At YOKE, we value collaboration. We love to partner with churches who desire to engage students and families at their local middle schools. Because many of the kids YOKE serves are not involved with a church community, our leaders are often able to help get them connected to local churches where they can find community and grow in their faith.

A lot of churches want to be involved in schools, but simply don’t know where to start. That’s where YOKE comes in. Our time-tested program and network of relationships provide an avenue for churches to extend their ministries beyond their own walls and build relationships with students in their own neighborhoods.

Montgomery Ridge Intermediate School in Blount County is one of three schools where YOKE is launching new programs this year. One of the first steps involved with starting a new YOKE club is identifying a team leader. Earlier this year, Lee Wagenblast, youth pastor at Blount Christian Church, reached out to us and asked how he and his church could get involved with YOKE. He had only recently heard of YOKE, but wanted to know how he could help launch the program at Montgomery Ridge.

“I initially reached out to YOKE because we wanted to reach the community beyond the four walls of our church,” said Lee. “YOKE provided us with a platform to share the gospel with young people in Blount County by helping us get involved at Montgomery Ridge.”  Lee has since helped s put together a team for the new club, set to begin on September 18th.
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YOKE is grateful for the partnership of Blount Christian Church and all of the other churches who have come alongside us to help reach middle school kids. If you would like to get your church involved on a local middle school campus but don’t know where to start, YOKE is here to help. Contact us at 865-522-6907 or yoke@yokeyouth.com.

We have a saying at YOKE: "once a YOKE Folk, always a YOKE Folk." It implies a couple of things we've found to be true. First, there will always be a connection to the organization. Second, the relationships you built through the ministry will often outlast your time with YOKE. The following text exchange, shared by a former YOKE Folk, demonstrates that truth. It's a relationship that began 20 years ago!

On August 28th, more than 500 guests joined us at the Hotel Knoxville for the YOKE Banquet. The annual event, presented by Pilot Flying J, celebrates what God has accomplished through the ministry, helps cast vision for the next twelve months, and helps raise funds to support the programs and services that YOKE provides. 

Our theme was Illuminate from Ephesians 5:8. There Paul says, "For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!" The program presented ways that YOKE is carrying light into the communities that we serve. 

Jeff Jarnigan joined us to promote the annual YOKE Golf Classic and some of our YOKE Folk used a skit to remind us that everyone has an important role in the body of Christ. Executive Director, Jonathan Haskell updated the crowd on some of the important milestones that YOKE has achieved over the last year. 

The main story of the night was about how YOKE is bringing light to the Farragut community. James Council, our team leader at Farragut Middle, shared how dark his life was until he found light in Christ, and how that has given him the desire to share light with others. The video included testimonies from some of the kids he's impacted and even from the Principal at Farragut. 

With the investment from sponsors, gifts at the event, and pledges to give over the next 12 months, YOKE raised nearly $180,000. Thank you to everyone who gave to help make this event such a success, including our sponsors listed below. 

For information on getting involved with the 2019 YOKE Banquet, call 865-522-6907 or write to yoke@yokeyouth.com. 

​Protomet, Appalachian Title, Bob Johnson Insurance, Brown Bag, Cedar Bluff Towing & Chestnut St. Transport, Foothills Bank & Trust, Fulghum Macindoe, LeConte Wealth Management, Prompt Physical Therapy, Standard Kitchen & Bath, Stowers Machinery, Tedford/Tellico, and Wallace & Wallace Realty. 

YOKE is more than just a program or volunteer opportunity; it’s a family. While volunteering with YOKE is an opportunity to serve the community by positively impacting middle school students, it is also an opportunity to develop meaningful relationships that will last for years to come. The start of a new school year is the perfect time to enter into this community—especially as we prepare to launch programs at three new schools, bringing our total to 30 schools in 5 counties.

YOKE is seeking adults (typically college-age) that have a few hours each week to devote to positively impacting middle school kids. These volunteers – known as YOKE Folk - are responsible for helping to lead a weekly club at the school they are assigned to, spending quality time with middle school kids, and attending a weekend camp at the end of the semester.

