My name is Kelley Léger. I’m a Youth-Reach Houston (YRH) graduate, and this is my story…
I grew up with a mom who loved the Lord, but my father passed away when I was four years old. I never really had a man’s example to follow or someone to lead me into manhood. I didn’t even know how to shave until I came to YRH.
By my teenage years, I had no relationship with the Lord; he wasn’t real to me. I was seeking freedom through drugs and really battling addiction. So much so, that the first time I went to YRH at 17 years old, I left the program.
The next time I came back, I was ready for a change. My flesh wanted to recoil at the program’s rules and restrictions, but the Lord got a hold of my heart. The best thing I could’ve ever learned was how to put my flesh under submission to the Spirit.
SPIRITUAL BOOT CAMP
Many people and programs will try to address a natural issue or symptom that’s actually a spiritual condition. YRH is a discipleship and boot camp in the spirit — changing a man from the inside out.
Not only did Youth-Reach pull me out of everything that had been dragging me down and clinging to my soul, but they developed a work ethic in me, taught me the discipline of spending time in prayer and in the Word, prepared me for ministry, and sent me out into it.
After graduating, I went back to the dope houses I came from… but this time it was to tell all of my friends about Jesus. I began doing the work of an evangelist in dark places, even in Hollywood. I worked in commercials as a director and producer, and I’d pray boldly in the name of Jesus over the production set.
BURNING TO DO MORE
I was burning to do more for Jesus and started asking the Lord what “doing more” looked like for me. One day, as I was running out the door, late to church and eager to make my way to my car, the Lord placed someone just outside my home that I knew the Lord wanted me to approach. Although he appeared very unapproachable, I invited him to come to church with me. I was met with a “no” but had another opportunity the next Sunday.
Running late for the second consecutive week, I spotted him right away and again invited him to come to church. This time was different – he said yes. I discovered his name was Sisco and that he’d just been released from jail after 17 years of incarceration. That day at church, he gave his life to Jesus — really radically — and I discipled him every day for the next year. Today, Sisco runs the largest Gospel festival in all of San Diego.
The world is full of “Siscos.” I was a “Sisco” when YRH found me. The Lord has called me as an evangelist now and I go preach all over the world, but you don’t get to take an evangelist home with you. What Curt and the YRH staff do, that’s next-level commitment and discipleship. You know, Jesus left the 99 for the one. Because YRH went after the one — me — many are coming to Jesus.
Over the years, especially as the morality of this world continues to decline, young men around the world are dealing with the same issues I was, and even more. God uses His body, literal bodies – like Youth-Reach – to save people. This is an eternal rescue mission. This is about saving someone’s soul on an eternal level.
I’d say to anyone considering going to YRH, “Don’t hesitate, because there’s so much more on the line than you even realize. There are many people’s destinies intertwined with that one life you see in front of you.” If I hadn’t been rescued, how many other people wouldn’t be rescued?
ABOUT KELLEY LÉGER MINISTRIES
Kelley Léger Ministries is an evangelistic outreach dedicated to (1) Using the miracle of media to both replicate the Gospel Message and for it to be heard 24/7, and (2) Holding mass evangelism events around the world, resulting in tens of thousands of decisions for Christ. Learn more about Kelley and his wife Bethany by visiting the Kelley Leger Ministries website.
