CHANGED LIVES

It's hard to define the intangible effects of sacrificing one's time and energies to the spiritual growth of another. The heart of our focus is people, not programs.

Drug Recovery
In the midst of a failing business and addiction recovery, Ted (pseudonym) came to faith in Christ through the friendship of the NYF director. With the support and encouragement of many men from the Fellowship, Ted regained his footing in life and began to mature in spiritual growth. This resulted in his efforts to hire ex-cons who needed a second chance, and thereby to impact their lives with the message and hope of Christ. One of these workers later went on to become the manager of a N.Y. area toy store, where he initiated and led the guns for merchandise program that received national publicity, and helped to relieve N.Y. City streets of some of its violence and danger. 

“Thousand Points of Light” Award Recipient
The domino effect can be doubled and squared when one committed believer gives their loving attention toward the spiritual transformation of another. Bob Muzikowski is a businessman who was led to a life of faith and nurtured during the years he and NYF director B.J. Weber played rugby together in Manhattan. After coming out of a lifestyle characterized by reckless abandon, Bob committee his life to Jesus Christ and went on to develop a thriving business in Chicago. He and his wife, Tina, started some 30 Little League baseball teams in Chicago's Cabrini Green ghetto, that brought about the transformation of a neighborhood and creation of a new Christian school. The Keanu Reeves movie, "Hard Ball," was loosely based upon those dramatic and transforming events, with the true and accurate account being told in Bob Muzikowski's award winning book, Safe At Home. In 2004 Bob and Tina Muzikowski opened a new Christian high school called Chicago Hope Academy to serve underpriveileged kids in urban Chicago. B.J. Weber serves on this school's board and continues to help this laudable cause.

International Impact
In response to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Webers and friends of the New York Fellowship reached out to diplomats from former Soviet bloc countries. One diplomat from Bulgaria came to faith in Christ during a conversation at the Webers’ dinner table. After a period of spiritual maturing, this man entered fulltime work with Prison Fellowship International, where he now serves as its European Director. His skills in seven languages open new doors in foreign lands for PFI to bring its message of hope to prisoners around the world. B.J. Weber continues to meet monthly with a group of United Nations ambassadors to discuss the teachings of Jesus.