Miami YFC’s Cloud Life Ministry Brings the Gospel to Youth

YFC Reaches Youth Through Their Phones

American teens spend an average of more than seven hours per day online. That doesn’t include time spent using screens for school and homework. Excessive internet use is linked to social isolation, developmental decline, fraud, concentration problems and more. However,  Youth For Christ’s (YFC) Miami and Fort Lauderdale chapters have found a unique way to bring the light of Christ into the online lives of youth.

Cloud Life is a new innovative ministry where they meet youth where they spend the bulk of their time — online. This is done to build profound relationships with them through safe online chatrooms and message boards.

Cloud Life Changing Lives

YFC Miami’s Cloud Life Director Anthony Whylly said, “When you think about where kids spend most of their time, it’s not outside or at school. It’s on their phones. We are trying to harness that potential and reach our kids through technology. Already we have over 100 teens involved with Cloud Life and lives have already being changed. This is done all from the comfort of their own homes! Some students aren’t able to attend YFC’s in-person events for whatever reason. They can join us online to play games, receive mentorship, and ultimately hear the Gospel. Cloud Life is accessible every day of the week. This allows them to engage with us on their timeline. Yhey can just hop online and we are there!”

Through the Cloud Life ministry, Whylly has already witnessed youth being impacted by the message of the Gospel. “One student had a mother that would use God as a weapon against him, telling him that God doesn’t love him, that he’s a sinner and overall worthless,” Whylly said. “It really stuck with him and impacted his view of God. After spending time with us online in our chatrooms and even occasionally visiting us for in-person events, his perspective began to change. He went from being very tense around prayer and discussions about God to opening up to the idea of religion. He even told one of our staff, ‘You know what? God is actually okay. I didn’t even know who God was before this.’ It was so encouraging to see his understanding of God shift from a God who hated him to the real God who knows and loves him.”

Bringing Comfort to Youth

Even fellow youth in the Cloud Life chatrooms are working to share the love of Christ. Whylly continued, “We had one student jokingly message, ‘I already know where I’m going — to hell.’ When I asked him why he thought that, he said ‘I just already know I’m a bad person. Based on everything God says, there’s no reason for me to go to heaven.’ Before I could even respond, other students started messaging him with the truth of the Gospel — they told him that it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, Jesus already took care of it for you on the cross and all you have to do is put your faith in Him. They started quoting Scripture and praying for him, right there online!”

Some youth have a hard time engaging with others in personal settings. Cloud Life offers a unique opportunity to be part of a community on their own terms. “When you think about youth programs, or even school in general, it can be loud, chaotic and overwhelming,” Whylly said. “To many of us, that’s an amazing experience. But there are some students who see that situation and feel a lot of anxiety. They just don’t know how to handle it and prefer to stay away altogether. This means they are missing out on the connection that comes from being in a godly community. Cloud Life offers an opportunity for those kids to engage on their own terms. They often start the relationship with the cameras turned off and muted. However, they slowly start to build relationships with us and understand who we are and how much we care for them. They open up and start turning on their cameras and interacting. We’re able to break these barriers for the Gospel and it’s a beautiful thing to witness.”