Time and time again, we hear stories of how serving with YOKE is just as impactful for our leaders as it is for the kids. Bridget Newcomb, who started out as a YOKE kid in middle school and now serves as Team Leader at Holston Middle School, referenced Luke 6:38a when asked about YOKE’s impact on her life: “Give, and it will be given to you.”

“My goal when I started YOKE was to be a Christ-like role model and to make a difference in a young teen’s life,” said Bridget. “I didn’t expect YOKE to make a lasting change in my own life. By volunteering with YOKE, God has given me encouragement and love in my time of need, and a life-long community of friends.”

We are excited to be able to bring the YOKE community to new places this year as we launch programs at Gibbs Middle School, Hardin Valley Middle School, and Montgomery Ridge Intermediate School.

If you are interested in joining our community by serving at one of these schools (or at any of our other schools in Knox, Blount, Jefferson, Anderson, or Grainger counties), now is the time to take action. Call (865) 522-6907 or email yoke@yokeyouth.com. To inquire specifically about our new schools, use the information below:
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Gibbs Middle School: Stephanie Enger – stephanie@yokeyouth.com
Hardin Valley Middle School: Leah Carter – leah@yokeyouth.com
Montgomery Ridge Intermediate School: Eli Smith – eli.smith@yokeyouth.com

YOKE is excited to open three new clubs this fall - Gibbs Middle and Hardin Valley Middle in Knox County, and Montgomery Ridge in Blount County - but there are many details involved in opening a new club. Area directors are tasked to recruit a team (8 YOKE Folk and 2 Team Leaders), find a teacher sponsor, secure a meeting space, and inform the community about YOKE. Additionally, YOKE strives to involve local churches in this process.

For the Gibbs team, Roger and Dana White were quick to step up and volunteer to lead the team. The saying around YOKE “once a YOKE Folk, always a YOKE Folk,” really captures Roger and Dana’s heart for the ministry. Over the years they have served as YOKE Folk at Springhill, Halls, and South Doyle, as team leaders at Holston Middle School, and as kitchen crew at camps and leadership training weekends. Coming out of “retirement” for the Gibbs club was special for them since the new school is less than a mile from their house and they attend church in the community.

“YOKE has been a huge part of our adult lives and the life of our family,” says Dana. “We are super excited to be able to share the YOKE experience and the love of Jesus Christ with middle school students here in our home community of Gibbs.”

It is also really special to them that they will be serving with their daughter, Sarah, a former YOKE Kid who has been serving as a YOKE Folk at Holston. Sarah has a group of girls that she has been mentoring at Holston who have now been rezoned for Gibbs, so she has decided to make the move with them.

“The move from Holston to Gibbs was a difficult decision, but I am so excited to get to help start the Gibbs club,” said Sarah. “God has been doing some really incredible things in this ministry, and I know that it will continue with this new school. I’m so ready to see how He is going to move.”

Others from the YOKE family have joined the team at Gibbs as well. Judy Fugate, a sixth grade teacher at Gibbs, has offered to serve as our teacher sponsor. Judy served as both team leader and teacher sponsor at Halls prior to transferring to Gibbs. Alan and Hannah Duncan (former team leaders and YOKE Folk at Whittle Springs) have volunteered to serve as co-team leaders. Hannah is also a teacher at Gibbs Elementary. Both Corryton Church and Fairview Church have invested financially to help bring YOKE to the Gibbs community.

“We’re so excited about YOKE coming to Gibbs Middle School and anticipate great participation from our students,” said Cindy White, who will serve as the school’s first principal. “YOKE has been an important part of programming in the middle schools where I’ve been. The mentoring of students by caring adults falls right in line with our commitment at Gibbs Middle to providing a sense of belonging for every kid.”
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It is exciting to watch this community come together for their new school and for the middle school kids in the Gibbs community. YOKE is still looking for several Christian young adult leaders to serve as mentors at Gibbs Middle School. If you or someone you know would be an excellent addition to the Gibbs team contact stephanie@yokeyouth.com or call the YOKE office at 865-522-6907.

​The annual YOKE Banquet is a time to reflect on all that God is doing through the ministry of YOKE, a chance to dream about what the future might hold, and an opportunity for guests to invest in that future. We hope you'll join us this year as we celebrate 41 years of ministry in East Tennessee!

