Dear Friends,

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, "Rules are meant to be broken," or "It’s better to ask forgiveness than permission." Generally, I’m not one to break the rules—after all, I’m usually the one making them, and I believe in leading by example. But this past summer, I found myself bending one of our Ministry’s rules. To be fair, it wasn’t intentional, but let me share the story, and you can decide for yourself.

It was the first day of camp, early Monday morning. I was picking up boys for camp, and it was still a bit dark outside. The van was already bustling with about ten boys, all excited and full of energy. It was loud, and they were practically bouncing off the walls. After picking up the last group of boys, we headed to the gym to start the day.

As we made our way to the gym, the boys and volunteers were buzzing with conversation. The first day of camp is always a bit chaotic, especially with middle schoolers. We played some basketball, ran around, and engaged in some good-natured trash talk. Eventually, I blew the whistle, and everyone gathered on the stage for introductions, a rundown of the rules, the schedule, and our first devotional.

As I began, I noticed a boy I hadn’t seen before. I asked the leaders if he was a guest, but no one knew him—not even the other boys. When I asked him his name, he said it was Nate and mentioned that he got on the van at the last stop. Curious, I asked how he heard about Leverage Ministries. He simply replied, "What? I just followed two boys onto the van. It looked like fun, and I didn’t have anything else to do."

So, here I was, faced with a boy who had just jumped onto a van with a stranger, not knowing where it was going or when it would return, and not knowing me at all. He asked if he could stay for the day, and I said, "Yes, but I’ll need to meet your parent or guardian and get a permission slip filled out before you can return tomorrow." Nate agreed, and off we went to start camp.

The next morning, there was Nate again at the last stop, now fully integrated with the other boys, who seemed to have become fast friends. When I asked about the permission slip, Nate apologized and promised to bring it the next day. I bent the rules again and let him come along. The following day was the same story: no permission slip, but plenty of pleading from Nate and the other boys. I gave in once more.

On the way home that day, Nate sat upfront and told me he had listened to the lesson and prayed to accept Jesus. He then said, "I wish I could have shared that with my dad." I told him he could as soon as he got home, but he looked at me and said, "It’s too late. My dad died of an overdose right in front of me, and we had his funeral last Sunday. But I’m going to share this story of Jesus with the rest of my family." As Nate got off the van, he looked back and said, "Thank you, Pastor Scott. I’ll never forget this." That was the last time I saw Nate. He didn’t come back to camp for the rest of the summer. I never got his permission slip, and I don’t have an address, phone number, or even his last name. The other boys said they haven’t seen him around.

I’m not sure what happened to Nate, but I believe those three days mattered. I truly believe he said yes to Jesus. Nate is like many of the kids we meet—some we spend years with, some only 20 minutes, and others, like Nate, just three days. But whether it’s 20 minutes, three days, or many years, our mission is the same: to point every single one of them to Jesus and disciple them in their relationship with Him. As Romans 10:14 says, "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?"

Thank you so much to each of you who partnered with us to make this past summer possible. We had many who said yes to Jesus. Please continue to pray as we start the discipleship process and our fall ministries.

In His Service,

Pastor Scott Hirdes

Dear Friends,

I wanted to share a powerful story that illustrates the incredible impact of your support. Recently, I received a heartfelt call from a mother whose son, JK, is the last of her four boys to attend our camp. Here’s a glimpse of our conversation:

“Pastor Scott, as camping season approaches, I’m reminded of the day I first met you over 15 years ago. I was at my son’s school, desperate and overwhelmed by the trouble he was in. Someone suggested your ministry, and though I was skeptical, I made the call. You arrived at the school within 30 minutes, supported me with the administration, and helped enroll my son in an alternative school. That call changed our lives.

My boys have grown up without a dad, and while they’ve faced many challenges, you’ve always been there for each one of them. You never gave up, despite their struggles and discipline issues. As I fill out JK’s camp forms, I’m brought to tears, grateful for how your ministry and camping program have profoundly impacted our family. I want to donate to the camp this year, knowing it’s an invaluable experience I could never have afforded as a single mother of five.”

This touching story is just one example of how your generosity transforms lives. Our summer camp has been a beacon of hope for many families like JK’s. However, this year presents a unique challenge. The camp we’ve used for the past 15 years is closed for repairs, necessitating a move to a new location in Avon Park. This transition will significantly increase our costs, but we remain steadfast in our commitment to providing this life-changing experience.

We rely on your continued support to make camp a reality for many abused, abandoned, and at-risk youth. Your special gift will ensure we can cover the additional expenses and reach more families with the love and guidance they desperately need.

Would you consider partnering with us again this year to help us achieve this mission? Together, we can create lasting change and inspire young people and their families to trust in Jesus through our summer camp program.

In His Service,

Scott Hirdes

Director, Leverage Ministries

Dear friends,

Recently, I was asked to do something I’ve never done before: officiate a funeral service. I’ve officiated many weddings over the years and spoken a bit at many funerals, but I’ve never officiated one from beginning to end.

The service was for Mr. Roy Heathcoe, the stepfather of a dear friend and a man I’ve known for many years. He has been a faithful prayer and financial supporter of our ministry for many years. It was an honor to perform his funeral service.

As I was preparing for Roy’s memorial service, I asked his dear wife Shirley for some of the details and background of his life.

Born and raised in Florida, Roy graduated from the University of Florida in 1958. It is said he walked across the commencement stage at UF and right into a job with Boeing. A year later, he went to work for Hoffman Electric. This is where Roy’s story gets very interesting.

Roy was sent to Scotland to work on the world’s first nuclear-powered American submarine, the Abraham Lincoln. This submarine was completely self-sustaining and could stay underwater for an unlimited amount of time. It carried the world’s most powerful guided missiles. But it had one major flaw: it couldn’t communicate while it was underwater. Roy was tasked with the job to fix this problem, so he engineered and installed a telescopic antenna on the submarine. His successful work on the Abraham Lincoln resulted in him receiving two letters of commendation in 1961. I have read that Roy’s work on this submarine is believed by many to have been a major deterrent during the Cold War.

One man tasked with one project that had a profound and lasting impact on countless others.

Roy’s life demonstrated the “power of one”—not just because of his engineering accomplishments, but because he was a faithful prayer and financial supporter of our mission to reach at-risk youth with the Gospel of Christ.

Roy Heathcoe, and many like him, enable us to reach young people like Jordan who is now studying to be a cardiovascular surgeon. And like John, who just graduated from Florida A&M in three years, finished at the top of his class and is now going on to grad school. And like a young man named Charles, who has a beautiful wife and four girls and who just told me he’s going to keep having kids until he has a boy who can be in our boys’ group. I get phone calls, texts and emails all the time thanking me and our team because Leverage Ministries has changed their lives.

We know there is potential in the power of one life—including yours. It’s the power of your unique life that God uses to bring about transformation in the lives of others. What a gift it is to allow God to use you to help us reach the abused, abandoned and arrested youth. It brings comfort after trauma and can even reveal a glimpse of heaven here on earth in the lives of our hurting young people.

“For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son…” — one Life that changed the world.

As you spend your one and only life on things that truly matter, would you consider supporting Leverage Ministries as we continue to reach at-risk youth in central Florida??

In His Service

Scott Hirdes