BMancaster Fanning, Saturday, December 31, 1994 Winebark Leaves Extension Job To Alter Path Of Troubled Teens New Year Brings Big Transition For Winebarks LOU ANN GOOD Lancaster Farming Staff LEBANON (Lebanon Co.) Many people chart a new course of action on New Year’s Day, but few make the dramatic changes that Ken and Janet Winebark and their children will undertake this year. Winebark is Lebanon County’s livestock agent, who is known for his dedication to helping 4-H’ers raise successful livestock projects. On January 13, Winebark is giving up that career to be a full-time youth minister without a guar anteed income. Winebark said that his decision to switch career tracks actually began three years ago. A Lay Witness Weekend at the couple’s church challenged Wine bark to think about what he really was accomplishing in life and where his primary focus lay. His attention was drawn to two teen boys, the only teen-agers attending his church at that time. “Would they drop out of going to church just like the other kids did during his teen years?” “Kids need to know someone cares. In the world , there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of car ing. Everyone is caught up in doing his or her own thing and too busy to help the next person. We let them know that someone does love them and reinforce God’s love is there even though we can’t always be with them. It gives kids hope at the end of the tunnel Janet said. He remembered his wife’s con cern for the children who attended Rejoice Club, which she directed for ages from four years to fifth grade. She often expressed con cern that the children loved the club until fifth grade, when unex plainedly they stopped attending. She pleaded with her husband to get involved, but, he was too busy, he told her. During that Lay Witness weekend, Winebark sensed an inner urging to become involved in the lives of those two teen-agers who continued to faithfully attend church services. Inwardly, he argued that he was too busy. After all, his job required two to three evenings away from his wife and two children; he didn’t need another night away doing something with other peo ple’s kids. But when the two teens at Ken and Janet Winebark believe the inspiration and guidance they find in the Bible is what teen-pgers need In their own lives. church asked him to go bowling with them, Winebark consented. From the time he rolled that first bowling ball down the alley. Winebark recognized that there was a connectedness between him and the teen-agers. Meanwhile, his wife sensed that she and Ken should work as a cou ple by starting a youth group. “How do you start a youth group with only two kids?” Ken countered. Relunctantly he agreed to block out a month of Wednesday nights to hold a youth meeting. “I didn’t think the program would fly. Then I could say, I tried, but it didn’t work,” Winebark said. Despite Winebark’s skepticism, the first night, nine kids attended. The second night, attendance was in the 20s, then the 30s. “It just soared from there,” said Ken, who is still a bit flabbergasted by teens who come “to talk about God.” He said, “The amazing thing is that these teenagers are almost all senior-high-age boys who are unchurched.” The Winebatks sense that the growth and the relationships that have developed between the youth and he and his wife is bigger than human explanations. In fact, they credit it to a series of miracles with God being the instigator. Their love for the teen-agers and for God bubbles over in their enthusiasm to tell about “ways that they saw God do again and again.” Fot example, the Winebarks thought the youth meeting should be held in a gym, but their church had no gym and no money to rent one. After several inquiries, they were given the use of a free gym at the Richland Fire Hall. “But it was upstairs—small and dark and it echoed like crazy,” Janet said. With the help of that Hist gather of teens, the Winebarks made The New Year brings big changes to Ken and Janet Wlnebark with children Janlne, 10, and Brandon, 8. Ken will leave his Job as Lebanon County extension agent to devote full-time to helping alter the lives of teen-agers. some renovations to the gym. guiding people today. Even in that, they credit God for n* Winebarks expected that small miracles. the kids would be more interested Hot. when they went to buy a in the social aspect rather than the basketball hoop, the owner spiritual content of the meetings, insisted on giving it and a score- “Instead, the discussion time is board to them. They also put up a the big drawing card,” Ken said, volleyball net Another man who “The kids are eager to learn about works for a snack company God and eager to pray about donates weekly snacks for the problems.” agenda for the ag °. fought of youth program was*to play basket ball and volleyball for about one JJJ “S* SCared mc ’ JanCt hour, have a stack, and then a dis- .. But I it was s , uch topics “ t what tant that Ken and I work togetherin to . about this. So many Idds Sn’t see parents, friendships, sex. and God workin y g togcther> need to see stable marriages,” she said. To her surprise when she started working with teen-agers, she felt such love and closness to the teen agers that she can easily converse with them. “Kids need to know someone cares. In the world, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of caring. Everyone is caught up in doing his or her own thing and too busy to help the next person. We let them know that someone does love them and reinforce God’s love is there even though we can’t always be with them. It gives kids hope at the end of the tunnel,” Janet said. The teens are encouraged to read the Bible. The Winebarks use the “Youth Bible,” written in easy to-understand language for today’s teen-agers. Homestead Notes “We don’t push Bibles, but if someone asks for one, we give him or her one,” Winebark said. So far, they have given away 73 Bibles. The Richland gym was made to accomodate only 20 people. When 58 teens started showing up for the meetings, the Winebarks knew changes had to be made. Despite Ken’s search for bigger facilities, he was unable to reach an agreement with any group because gyms were always rented out to sports league groups. The gymnasium owners were not interested in donating a gym to a group without funds and with questionable characters. Then the Richland Fire Hall gave the Winebarks one week’s notice that they would need to vac ant the building. “That Wednesday night, the teens prayed about finding a meet ing place,” Janet said. “They were so full of faith and confidence that God would provide. You could really feel God working, and that night 25 of the teens gave their life to Christ.” God did provide a gym just like the kids expected. The Myer stown Church of the Brethren offered their full-sized new gym nasium. The gym had been fully scheduled to meet the demands of league games, but when the board heard of the Winebarks’ work with local youth, they sensed that the “it was God woridng and that the gym (Turn to Pago B 4)
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