This year's event, presented by Pilot Flying J, is scheduled for Tuesday, August 28th at 6:30 pm at the Hotel Knoxville (formerly the Knoxville Marriott). If you’ve ever been to a YOKE banquet before, you know that it will be a unique event that will expose our guests to what we like to call the “YOKE Life.”
 
We don’t sell tickets to the banquet, but there will be an opportunity for guests to invest in the life changing ministry of YOKE. There are several ways that you can be involved. 

1. Register here to attend the event. 
2. Volunteer to host a table. On the registration form, simply click the box that says, "Yes, I would like to be a table host" and begin inviting your friends. 
3. Invest in the ministry of YOKE by helping to sponsor the event. Click here for more information about sponsorship. 
4. If you can't attend, you can still support the event by giving financially. Make a secure gift online anytime, or mail your check to YOKE at P.O. Box 3492, Knoxville, TN, 37927. 

For more information or for help with registration, contact Cindy Carter at cindy@yokeyouth.com or 865-522-6907. We look forward to seeing you on the 28th!

As much as any kid looks forward to summer vacation, summertime doesn’t look the same for all middle school students. Some may have vacations planned, camps to attend, and family to spend time with. But others often find themselves stuck at home with nothing to do. For many of the kids that are involved with YOKE during the school year, summer can be a lonely time, or even a time to get into trouble if they have no positive influences investing in their lives. At YOKE, we believe that mentor relationships are vital to any child, and not just during the school year. That’s why every Tuesday in June, the students of the schools we serve have a chance to participate in our Summer Adventures Program.
 
This year, we took 57 students on four different Summer Adventures. At each of these events, we had around 25 adult leaders present to invest in the lives of kids by simply having fun with them. Each trip provided kids and leaders with a chance to step out of their comfort zone and build relationships in unfamiliar, and sometimes challenging environments.
 
The first adventure on June 5th was a whitewater rafting trip on the Pigeon River, a favorite from last year. On June 12th, we hiked two trails at Frozen Head State park, where kids had a chance to see beautiful waterfalls, climb rocks, and get wet in the creek. The third trip on June 19th took place at Ijams Nature center, where kids go kayaking on the river and try the challenging Navitat Ropes Course. The last trip on June 26th was a day spent at Pigeon Forge Community Center bowling, swimming, and playing volleyball.
 
“I loved Summer Adventures because it was a chance to get out of the house and do something active, while also making new friends and learning about Jesus,” says Eli, an 8th grader at Alcoa Middle School. “I had a great time on all the trips, and enjoyed getting to help the YOKE Folk out with setup, moving supplies, and handing out lunches.” Eli plans to participate in the Future Folk program next year as a high school student, and attended all four Summer Adventures events. He found himself building new friendships with kids from other schools, who he normally would not have a chance to interact with.
 
If you’d like to support YOKE so that kids like Eli can continue to find community even during the summer, visit our donations page. The work of developing and maintaining meaningful relationships does not end over summer vacation, and that’s why we believe the Summer Adventures program is so vital to the kids that we serve.

One of the main questions we always get this time of year is this: “What does YOKE do when school is out?” Well, we stay busy investing in young people, connecting with our financial partners and local churches, helping out with special events, and some of our team even take YOKE around the world on mission trips. If that weren’t enough, in June we host YOKE’s Summer Adventures program!

The summer program features a series of day trips each Tuesday during the month of June. This summer we’ll be taking students and leaders rafting on the Pigeon River, hiking at Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, exploring the ropes course and kayaking at Ijams Nature Center, and bowling and swimming at the Pigeon Forge Community Center. If you have or know a kid who would like to be involved, visit our Summer Adventures page for all the details.

Summer Adventures is a great way for us and our leaders to stay in touch with our kids over the summer break. In addition, the program encourages a healthy, adventurous lifestyle, and provides kids the opportunity to get out of their environment and try new things.

“I credit YOKE’s Summer Adventures with my continuing love for the outdoors,” says Eli Cockrum, a former YOKE Kid who now serves as our program director. “So many of the things I love to do now as an adult are things I first experienced as a middle school student with YOKE.”

