Get to know Ron DeVries from Edmonton, AB
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What is your role at Youth Unlimited?
I am the Canadian SERVE Director.
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Where are you from, and what brought you to Youth Unlimited?
I am from Alberta, Canada. For the last ten years, I had served as the Youth Ministry Consultant for the Christian Reformed church, Classis Alberta North. Following many conversations with Jeff at Youth Unlimited, we could see how a Canadian Director could be a blessing for Youth Unlimited, who would be working alongside a US Director so we said, let’s try it.
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When you were a student, what was the most faith-formational experience you had?
I had grown up in the Christian Reformed Church where our youth group experiences began at age 16 and ended around the age of 25 or when you got married. At the age of 22, I had a friend who died in a car accident and this hit home for me. The fragility of life became so clear and Christ became so powerfully real to me in those days.
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What were you most excited about for SERVE 2017?
I was most excited about the possibility of seeing youth from across North America experience the Authentic Communities that God has laid out for our teams.
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If you were a student now, what would be your favorite things about SERVE?
The SERVEant and the SERVE 2017 Authentic Community Blend coffee would have been my favorites for 2017. Oh, and the shirts were awesome this year!
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What’s your favorite youth group game to play?
Four on the Couch – The purpose of the game is to get everyone from your gender in the four seats on the couch (or position on the floor).
Players sit in a circle. One chair, or spot, in the circle, should be open.
Have everyone write their name on a piece of paper. Collect the papers and pass them out again so that everyone has a paper with someone else’s name on it. Players should not show anyone who they have.
The player to the left of the open spot says someone’s name. Whoever is holding onto the paper with that name must get up and move to the open spot. Then the player who moved must trade papers with the person who called the name.
The player sitting to the left of the new open spot then says the next name and the process continues.
By memorizing who has what name and what the names are of those on the couch, players try to get their gender to occupy all four seats on the couch. When one gender does this successfully, they win.
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When you were a student, who was your greatest mentor and why?
My dad was my greatest mentor because of how he lives for Christ.
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What’s your favorite late night snack?
Peanut Butter sandwiches.
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What type of service project do you love so much that you could do every day?
Working in places that reach out to those who are on the fringes of life. It is hard work, but all of God’s children are important to the kingdom
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What’s your favorite vacation spot?
Hawaii.
This is an excerpt from the Fall 2017 magazine. To read more stories click here: https://www.thereforego.com/magazine/
