Kent Boles takes over reins as Young Life Director

Kent Boles was recently selected as the new Young Life Area Director and stepping into the role should be easy. Boles has worked with middle school and high school students for the past 36 years in Eugene, Pleasant Hill, and he even ran a skateboard ministry in Portland for three years. For the last 13 years Boles has been involved in youth ministry in Sisters.

Boles has always loved working with students and is excited about the new opportunity. Kent is planning for a Young Life fall kick-off. He plans to have weekly meetings for high school students, and a large activity for middle school students once a month, such as the trampoline park, mini Olympics, and world-record night.

The main focus of Young Life for both middle school and high school students is summer camp, which is held at Washington Family Ranch in Antelope.

Camps for both middle school students and high school students are already in the books. Middle school camp will be held at Creekside, July 1-5. The facility is state-of-the-art and geared to everything that middle-schoolers love, including seven huge water slides, a full ropes course, a full gym, a mini golf course, a rock climbing wall, and a huge area for mud pit games.

High school camp will be at Wildhorse from August 20-25. Wildhorse boasts a giant zip line that drops kids into a lake, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and an addition pool just for diving. There's a rock climbing wall, a full skateboard park, and a Frisbee golf course.

Scholarships are available and fundraisers also help lower the cost of participation.

"Camp truly is a week that will change kids' lives," said Boles. "The way the kids see themselves and see God and how those two work together is a life-changing experience."

For information contact Boles at [email protected] or 541-749-0641.

As with any organization, there is always a need for volunteers.

"We are looking for people to get involved at the committee level. This means helping with the planning, not necessarily being with the students, because some people are intimidated and afraid of teenagers," Boles said with a grin.

Volunteer leaders are also in demand for the weekly meetings with the high school students and the monthly activities for the middle schoolers. Young Life could also use financial support for their operating costs.