There is a cost for Summer Adventures. For $120, students can participate in all four trips and receive a Summer Adventures t-shirt. If a student can’t participate in all four events, the events are $40 each and t-shirts are available for order at $10 each.
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As always, we do our best to make sure that no kid who wants to participate gets left behind. If you’d like to sponsor a kid for Summer Adventures, simply click on the link below. 

The 2018 Jeff Jarnigan YOKE Golf Classic was held Friday, May 4th at Three Ridges Golf Course. Twenty teams competed in the tournament, which featured two flights with shotgun starts at 8:30 am and 1:30 pm. A memorable lunch was once again provided by Shafer Insurance, Buddy's Bar-B-Q, and others. Prizes were awarded for the top teams in each flight, along with winners of the long drive, closest to the pin, and putting competitions. 

Unlike prior events, it was a perfect day for golf! Most importantly, more than $23,000 was raised to benefit the ministry of YOKE in Knox, Blount, Anderson, Jefferson and Grainger Counties. 

In addition to our presenting sponsor, Home Federal Bank, YOKE would like to thank media sponsors WVLT TV, WNML Radio, JOY 620, and Lamar Advertising. Thanks also to: 

Fairview Baptist Church, Corryton Church, Brown Bag, Barnhart Crane and Rigging, William Pugh, Always Best Care, Safe n' Sound, Standard Kitchen & Bath, Farm Bureau Insurance, Bob Johnson Insurance, Hank Bertelkamp, Gondolier Italian Restaurant & Pizza, Burkhart & Company, Protomet, Novinger, Ball & Zivi, Hodges, Doughty & Carson, Retirement Planning Services, Mountain Motorsports, Dan's Pool Service, Homestead Construction, Creative Structures, Broadway Carpets, Pete Michaels Traffic, Roger L. Newman Heating & Air, North Knoxville BPA, Chick Fil A, Commercial Lighting, Gouffon Moving & Storage, Butler & Bailey Market, RIVR Media, Precision Builders, East Tennessee PBS, Sam & Andy's, Airport Honda, Rome Eddleman & Associates, and Durfee Financial Services. 

When people think of YOKE, they often think of our after school clubs, or perhaps camp. For us, though, YOKE is about life-changing relationships. Clubs and camps are the vehicles that we use to get us there. We encourage our talented, passionate, committed YOKE Folk to look for ways to go the extra mile for their kids, and so we like to recognize them when they do. Our team at Northwest Middle recently held their inaugural 8th Grade Banquet, to honor their YOKE Kids who are moving on to high school.

“Our club at Northwest has seen tremendous growth this year (nearly doubling in size),” says Nick Marshall, YOKE’s area director for the school. “A huge reason for that is the sense of belonging that our team provides for each of their kids, and nothing demonstrates that more than this event, dubbed the Yokies by the YOKE Folk.”

The Northwest team, their 8th grade students, and even some of their family members got together at Cheddars to reflect and celebrate the good times that they’ve shared together through the years. The evening was filled with food, laughter, and stories of favorite club and camp experiences, but the highlight was the presentation of the YOKIE Awards. Each student received an award along with a special message that reflected their value and uniqueness.

“It was a blast,” said Tori Duncan, one of our Northwest YOKE Folk. “Everyone loved it and we want to make it even bigger next year.”

The kids’ awards included Best Attitude, Most Likely to Brighten Your Day, Messiest at Messy Games, Best Poker Face, Loudest, Most Likely to Become a YOKE Folk, and of course, Chug Champ and Crush Champ.
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There were also awards for the YOKE Folk – even Nick was included:

• Go with the Flow Award – Nathaniel Shine
• Middle School Award (not a student, but looks like one) – Tori Duncan
• Skit Master Award – Jeff Bronner
• Silly Song Award – Paige Bronner
• Most Likely to Get in Trouble by Other YOKE Folk Award – Lalina Thompson
• Rachel Award (My name is not Rachel) – Rebecca Harper
• Most Likely to Get Engaged at YOKE Camp (she actually did) – Courtney Rader
• Leadership Award – Josiah Glafenhein
• Most Likely to Get Shipped – Nick Marshall

“YOKE is more than just an after school program,” said Nick. “It’s a culture – a lifestyle of relational disciple-making. This is just one example of how our leaders use their time, energy, and resources to invest in middle school kids. It’s one of the things I love about YOKE.”