Impact is a Christian youth group here in El Paso, Illinois. It is a place where students can come to know and grow with their relationship with Jesus, as the youth pastor at Impact would describe it.
Mathew (Mat) Kalvelage, Impact’s youth pastor, delivers sermons for the students attending. When asked to describe his job, Mat said, “This is part of my job at the church. I moved to Illinois from Nebraska to become a youth pastor full-time because I felt a calling from the Lord to do this work. This is by far the best job I’ve ever had.” Mat says that Impact gives students a place of safety. “It gives them a place to talk about their lives as well as their faith and not be at risk of ridicule or being made fun of.” Mat would say that the atmosphere can be chaotic but also very supportive. One student explained, “While we’re eating, all the volunteers, including Mat, will go around and talk to everyone. It really makes us feel like we have at least one place where we can go and actually be listened to.”
Mat puts a lot of time and effort into preparing the Wednesday night activities for the middle and high school students who attend these gatherings. He prepares the games, worship songs, and dinner supplies. He also plans trips, like the upcoming one to Utah, and a yearly trip called Winter Extreme. But, his most important task is preparing the lessons.
While Mat is in charge of a lot of things for Impact, he is not in charge of the meals served for dinner at Impact. They have two wonderful kitchen volunteers, Marty Reaves is one of them. She has been working with Impact for about four years without pay. When asked why she volunteers her time to Impact, she said, “I love listening to Mat’s sermons too. I’ve been staying during the Junior High times to hear what Mat has to say about the Bible. I also like the energy of all the age groups that come to Impact.” With the amount of time she’s spent at Impact, volunteering and being around the kids, she’s found a good sense of community. “I am retired, so I don’t do much during the week, but this work really helps me stay uplifted.”
While Marty is a star example of a volunteer at Impact, there are actually many who give their Wednesday nights to Impact. Jenni Roth, a small group leader at Impact, helps pray for and encourage those who come to Impact. “I made a decision a while ago to leave my Bible group of older ladies who didn’t really need me and give my time to younger people who I can help teach the Bible to.” While Jenni has been doing this work for about five years, she still finds the work amazing. “I enjoy helping the younger generations because I feel it’s important that you guys learn the stuff I learned more towards my 40s, now.” Jenni plans to follow the class of 2028, sophomores, until graduation and see where the winds take her, whether she’ll stay at Impact or if she’ll find a new group to spread her knowledge.
There’s also Addison Dailey, who leads the boys small groups on Wednesdays. He shows up every Wednesday to spread the Gospel to the youth and tries to be someone that they can turn to. “When I was in junior high and high school, I went to a youth group like Impact. The people there were really impactful on my life, and I would like to be able to do that for kids in this community.”
Speaking of community, two high school students who go to Impact, freshmen Taylor Beck and Olivia Montemurro, both agree that Impact is a great place to find community. Olivia stated, “Impact makes me feel like I belong and that the members matter to each other greatly. We share our faith together, and it brings us all closer every week. We all share a strong bond as a youth group in loving Jesus. We share our questions, our experiences, and our faith. Impact is a great place to build your relationship with God and feel welcomed. If you come to Impact, you will love it and want to come every week.” Taylor described, “It provides opportunities to interact with others in activities, like small groups, when our leaders ask questions that relate to us and the lesson we learned that night.” Both girls love going to Impact for many reasons, but the main reasons is to grow their relationship with Jesus and to find a sense of community.
Overall Impact is fun, exciting, and has a great community. If anyone would like to attend, they are open to high schoolers from 7:30-9:00 every Wednesday night.
Author Note: This article is meant to show high schoolers that places like Impact are a great way to find some form of community in our small town. In no way is this meant to disrespect anyone else who does not follow Christianity in this school, just a way to let high schoolers know that there is always a place to turn to.
