5 questions with RISE Youth leaders

Our RISE Youth group for ages 12-18 is lucky to have four incredible leaders this year: Josh, Africa, Yanis, and Lara. Together, they coordinate weekly meet-ups with Redeemer teens as well as special events, like their recent bowling evening in Maastricht. In this interview, we get to know the two couples and how they share their faith and create community with our youth.

Please tell us a bit about you – where are you from, and how did you come to live in The Netherlands? 

Josh & Africa: We are from the United States! We’ve been living in The Netherlands for over two years now. Josh works with the American military in Germany, and Africa is studying to become a mental health counselor and taking care of our daughter at home. We have a beautiful 9-month-old baby girl named Esther.

Yanis & Lara: Yanis is originally from Frankfurt, Germany. He grew up there with a Congolese mother, and in September 2024, moved to the Netherlands to start his Bachelor’s degree in International Business. Lara is also from Germany, near Frankfurt, and moved to Maastricht to study International Business in September 2024. 

You four are co-leading the RISE Youth Group. Please tell us a bit more about that group. Who is it for, and what are the get-togethers like?  

Josh: RISE is a group for young people from 12-18 years old to get together, make friends, and talk about Jesus. We’ve been meeting together for about a year and a half going through the book of Philippians. Our regular gatherings on Wednesday evenings usually look like snacks, games, Bible study, and prayer (and maybe some pizza).

Sometimes we also have special social gatherings where we go out as a group and have fun bowling, or we visit a trampoline park together, or we walk around the Christmas markets during Christmas season. If you’re interested in any of these special events, contact us or check the church calendar for more information!

What are some of the important life and spirituality topics that matter to the teenagers in your group?  

Yanis: One of the most important topics for our youth is identity — trying to understand who they are and what defines them, especially as they grow and begin to know Jesus personally. Many of them are in a season of searching, and my role is to guide them toward Christ and help them see that their true identity is found in Him.

If you think back to your own teen years, what was your walk of faith like?

Africa: My teen years were filled with uncertainty. I struggled to see God as a Loving Father who cared about me because I didn’t have a very good earthly father. I was a people pleaser and was very afraid of life when I would find myself alone.

But despite this, I clung to my church community. Through brothers and sisters in the church, God would always provide me with everything I needed.

Slowly my faith grew and so did all of my friendships with other teens in the church. My friends from the youth group in my home town are still some of my close friends now. We have all grown, but we always talk about the valuable lessons we learned in our younger years that still help us in life today.

Are there any mentors or teachers who helped you in your walk of faith, especially when you were young?

Lara: Looking back, I’m really thankful for the people who supported me in my walk of faith, especially during my teenage years. When I joined my church’s youth group at 15, my youth leaders played a big role in helping me discover what faith meant for me personally. Having friends who were a little further along in their journey with Jesus also encouraged me a lot. Watching how they lived out their faith in everyday life inspired me to seek a deeper and more personal relationship with Him myself.

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Josh, Africa, Yanis & Lara!