The Young Life Ministry has been planted in Butler County. Mike and Emily Ambuske of Center Township are answering the call to tend the project and the lives they hope it will impact.

The couple moved here from Springfield, Ohio, after being invited to visit Butler by Mike Chilcoat, metro director for Young Life Pittsburgh. Young Life is a nondenominational Christian ministry that reaches out to adolescents.

“We both have served as volunteers with Young Life in various capacities for the last 10 years,” said Ambuske. “We came to visit and felt clearly that God was calling us to come to Butler.”

Ambuske, 39, serves as the Young Life area director and holds a bachelor's degree in organizational leadership from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio.

His wife Emily, 34, is currently a stay-at-home mom of four with a master's degree in school counseling from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., and a bachelor's degree in sociology from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va.

Ambuske connected with Young Life during his middle school years.

“It was a fun, exciting place where my friends and classmates gathered, and we were encouraged to talk about and live out our personal faith and beliefs in a way that made a difference in my life,” he explained.

For Emily Ambuske, it was a high school connection.

“I know that the trajectory of my life is completely different because of the encounter with Jesus Christ when I was in Young Life,” she said.

Because of the impact on their lives, the Ambuskes continued to serve and volunteer with Young Life throughout their college years and beyond.

The mission of Young Life is “introducing adolescents to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith.”

The organization does this by providing role models who will live out their personal faith in Jesus Christ and share the message of the Gospel to teenagers.

“Young Life accomplishes this by going to where teenagers are, and building relationships with them. We do not expect these kids to be perfect, but instead we love them where they are. Teenagers see that we love them genuinely, and we care about their lives,” said Ambuske.

Mike and his staff have connected with teens all around Butler. “So far, my leaders and I have gone to football games, soccer matches, band concerts, volleyball games, met kids for smoothies at Panera, and other places,” said Ambuske.

The goal is to eventually run Young Life programming for students in Butler, as well as taking teens to Young Life weekend and summer camps.

The Ambuskes see their biggest challenge as making connections with adults and teens in the community and developing those relationships.

“Relationships that last, take time, and it has been difficult being patient. We are also anxious about funding, which is part of any ministry,” he said.

Walt Tack of Buffalo Township is president of Lenken Construction Services and was one of those that invested and spearheaded the project of getting Young Life in Butler County.

“I have seen Young Life have a life-changing impact on many teens including my own daughters,” said Tack.

His three daughters were all involved with Young Life, and Tack served on the committee for Young Life in Hershey.

“It is my prayer that God will use Young Life in Butler to let kids know that they are loved beyond imagination by the Creator of the universe,” Tack said.

He is encouraged by the fact the Ambuskes uprooted their lives to serve in Butler.

“If we care about the youth of Butler we need to support them,” Tack said.

Along with Tack, the Ambuskes are looking forward to seeing what the Lord will do in the lives of teens in Butler County.

“Emily and I have both seen Young Life change individual lives, families and communities once people start to realize their need for a relationship with Jesus Christ,” said Ambuske.

There is an informational dessert Nov. 7 at Christ's Outreach Church, 120 Walker Ave., for people to learn more about Young Life and meet the Ambuske family.

“We want people to come and see what Young Life is all about and hear about what Young Life can look like in Butler and learn how they can actively join us,” said Ambuske.

What began in the early 1930s when Clara Frasher recruited a group of her friends to pray for the teenagers attending Gainesville High School in Texas, is now an international ministry focused on encouraging teens.Today, the Young Life mission is still committed to incarnational witness: embodying and expressing the love of Christ through relationships with all kinds of teens.WyldLife is its outreach to middle school students, Young Life is for those in high school, and Young Life College is the program for college and university students.In addition to the ministries mentioned, Young Life reaches military teens through a program called Club Beyond, the Small Towns/Rural Initiative brings Young Life to communities of fewer than 25,000 people, and Amicus is Young Life’s student exchange and hosting program for international kids.