DGL Europe 2022-23

DGL EUROPE

EMPOWERING THE NEXT GENERATION OF

WORLD CHANGERS

IMPACT PROPOSAL | DGL CLASS OF 2022-23

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Dear Friend, God has given us a powerful tool and a tremendous opportunity in Europe. Through Developing Global Leaders (DGL), we are witnessing the Lord of the harvest raise up dynamic men and women eager to see their countries changed for Christ.

The DGL program makes a way for some of Young Life's best and brightest to stay actively involved in ministry while they earn their college degree. I invite you to meet 29 European students who are part of our newest class of Developing Global Leaders. Without a doubt, DGL is producing true world changers.

I am deeply grateful for the generous friends who invest in these dynamic college students and empower them to bring the hope of the gospel to teenagers throughout Europe.

NEWT CRENSHAW YOUNG LIFE PRESIDENT AND CEO

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DGL

AT A GLANCE

POST GRADUATION

754 Global DGL Graduates as of 03/22

On Young Life Staff

34%

Pursuing Advanced Degrees

7%

Still involved in Young Life

70%

Stay in home country

94%

DGL AREAS OF STUDY

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Business / Management / Economics

28%

Engineering / Computer Science

16%

Science and Medicine

14%

Education

13%

Social Science

13%

Media / Communications

5%

Design / Art / Music

3%

Theology / Christian Ministry

3%

Languages

2%

Law and Diplomacy

2%

Other

1%

EUROPE

BY THE NUMBERS SCHOOL YEAR

# DGL ACTIVE STUDENTS

CUM. TOTAL NUMBER OF NEW LEADERS FROM DGL

NUMBER OF KIDS TAKEN TO CAMP BY DGL EACH YEAR

NUMBER OF KIDS IN BIBLE STUDIES LED BY DGL EACH YEAR

NUMBER OF KIDS IMPACTED EACH YEAR*

2009-10

4

2

5

16

300

2010-11

7

5

32

27

600

2011-12

8

11

40

28

950

2012-13

7

25

80

24

1,600

2013-14

16

41

98

84

2,850

2014-15

15

65

162

76

4,000

2015-16

12

78

76

60

4,500

2016-17

25

121

123

109

7,300

2017-18

38

177

364

194

10,750

2018-19

46

296

467

401

17,100

2019-20

58

407

629

912

23,250

2020-21

55

452

221

370

25,350

2021-22

66

520

623

491

29,300

D G L

I M P A C T

S I N C E

2 0 0 9

F U T U R E D G L

ALBANIA

HUNGARY

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

BELGIUM

NETHERLANDS

ROMANIA

LUXEMBOURG

BULGARIA

NORWAY

SCOTLAND

AUSTRIA

NORTHERN IRELAND

SPAIN

LONDON

NORTH MACEDONIA

SWEDEN

POLAND

SWITZERLAND

PORTUGAL

UK

CZECH REPUBLIC FRANCE GERMANY

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HOW DGL WORKS

Young Life identifies promising leaders who have what it takes to succeed in college in their own country

EUROPE

DGL students are matched with sponsors who fund their DGL scholarship

DGL students earn a college degree while serving as volunteer Young Life leaders in their community

SPONSORSHIP NEEDS

FULL 4-YEAR SPONSORSHIPS PER STUDENT: $250/MONTH

$3,000/YEAR

$12,000 TOTAL

A GIFT OF $348,000 EQUIPS AND LAUNCHES 29 NEW DEVELOPING GLOBAL LEADERS THROUGHOUT EUROPE

SPONSORSHIP

PROVIDES:

Educational tuition and fees Ministry and leadership training Small living stipend to cover transportation and other costs

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DGL

STAFF

PARTIAL LIST - DGL TO STAFF CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE REGION* Rasho Dimitrov Mitkov, Area Director Pernik, Bulgaria • DGL 2016 Martin Polok, Area Director Prague, Czech Republic • DGL 2019 Dominik Faferek, Area Developer Poland • DGL 2018 Joanna Jarzynka, Area Director Poznan, Poland • DGL 2018 Joanna Faferek, Regional Admin Poland/CEE Region • DGL 2020

PROVEN TIMELY AND VITAL

T

he DGL Program is the most successful leadership

pipeline I have ever seen – the importance of it in our part of the world cannot be overstated. The Lord is using Young Life to build his Kingdom in Europe and DGL students are the future leaders, donors, and committee members that will make it happen.

