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.”

​Each semester YOKE hosts weekends of camp for the middle school students that we serve. Each camp has a different theme, so every experience is unique. This spring featured Superhero Camp, a favorite for the kids and YOKE Folk alike.  Over the course of two weekends nearly 500 kids and leaders joined in the fun, stretching Camp BaYoCa’s capacity to the limit.  

Superhero camp featured a trivia contest, a scavenger hunt, field games and the always popular messy wars with water balloons, flour bombs, and loads of shaving cream. The first weekend also featured frequent rain, which made the war even messier.

There were some serious times as well. Carter Brown, Director at Camp Tipton, and Chad Hartsock, a professor at Carson Newman University, were our guest speakers. Over the two weekends, seventeen students made first time commitments to follow Jesus. 

“Cabin time” offers the kids an opportunity to talk with their leaders about questions they have or issues they are struggling with. “Our cabin time was really special,” said Ryan Hudson, a YOKE Folk at Farragut Middle. “The boys love to talk about sports and joke with each other, but for them to open up about things they struggle with was super cool.”

“We only had one girl come to camp from Gresham, so I was kind of worried about how it might go, especially at cabin time,” added team leader Astrid Martinez, team. “She had a blast, though, and I think she loved being the only one because we were really able to love on her the whole weekend.”

​This was the first camp experience for Eli Smith, who joined YOKE’s staff in January. “I was extremely impressed by the positive attitudes of both the YOKE Folk and the kids,” said Eli. “Even when the weather got nasty and things didn’t go as planned, I never heard a single complaint or negative comment. It made me realize just how committed our leaders are to investing in these kids and loving them well.”  

"I love that the idea of a hero can move past the idea of tights and capes," said Joshua Landon, YOKE Folk at Vine Middle. "It was special seeing so may young men and women pull together and lift each other up."

​Lee and Nicole Roberts have been a part of the YOKE family for many years. In fact, they met through YOKE. Nicole also served as a member of the YOKE staff after volunteering with YOKE through college, while Lee served on YOKE's Board of Directors. Though they are now in a different season of life, they're still a vital part of YOKE's ministry through their role as MVPs - Monthly Vital Partners. 

"We give to YOKE on a monthly basis because we want the ministry to be a part of our life," said Lee recently. "Serving in YOKE was a way of life for so many years and through our giving it will continue to be."

While the Roberts' busy lifestyle prohibits them from volunteering on a weekly basis, they see monthly giving as a way to still be involved in YOKE's ministry. "It also serves as a great reminder to pray for YOKE and the important work the ministry is doing," added Lee. 

​Become an MVP today! Your monthly commitment, no matter the size, provides a dependable stream of income that enables YOKE to do much more than simply pay the bills. It helps sustain the life-changing ministry to middle school students and college leaders throughout our community.  It's easy to set up a recurring online gift with an eternal impact. Click the button below to get started. For information on setting up a monthly EFT, contact Cindy at 865-522-6907 or cindy@yokeyouth.com.

Sarah Jackson has served with YOKE for 5 years as part of our team at Farragut Middle School. She recently finished college and is embarking on an exciting new adventure with the Disney College Program in Orlando, Florida. We had the chance to catch up with Sarah and wanted to share some excerpts from our conversation.

What motivated you to get involved in YOKE?
I got involved with YOKE as a middle school student when a friend invited me to go. I loved both club and camp, and I knew that I wanted to be a YOKE Folk when I grew up. I began to serve with YOKE because my life was impacted and shaped through the program and I want to be able to walk alongside middle school students just like my YOKE Folk did for me.

Do you have a favorite memory from your time in YOKE?
My favorite memory as a kid was winning the chug championship as an 8th grader at spring Super Hero camp. I remember my small club cheering me on. That camp moment as a student was definitely my favorite memory.

What have you learned from your time with YOKE?
I would say one thing I have learned through YOKE is that God has a plan for everything. I never understood the tough times that I went through in middle school and I remember questioning why God would allow certain things to happen in my life. Now, as a YOKE Folk, I’ve had the opportunity to help multiple girls going through situations just like I went through. I think God put me in those situations to be able to encourage and mentor my YOKE kids, to walk alongside them in difficult times just like my YOKE Folk did for me.

So what’s this about Disney?
I was recently accepted into the Disney College Program in Orlando, Florida. I applied on January 22nd, but didn’t hear anything for a while. During that time, I tried to lean on God and trust in Him. On Feb 26th, I finally got word that I had been accepted. This is a very competitive program and many people will apply several times before being accepted. I am super blessed to have been accepted on my first try.  

I will be moving to Orlando for 8 months on May 15th. I will be working at Disney and also taking different courses to help me in my career. There are numerous ones to choose from, but I hope to get into the ones that have to do with leadership and event planning. My life-long goal has been to become a teacher and this program will really help prepare me for that, but I am open if God has other plans. This will essentially be my new mission field for the next 8 months and I am already preparing myself for the opportunity. I will be living in a large apartment complex with 5 other Disney College Program participants near Disney World.
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I am excited about this journey and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for me. Please pray that I would continue to grow in my faith and that I would be able to find a good church home there. I’m excited to start this new chapter of my life, but I will certainly miss my YOKE family and I look forward to serving again when I come back to Knoxville. 

