinks for after club which is great because kids stick around for food and it gives us more opportunities to interact.

We always need more volunteer leaders. This is a much bigger commitment, but we have places available for adults, college students, and high school kids (11th and 12th grade) on our leadership team. The basic prerequisites for leadership are a love for middle school kids and a desire to share with them the love and message of Jesus Christ. If someone has the desire to share their faith with middle school kids we'd love to talk to them about getting more involved.

If being a leader is just too far out of someone's comfort zone, than they may want to join the adult committee in the area or contribute to Young Life financially.  There are more possibilities than I can mention, but if someone is really interested, or even slightly interested for that matter, I would direct them to the web site or to the area director, Erin Hatcher. 

Bob: So what kind of people do you need?

Steve: Breathing people.  Seriously, God has proven time and time again that he can use all kind of people in this ministry. Introverts as well as extroverts, old guys like me and high school juniors, stay at home moms and corporate attorneys. If you love kids and want to share with them the good news of Jesus Christ - then you're the kind of person we need.