December 22, 2025
Youth For Christ’s Parent Life in Mason City, Iowa, is helping teens standing at the crossroads of parenthood and homelessness
Angie Stephen, Greater Iowa YFC Parent Life Director: ‘We want these young parents to feel the love of Jesus’
MASON CITY, Iowa — Homelessness is a widespread social issue in the United States, impacting millions of individuals and families nationwide. Although housing instability affects people of all ages, young people are disproportionately affected; researchers estimate that up to 4.2 million youth experience homelessness each year.
For 81 years, Youth For Christ (YFC, www.yfc.net) has shared God’s love with young people by walking alongside teens through pivotal moments in their lives. And perhaps no moment is more pivotal than becoming a parent.
YFC’s Parent Life is uniquely equipped to help these young people. In Mason City, Iowa,Greater Iowa YFC Parent Lifeis working with teens who stand at the unique crossroads of becoming a parent while navigating housing instability.
According to Angie Stephen, Greater Iowa YFC Parent Life Director, “Many of the young parents we meet are doing their best to care for their children while managing significant stress. They’re often juggling past trauma, school, work, and parenting while trying to understand what resources are available to them. In the midst of that, they can feel invisible or misunderstood. Our goal is to help them feel supported, listen well, and remind them that their story matters.
“We come alongside these families so they don’t feel alone. We want them to feel heard, to recognize their own strength, and to grow in their ability to advocate for themselves and their children.”
One new Parent Life initiative, beginning in January, is teaching parents to prepare budget-friendly meals for their family. At the end of the class, they get to eat their meal and take home a kitchen utensil.
Stephen shared, “YFC partners with our local state university extension program to offer healthy cooking classes so young parents can learn to prepare simple, budget-friendly meals. At the end of each class, they are able to enjoy the meal they prepared. After every cooking session, parents leave with the recipe they cooked and a kitchen utensil to use at home. Those who attend a designated number of classes graduate from the program and are gifted a free electric skillet.”
Asked to share a story of a life change among these teens, Stephen readily offers three. First, a girl named Tonya.
“When Tonya found out she was pregnant, she reached out and said, ‘You’ll be disappointed in me,’” Stephen recalled. “Instead, I was able to respond with grace. We walked together through phone calls to housing agencies and conversations she felt unsure about having on her own.”
Several months later, Tonya was approved for housing. With a donated gift card, she purchased basic household items for the first time.
“She was most excited about a simple garbage can,” Stephen said. “It might seem small, but it represents stability and dignity. Today, she and her little family share dinner in a place they can finally call home. While her faith is still developing, she is actively seeking Jesus and has shared that she and her family plan to attend church with me.”
Stephen also recounts Kayla’s story.
“At 18, newly married and pregnant, Kayla was living in an unheated RV with too many animals. Past trauma and church hurt left her angry at God and wary of people, but she found comfort in rescuing stray animals since she had never felt rescued herself. We didn’t flinch at her situation. I showed up with a winter coat, boots and maternity clothes. I helped her find resources such as WIC, Medicaid and the Caring Pregnancy Center.
With gentle guidance and support, she faced the difficult decision to find new homes for many of her animals.
“A family member’s spare room became available, and she and her husband were able to move out of the RV. Kayla has been attending Parent Life regularly. A recent text after a Parent Life night said it all: ‘Thank you so much. I can’t believe people help like this.’”
Finally, Stephen shares the story of 18-year-old Lena.
“When Lena’s baby was hospitalized, I stayed with her in the emergency room for hours — listening, helping her advocate for her baby, and praying when she was open to it,” Stephen recalled. “I shared a song with her weeks before — ‘I Will Carry You’ by Ellie Holcomb.”
When Lena’s son got discharged from the hospital, she sent a screenshot of the song playing on her car radio.
“She said she listened to it many times at the hospital and it carried her through the hard moments,” Stephen said. “Since then, her faith has grown stronger. She was excited to share that she prayed over someone else out loud for the first time. Lena expressed wanting to work on deepening her relationship with Jesus.”
Stephen summarized, “Ultimately, our goal is that these young parents would experience the love of Jesus in tangible ways. We want them to find community, to know they belong, and to discover hope for themselves and their children.
“We are so grateful for the dedicated volunteers who generously invest their time and hearts into the lives of young parents. However, we are in great need of additional mentor moms and dads who love Jesus and are willing to walk alongside teen mothers and fathers with compassion, encouragement and support.”
To learn more about Greater Iowa YFC Parent Life, or to become a volunteer, click here.
Youth For Christ (YFC) has been a leader in missional youth outreach for 81 years and is dedicated to uncovering God’s story of hope in the next generation that desperately needs it. YFC reaches young people everywhere, working together with the local church and other like-minded partners to raise up lifelong followers of Jesus who then lead by their godliness in lifestyle, devotion to the Word of God and prayer, passion for sharing the love of Christ, and commitment to social involvement.
YFC chapters impact thousands of communities across the nation, seeking out and serving youth from all walks of life. Young people are silently struggling through a wide variety of challenging issues — and through the YFC ministry, God empowers them and they see the living power of a loving God. YFC trains its leaders in a proven, relational ministry model called 3Story®, which encourages staff and volunteers to be good news while also sharing the stories of the Good News of Jesus. It involves building relationships through the ups and downs of everyday life to lead people to Christ.
YFC has been a pillar of missional ministry since 1944, when Dr. Billy Graham served as YFC’s first full-time staff member. Since then, Youth For Christ has continued to be both a rural and urban ministry on mission, and it is always about the message of Jesus. Youth For Christ USA has over 113 chapters that impact communities across America and is one of over 100 nations within Youth For Christ International.
Learn more about Youth For Christ at its website, www.yfc.net, Facebook and Instagram pages or on Vimeo.
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To interview a Youth For Christ representative, contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Beth Bogucki, 610.584.1096, ext. 105, Dawn Foglein, ext. 100, or Daniel Moyer, ext. 104.