Perhaps no other Region in Young Life around the

Tobi Nowakowski, Area Director Gdansk, Poland • DGL 2019

world has the diversity of economics, language, and

Katerina Simsova, Staff Associate Ostrava, Czech Republic • DGL 2018

came from this program. As such, it is vital that we

Matej Drabek, Staff Associate Ostrava, Czech Republic • DGL 2020

which they were born and raised."

Barca Kleckova, Staff Associate Brno, Czech Republic • DGL 2020

religion. Nearly half of all our full-time national staff raise up local staff to serve in the communities in

AL ANDERSON, REGIONAL DIRECTOR CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE

Estera Rycaj, Assistant Regional Camping Coordinator Warsaw, Poland • DGL 2021

*This partial list represents only half of one Region, current Central & Eastern Young Life staff who were produced through DGL.

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MEET THE STUDENTS

STARTING THEIR DGL JOURNEY IN 2022-23 LUKASZ

LUSOWO, POLAND MAJOR: MANAGEMENT AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Lukasz is pursuing a business degree in management and product development at Poznań University of Economics. His ministry goals are to further develop the new Young Life ministry in Lusowo and to focus on being a better leader for his students. Łukasz shares that “when it comes to leadership in Young Life, I want to invest my whole self and look forward to being a part of the growing ministry of Young Life in Poland.”

JULIA

POZNAŃ, POLAND MAJOR: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT I'm Julia and I am earning my business management degree at Poznań University of Economics and Business.

I have a heart for missions and helping the marginalized grow and flourish; reaching places where help is needed is ultimately what I hope to do with my life.

BASIA

BORÓWIEC, POLAND MAJOR: APPLIED LINGUISTICS Basia was raised in a Catholic family and always believed in God but she was greatly impacted during the twenty minutes of silence at her first camp experience. “The biggest gift for me at camp was the invitation to have conversations with God.” Basia is pursuing a degree in applied linguistics at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan with the hope of becoming a teacher one day or working for an international organization.

TEODÓRA "TEO" BUDAPEST, HUNGARY MAJOR: HUMANITIES

HANNA

WARSAW, POLAND MAJOR: PHILOSOPHY

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My name is Hanna and I am a Young Life leader in Warsaw. I hope that studying philosophy will help me deepen my faith and better understand people, resulting in inspiration to create and write motivational stories with an eternal message. I am interested in screenwriting and film direction and want to find a space to develop myself there. I would like to start Young Life Capernaum in Warsaw and continue creative projects with kids in my ministry.

My name is Teo and I am currently studying humanities at Károli Gáspár Reformed University in Budapest. I am an English major with translation as my minor. Through the study of humanities, I am learning about people and I am improving my communication skills. I hope my education is preparing me to be able to connect with more people and share the Gospel more effectively as I share my story and experiences with God. I want others to know that they too, are loved by God!

ESTER

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC MAJOR: POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS My name is Ester and I am studying at Charles University in Prague. I am majoring in political science because it will give me an opportunity to understand the problems happening all around the world and to be a part of the possible solution. I also think the world needs more women in this field and hope one day I can inspire other girls to be interested in political science. I would love to work as a diplomat, spokesman, organization manager or an ambassador.

ALEXANDRA

OSTRAVA, CZECH REPUBLIC MAJOR: EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY My name is Alexandra and I am studying biology at the University of Ostrava; I want to earn a bachelor's degree and hopefully go on to get my masters or even a PhD. In high school I fell in love with science – cells, genetics and microbiology. I hope to find job related to that field. I also dream of having my own family and I want to raise my children in Christ. I want travel, explore our beautiful planet, and I want to show people, especially young people, that life with Jesus is not boring and it is not just for old people.

ABIGAIL

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC MAJOR: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

MARIA

ALBA IULIA, ROMANIA MAJOR: MARKETING AND ROMANIAN LITERATURE My name is Maria and I'm passionate about the importance of literature and cultural arts in our life. I want to find a way to combine it with economics and help the Romanian market better itself and improve my country's cultural offerings. I would also love to become an editor and help the literature industry in my country. I am currently studying marketing and Romanian literature at Babeș-Bolyai University.

TOMAS "KOLI"

BRNO, CZECH REPUBLIC MAJOR: CIVIL ENGINEERING My name is Tomas Kolibac, but my friends call me Koli.

