Thomas reaches kids through Youth for Christ, Vision Values Purpose class
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Stephen Thomas Jr., director of Youth For Christ, also leads a Vision, Value and Purpose program aimed at helping teens find their purpose.
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Stephen Thomas Jr., director of the Washington chapter of Youth For Christ, back row, left in green shirt, unwinds with teens after a recent Tuesday YFC meeting.
Courtesy Stephen Thomas Jr.
Stephen Thomas Jr. has found his mission in serving others. Thomas is director of the Washington chapter of Youth for Christ. He also has volunteered for Washington County nonprofits and teaches a Vision, Values, Purpose program.
Stephen Thomas, director of the Washington chapter of Youth for Christ, has one important objective: to show up and connect with kids.
“Kids face a lot of challenges today, and COVID-19 took a toll on a lot of kids,” said Thomas. “Just to be available for them, and to provide a place where they can chill and hang out, that’s a good thing.”
On Tuesday nights during the school year, Youth for Christ opens the doors of its center at 1084 Allison Ave., Washington, for activities, fellowship, and discussions.
The center has a pool table, foosball table, Xbox, and other games.
It also includes a kitchen, well-stocked with snacks, food and beverages.
“They love to eat,” said Thomas, laughing. “Gotta feed them.”
Thomas also aims to feed teens’ minds and hearts.
He began his role as YFC director in January 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic started.
YFC meetings started in September 2021, and a group of teens, mostly boys, has attended regularly.
“It’s been amazing. I don’t have kids, but it’s always been a desire of mine to be a father figure,” said Thomas. “Kids need to have somebody, that father figure, to look up to. I didn’t have that growing up. Just being available for these guys has been awesome.”
Thomas also reaches teens through other avenues, including a program called Vision, Values, Purpose that he presents at Trinity Middle School, Washington School District Prexie Center, and New Kensington High School.
YFC is faith-based, but Visions, Values, Purpose is not.
“It’s bringing awareness of your value, and how value and vision actually equal purpose,” said Thomas. “My goal is to get you to think. You’re an individual and at some point you have to take ownership of what you value, and until you do that, you’ll never have vision or purpose.”
B.J. Mihelcic, Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Washington School District, said students benefit from having positive influences in their lives, and Thomas offers just that.
“Stephen Thomas has proven to be a role model that enthusiastically fosters relationships and provides support and guidance to a number of young men and women in our school district and the Washington community,” said Mihelcic.
Thomas said he found his purpose through volunteer work, especially at LeMoyne Community Center and Harmony Life Center.
At the LeMoyne Center, he oversaw the food pantry, which served meals at 24 sites throughout Washington County, and at Harmony he worked with adults battling addiction.
“Purpose is never about serving yourself. Purpose is always about serving something greater than yourself,” said Thomas. “That’s how I found out mine, first by volunteering at the LeMoyne Center and Harmony Life. Being at LeMoyne gave me a heart for kids. And at Harmony, I work closely with the addiction community. They didn’t end up as addicts overnight; there was a progression of one bad decision or situation after another that ultimately led them to addiction.”
People find ways to cope when things aren’t working out the way they want, Thomas noted.
“I want kids to be able to have a healthy coping mechanism, and not turn to alcohol or some other type of substance that’s going to provide a very temporary feeling that you’re chasing after,” he said.
Thomas, 34, Thomas grew up in a large, faith-filled family that sang gospel music at church.
“People used to call us the ‘local Gaithers,'” said Thomas, a reference to the Gaither Vocal Band, an American southern gospel group. “People would say we’re a religious family, but I like the word relational. I think the word religious can be a turn-off. I look at my relationship with God to very relational.”
Thomas arrived in Washington in 2015 to volunteer at Legacy Church International in Washington, where lead Pastor Lance Whitlock served as a mentor and father figure.
In addition to working as YFC director and volunteering, Thomas serves on the Washington County Housing Authority.
A talented singer, he is a member of Artistree, a Pittsburgh dance band that donates a portion of what they earn to St. Jude’s and cancer research.
The infectiously upbeat and enthusiastic Thomas wants to encourage teens to live purposeful and productive lives, “and you don’t have to have $1 million in the bank to do that,” he said.
Michael Kokladis, a rising freshman at Wash High, has been attending Youth for Christ meetings for about seven months.
“(Thomas) is awesome. He’s so nice and he’s super cool,” said Kokladis, who enjoys playing Xbox games and hanging out at the center. “Everybody’s like family here.”
Said Bradley Yarbrough, a rising junior, “I like the food, the friends, the friendliness. It’s welcoming.”
A nine-person board oversees the function and financials at Youth for Christ. Board member Lynn Doehring is excited about the momentum YFC is gaining.
The organization has grown from two to seven volunteers in the past six months.
In upcoming weeks, high school kids are going on a field trip to Wildwood, N.J., and middle school children are attending a camp experience at Ace Adventures in West Virginia.
“Stephen is extremely able to connect and motivate. He’s very in touch with what’s going on in Washington and with the kids he encounters. He’s so excellent at communicating,” said Doehring. “We’re excited we have this ongoing, active ministry. For those who have been around and know us, we’re back. For those who don’t know about us, we’re here.”
For Thomas, “It’s all about people.”
He feels happy and content trying to help others find their purpose.
“I’m not a money-driven person. I’m very much purpose-driven,” he said. “When I lay my head down down at night, I’m satisfied knowing I was able to serve somebody else. I never want someone to leave my presence without feeling known. You are not another number, you are an individual with thoughts and feelings and it’s about acknowledging the person as a whole.”