Multiplying Impact: 7 Years of Proven Youth Ministry
From One Leader to Six, From One Student to 42: Real Proof & Impact in Youth Ministry
When Jose Campos's childhood home burned down during his senior year of high school, he hit rock bottom. Angry and questioning, he challenged God: "If you're real, let me hear you."
The answer didn't come in thunder or lightning. It came through the hands and hearts of a Christian family who opened their home, fed him, and clothed him while his parents scrambled to find housing. It came through a prophecy at a Fourth of July outdoor church service that would chart the course of his life: "Everything you will go through will help you become a pastor."
Everything you will go through will help you become a pastor.
Today, Jose and his wife Mayra are living that prophecy at Huntington Assembly of God in Long Island, New York. They serve 30 students every Friday night through Forward Youth. On Thursdays, they reach those students, plus an additional 12 unique students through their after-school program, The Station—a place designed for students to stop, refresh, connect, rebuild, and return.
But their story isn't just about one couple's calling. It's about what happens when proven leadership development meets passionate people willing to serve.
The Long Road Back
The pandemic nearly destroyed what they'd built.
Before COVID-19, Forward Youth was thriving with 40 students regularly attending. Then came lockdowns, Zoom fatigue, and fractured connections. When they finally returned to in-person ministry at the end of 2020, only one student showed up.
"It was heartbreaking," Jose recalls. "We'd seen such a great movement before the pandemic, and now kids were going back to unhealthy homes, leaving church, disconnecting. It affected them so much."
But the Lord told them clearly: Keep going. Don't stop.
One student became five. Five became ten. Ten became fifteen. Today, they're back up to 30 students—approaching their pre-pandemic numbers—and if everyone shows up on a given night, they see 35 to 40 teens walking through the doors.
For the first 5.5 years, Jose and Mayra carried this ministry largely alone. But two years ago, young adults who'd gone on a missions trip felt called to serve alongside Jose and Mayra. Now, these young adults are in their third year of leadership, and the team has grown to six leaders total.
The Foundation That Changed Everything
Jose's journey with Urban Youth Workers Institute (UYWI) began with the 90 Degrees Certification Program (now named, the UYWI Certification Program). It was foundational, giving him and Mayra the practical and community grounding they needed.
But it was UYWI's Whole Life Discipleship (WLD) program that revolutionized how they actually do ministry.
"WLD helped us create a programming calendar that completely reshaped everything," Jose explains. "Instead of doing the same thing every Friday, we learned to intertwine community partners, connect with parents, budget properly, and touch all the holistic areas of a monthly program. Now we have small groups, hangout time, sports—we're reaching students in every area of life."
The networking component proved equally transformative. Through WLD, Jose connected with youth workers across the nation who are still in his network today, learning from each other's successes and struggles.
"The different instructors taught us to rethink how we teach and do things," he says. "We learned that community partnerships are essential. The training we received through UYWI and others reshaped the way we think about and lead youth ministry."
When Confrontation Becomes Connection
Not every ministry moment is neat and tidy. Early in their ministry, one girl began cursing at Mayra after being corrected outside the youth gathering. Mayra stood her ground but didn't curse back or lose her cool.
What they didn't notice was another student watching the entire confrontation—a girl who had never spoken to them before.
After the cursing student left, this quiet observer approached Mayra for the first time. "Why didn't you curse back or get angry at her?" she asked.
Why didn't you curse back or get angry at her?
From that conversation, a relationship was born. That student stayed connected to Jose and Mayra even after moving on in life. She still battles in her faith—some of her family members practice witchcraft/tarot cards—but she reaches back for prayer, visits them, and asks for spiritual guidance.
"It showed us that the way we react can really impact how we affect others' relationship with Christ," Jose reflects. "She still does tarot cards and witchcraft, but she keeps coming back to us. We're still praying that one day she'll fully commit to Christ."
A Boom of Hunger
This year has brought something Jose and Mayra hadn't seen before: a spontaneous surge of spiritual hunger among their students.
"There's been a big boom of hunger for Christ out of a lot of students," Jose says with evident joy. "It's been a little easier than other groups because they just want to meet. They want Bible study. There's been a drastic change in their perspective of God."
Students who previously avoided church now attend both Friday nights and Sunday services. They're plugged into small groups. They're reading Scripture on their own. They're displaying changed attitudes and genuine spiritual growth.
"It's beautiful," Jose says simply. "Now we're launching them out."
Your Investment, Their Impact
Stories like Jose and Mayra's don't happen by accident. They happen when passionate leaders receive proven training and ongoing support.
UYWI's programs—from the foundational UYWI Certification Program to the transformative Whole Life Discipleship curriculum—provide more than just theory. They provide practical tools, essential networking, and sustainable frameworks that help youth workers not just survive but thrive.
The proof is in Long Island, where 42 students are being discipled every week. It's in the young woman who keeps reaching back despite her family's opposition. It's in the recent surge of students hungry for God's Word. It's in the six leaders being raised up for the next generation of ministry.
When you support UYWI, you're not just funding programs. You're investing in proven strategies that develop leaders who reach students with the Gospel.
You're helping youth pastors like Jose & Mayra —who spent their first 5.5 years carrying ministry alone—find the training and community they desperately need.
You're creating networks where youth workers learn from each other's successes and support each other through struggles.
You're providing the frameworks that turn Friday-night-only ministries into holistic discipleship movements.
This is what works. This is proof of impact. This is your investment multiplied across generations.
Champion a Leader. Fuel the Gospel. Build the Future.
Our year-end goal is to raise $750,000 so that we can train 500 additional urban youth leaders in 2025 to reach and disciple more youth with the Gospel. At just $1,500 per leader, your gift directly champions leaders like Jose & Mayra who are rebuilding ministries, developing disciples, and expanding Kingdom impact in urban communities across the nation.
Please join us by making a year-end contribution at uywi.org/donate. Your generosity doesn't just train one leader—it multiplies Gospel impact exponentially. When you equipped Jose and Mayra, you reached 42 students weekly. You helped rebuild a ministry from 1 student post-pandemic back to 40. You empowered them to develop 5 new leaders who are now raising up the next generation.
When you champion a leader, you’re fueling a movement that extends far beyond what you can see.
Bless you,
TOMMY NIXON, CEO
Urban Youth Workers Institute
When you champion a leader, you're fueling a movement that reaches students, raises up disciples, and rebuilds communities across urban America.