With the help of the Developing Global Leaders scholarship, I am studying civil engineering at Bruno University of Technology (VUT). I chose this area because I love math, physics, and science and I feel this field of study connects with everyday life. After graduation, I want to stay in Young Life and be a leader and achieve my goals of growing in my leadership skills and on my career journey.

My name is Abigail and I grew up in a Christian family. I always knew about Jesus, but it was when I went to camp at age 14 that I decided to give him my life and to follow him. As a Developing Global Leader, I am studying business management at the University of Economics, Prague. I hope to be well educated so that I can get a great job, help people, and thanks to that, bless other people in the future

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ANGUS

BANGOR, NORTHERN IRELAND, UNITED KINGDOM MAJOR: BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE

ZAKHAR

ASTANA, UNITED KINGDOM MAJOR: THEOLOGY My name is Zakhar. I was born in eastern Kazakhstan; I am part of a large family with six children. I was fortunate that my parents brought me up in the knowledge of the Lord, and for that, I'm eternally grateful. As a Developing Global Leader, my goal is to grow personally as a leader. I want to specialize in how sports and ministry work together. God has miraculously opened this door for me to study theology and ministry in Cambridge at Ridley Hall and I'm excited to see what He wants to teach me.

My name is Angus and I am studying biomedical science at Queen's University Belfast. I was born with a condition called craniosynostosis which made me automatically different from everyone else due to a large scar on my head and an increased chance of headaches and caused me to struggle with low self-esteem. Even though those things affected me, I always worked hard in school and participated in many sports from a young age and still love to play today, especially football. I hope to finish my university course and eventually complete a masters to specialize in a specific area. I chose the field of medicine because I want to be able to help people.

KATIE

NEWTOWNARDS, UNITED KINGDOM MAJOR: PRIMARY EDUCATION

LUKE

BANGOR, NORTHERN IRELAND MAJOR: HISTORY My name is Luke and I am studying history at Queens University Belfast. I've had an interest in history from an early age and I've always been good at it. I think I would like to become a history teacher. Young Life has been such a blessing in my life. It has allowed me to make some lifelong friends and has really pushed me physically and mentally. It has taught me to be grateful for the opportunities I have been given.

My name is Katie and my hope is to progress through my primary education degree at Stranmillis University Belfast and achieve a high qualification. I have a great interest in working with children with special needs and want to explore whether this is my career goal.

Furthermore, I hope to use my gift of creativity and grow in my leadership and communication skills, both within the classroom and in my ministry with youth in my community. I will be the first in my family to graduate from university.

ANNA

BELFAST, UNITED KINGDOM MAJOR: BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

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My name is Anna and I am from a small village called Moneyreagh, near Belfast in the United Kingdom, where everybody knows everybody. I am studying biological sciences at Queens University. With my degree, I may go on to becoming a secondary school biology teacher or become a paramedic.

DAISY

HOLYWOOD, UNITED KINGDOM MAJOR: BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE My name is Daisy and I am pursuing an honors biomedical science degree from Queens University Belfast. Whether my career will be research based or more practical based, I know I’ll always want to be working around children. After university, I would love to travel for mission work overseas – that’s the dream. I will be the first in my family to graduate from university.

MARTA

GAVÁ, SPAIN MAJOR: PHYSIOTHERAPY AND SPORTS SCIENCE In addition to pursuing her university degree and helping with the Young Life club in her area, Marta is dedicated to sports and plays volleyball while also coaching at the local volleyball club. She is pursuing a double degree in physiotherapy and sports science at Tecnocampus Mataró Maresme. "In the future I want to be a physical trainer in a sports club and I also want to be a growing part of my Young Life team and pour out the love I have received to the teens in my community.”

ABIGAIL

BARCELONA, SPAIN MAJOR: LITERATURE My name is Abigail and I was born in Argentina but when I was two years old we moved to Spain to improve our economic and social situation. I have gone to church all my life and have grown up with God. Now as a Developing Global Leader I am studying literature at the University of Barcelona (UB). In the future, I would like to work in a publishing house, as an editor, because I love reading and writing. I also plan to continue serving God, both in the church and in Young Life.

ASHER

LISBON, PORTUGAL MAJOR: SPORTS MANAGEMENT

SAMUEL

LISBON, PORTUGAL MAJOR: ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING My name is Samuel and I hope that with an advanced degree in electrical and computer engineering from NOVA University I can be financially stable and provide financial support to help people in need. I have a priority to reach out to people who think they have everything in life, like financial stability, and yet don't know who Jesus is and His sacrifice for them. I pray to stay humble and receptive to God’s process of developing my character through ministry and the leadership skills I learn in the Developing Global Leaders program.