​As we’ve described in previous blog posts, many of our YOKE Folk know from experience how a weekend at YOKE Camp can change your life. Because of that, they work hard to get as many kids to camp as possible. Some of our teams have even come up with creative ideas for helping raise funds for camp scholarships, so that no kid gets left behind. To this end, our team at Halls Middle recently hosted the inaugural Halls YOKE 3v3 Basketball Tournament.
 
“Our team thought that having an actual event would not only help raise money, but would also get the Halls community involved,” explains Kyle Holland, one of the event’s organizers.
 
14 teams participated in the tournament, held March 3 at Halls High School. The team raised money through entry fees, concessions, and sponsorships. Nick Marshall (area director for YOKE’s urban schools), Thomas Davis, and Cleveland Davidson took top honors with their team “Ambition.” The tournament raised just over $700 in its first year, and the organizers are already looking to build on that success for next year.
 
“This basketball tournament was exciting and brought together many different people from different backgrounds,” said Matthew Brooks. “It was competitive, but centered around something greater – helping send kids to camp.”
 
“YOKE Camp is a special weekend that strengthens the bond between us and the kids that we serve,” said Holland. “Those relationships are the reason that we are a part of this amazing ministry.”
 
The Halls team would like to extend a special thanks to the sponsors who helped cover the cost of the event, including:
 
Clean Cut Grooming Lounge               Chick-Fil-A West Town Mall
Homestead Construction                    Durfee Financial Services

If you'd like to help send kids to camp, mail your gift to YOKE at P.O. Box 3492, Knoxville, TN 37927 or make a secure donation online by visiting our giving page. 
 

For the fourth year in a row, we recently had the opportunity to partner with the Department of Campus Ministries at Carson Newman University to sponsor a weekend hiking trip and “camp-in” for middle school students in Jefferson County. The event was part of Carson Newman’s S.P.O.T.S. (Special Projects Other Than Summer) program. Students learned the basics of backpacking and camping, such as how to set-up a tent, how to pack a backpack, and how to build a fire. The students “camped-in” at Carson Newman’s Butler-Blanc gymnasium, and participated in 2 day trips in the Smokies.  

After setting up “camp” on Friday night, we had dinner and participated in several fun games where the students and leaders (4 from Carson Newman and 1 YOKE staff member) spent time getting to know each other. We ended the night with free time in the gym playing basketball, soccer, and card games. Prior to calling it a night, we challenged the YOKE kids to see themselves the way that God sees them, and to develop a deeper relationship with God.

Saturday morning, we set out for our first hike to Abrams Falls, located in the Cades Cove area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This 5-mile hike proved challenging for the group, but everyone really enjoyed seeing the falls and the beautiful scenery along the trail. The group stopped at the waterfall for lunch and a short devotional about God’s creation and how they were God’s masterpiece (Eph. 2:10). Once back in the van, most of the students enjoyed a nap on the way back to campus. For dinner Saturday night, the students had the opportunity to cook hotdogs over a fire and enjoy s’mores. We ended the night with a little free time, and most went to bed very tired.

Sunday morning, we hit the road bright and early again, this time heading to Max Patch, near the Tennessee/North Carolina border in the Pisgah National Forest. While at Max Patch the students experienced stunning 360 degree views of Tennessee and North Carolina. However, even more than the sights, the students enjoyed an impromptu snowball fight. After the intense battle, one of the Carson Newman students shared how God had brought her out of a background of unbelief, anger at her father, and isolation from friends, to a life of joy, enthusiasm, and love. After a quick stop at Cracker Barrel, we all headed back to campus.
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I’m always amazed at how quickly God can work through those willing to invest in middle school students. After only a brief weekend, friendships were formed and students exchanged info with the college leaders in hopes of keeping in touch. YOKE would like to thank Chad Morris, Associate Director of Campus Ministries, for organizing this trip, and Tanner Shively, Dami Oluwalana, Adrianna Gray, and Lauren Jenkins for their leadership, service, time, energy, and love toward our middle school kids.

Make plans now to join us for the 4th annual Jeff Jarnigan YOKE Golf Classic! Held each spring at Three Ridges Golf Course, the YOKE Golf Classic benefits the work of YOKE Youth Ministries. This year's event, presented by Home Federal Bank, is scheduled for Friday, May 4th, and features a scramble format with shotgun starts at 8:30 am and 1:30 pm.  There will be prizes for top finishers and separate competitions for longest drive, closest to the pin, and longest putt. And a hole in one could win you a new car!

Jeff Jarnigan, Knoxville media personality and public address announcer for the Tennessee Volunteers, considers it an honor to headline the YOKE Golf Classic. After losing his father at the age of 12, Jeff benefited from a mentoring relationship with YOKE founder, John Coatney. “I support YOKE because YOKE changes kids’ lives,” says Jarnigan.

The cost is $400 for a team and includes all range fees, use of a cart and the practice range, and lunch, provided by our friends at Shafer Insurance. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. For more information or to register online visit our golf page. Call (865) 522-6907 for more details. 

Download YOKE's golf brochure or postcard by clicking on the files below.