In today’s age of busy schedules packed with soccer games, school meetings and relationships with loved ones, it has become increasingly difficult to the find the time to sew into the lives of others. But, for Mike (attended CFRTD #2) and Lacey Holderby (KCTD #2), staff members and volunteers at Yahweh Underground, their life purpose is fulfilled in helping the needs of others.
Yahweh Underground, a youth outreach ministry, focuses on using live bands and youth-led events to reach out to those that might not be your average teen churchgoers. For Mike and Lacey, this was a demographic that they had always felt called to.
“When I was in High School I became saved and started going to a youth group at church, but I wondered what teens [did] when they needed help, but they [didn’t] want to attend a regular church? I wanted to help teenagers… if they didn’t want to attend church,” says Lacey.
Yahweh was started in 1993, but it wasn’t until 1995 that Mike Holderby decided to attend after being invited by his sister.
“I was running from God at the time, I was probably 18, and I said, ‘I am not going to a church, you are not going to trick me, you’re not going to make me go listen to Jesus songs’,” said Mike. “What won me over was that she told me they played Christian and non Christian bands [and] they let you smoke there and they don’t run you off if you cuss.”
By 1998 Mike Holderby was volunteering at Yahweh as a leader after he felt that he was called by God to help Yahweh founder – Joel Schneider (attended KCTD #1). It was shortly after that Lacey met Mike and knew that this too was the ministry that she was called to be a part of.
“I’ve just jumped right in helping in the kitchen and wherever is needed,” said Lacey.
Since Yahweh began, it has expanded from a coffeehouse ministry to an outreach that holds 5 different events weekly ranging from live concerts, meals, men’s and women’s bible studies and even a motorcyclist outreach.
“I have been [at Yahweh] for about 18 years… It was very instrumental in helping me find where God’s place is for me,” said Mike.
Working with a wide range of teenagers, but mostly those considered at risk have put Mike and Lacey Holderby in positions that Mike considers the frontline.
“It’s a hard job to have, [Yahweh] is a frontline ministry,” said Mike, “As far as what I do or what I have done, I do just about anything from scrubbing toilets to making dinner, but not in that order. I clean [the facility] up, no one wants to do that, they want to show up and leave and everything magically fixes itself, but it is a lot of work.”
For people like Mike and Lacey Holderby, Tres Dias may have been unnecessary in teaching them about servant leadership, especially since they had been already serving God and building His kingdom in an organization for almost 20 years. But even these veterans found new ways to lead from their weekends.
“[Tres Dias] has helped me become even more focused and more calm in the way that I help out and [Tres Dias] has given me more of a purpose and view of the bigger picture,” said Lacey. “I did see how the ladies at Tres Dias served with such joy and were just so happy to serve and willing to do everything for you… Just the love and care and friendship that was shown really impacted me.”
“Tres Dias is a nice organization for me to fall back on. I feel like I have a support group of people that are diehard. I don’t mean just diehard Christians, but they are real, the love is real. You can be yourself, you can open yourself up to them. You can be vulnerable, you can let them minister to you, you can minster to them,” said Mike.
In the early 90s only 5% of America’s teens said that they considered themselves to have no religious affiliation. In 2011, that number jumped up to 35%.
“The harvest is great, but the laborers are few and [we] pray to the Lord that they Lord will bring them in and He will bring them in,” said Mike. “[You have to do] whatever it takes. I think that if we all had that attitude things would go a lot smoother wherever we go.”