My name is Asher. I grew up in Mozambique with missionary parents and I am the middle child of seven.

As a recipient of the Developing Global Leaders scholarship, I am attending Instituto Piaget and studying sports management. Although I am uncertain of my career path, I hope to incorporate my passion for sports and see where God leads as I use sports as a vehicle to point others to Christ.

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ALICE "ALI"

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS MAJOR: PHYSICS Originally born in a small town in Italy, Alice, who goes

by Ali, is pursuing a physics degree at Amsterdam University College with the hope of finishing with a master's degree in theoretical physics. "After that, I will see where God will lead me. I don't have a clear vision for that yet, but I know that my job is to love the people around me and introduce them to the Gospel."

LUCIE

SOIGNIES, BELGIUM MAJOR: SOCIAL WORK My name is Lucie and I am attending Haute Ecole Defré in Brussels. As a social worker, I would like to help teenagers by simply spending time with them or providing the resources they need to flourish. I am anxious to further develop my leadership skills and grow in my ministry with Young Life kids in Belgium. I will be the first in my family to graduate from university.

GEORGE

SOLLENTUNA, SWEDEN MAJOR: CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY Originally from Stockholm, George is a theology student at the Bible school of Kaggeholm Folkhögskola in the capital city of Sweden. He hopes Bible school will deepen his understanding and prepare him for his future studies. "When I continue with my university studies, I will have a foundation more solid and steadfast to stand on in life and when I'm speaking to my fellow classmates about God. Young Life is all about sharing the word of God to kids, and I believe a year in Bible school will help with that."

KATJA

FREIBURG, GERMANY MAJOR: RELIGIOUS EDUCATION/DEACONRY

TEO

GRESSVIK, NORWAY MAJOR: MANAGEMENT AND EDUCATION I'm Teo and I plan to study management at HLT, Norwegian School for Leadership and Theology. After that I’m planning to pursue a master’s degree as a teacher. I have strengths in leading people and a burning heart for kids and youth. I hope to use these gifts in the kingdom of God. Next year I hope to partner with other Young Life leaders to coach a soccer team that will reach more students with the Gospel.

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I am Katja and with the Developing Global Leaders scholarship, I am studying religious education and deaconry at Protestant University Freiburg. I want to help and inspire people in their lives and in their faith.

I want to challenge people to think about God and help them explore who God is. Through the DGL program, I want grow as a Young Life leader and invest in the teenagers around me.

MAREN

FREIBURG, GERMANY MAJOR: THEOLOGY Hi I’m Maren. The Developing Global Leader scholarship will allow me to attend Evangelische Hochschule Freiburg to study theology. I have the dream of being able to approach different people and tell them the message of Jesus and teach them how to read and understand the Bible. I hope to be able to mentor and have fellowship with younger people. I will be the first in my family to graduate from college.

KLARISA

TIRANA, ALBANIA MAJOR: SOCIAL WORK Klarisa is pursuing a social work degree at the University of Tirana. She shares that “being a part of the DGL program will help me improve many necessary skills such as active listening, communication, and creating a culture of mentorship in my ministry.” Her priorities are family, faith and school and her goal is to become the first in her family to graduate from university.

SARA

SKOPJE, NORTH MACEDONIA

XHESJANA

MAJOR: NUTRITION I'm Sara and I am studying nutrition at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. I enjoy cooking, healthy eating, and making a difference with children and would love to find a way in the future to combine my passions together. I am eager to grow in my leadership skills and continue to invest in teens in my community, while trusting God to lead me on the path He has for me. I will be the first in my family to graduate from university.

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TIRANA, ALBANIA MAJOR: DENTISTRY Xhesjana is a dental student at the Faculty of Medicine in the capital city of Albania. She shares, "The vision for my future is to love well the people in my life and above all walk with God. My desire is to work as a dentist and open a clinic. Through a lot of hard work, I want to be the person who gives people a beautiful smile. I will be the first in my family to graduate from university."

MAKE YOUR IMPACT

SPONSOR A DGL STUDENT

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PARTNER WITH US

DEVELOPING GLOBAL LEADERS

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

EPHESIANS 3:20-21

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