(Hyannis, MA) -- Emelio Gassibe, area Executive Director of Youth for Christ is sharing the love of Jesus to struggling teens in the affluent Cape Cod community.
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It may come as a shock to you to find that teenagers, even in a place like affluent Cape Cod, Massachusetts, are struggling with mental health issues like anxiety, depression and isolation. Many students live in single-parent households.
Massachusetts, like many states, is also in the midst of an opioid epidemic. In 2022, there were more than 2,300 confirmed and estimated opioid-related overdose deaths.
God saw a need and fulfilled it with a young man from halfway across the world.
The call was answered in the way of Emelio Gassibe.
In 2015, Emelio and his family moved to the U.S. from Cape Town, South Africa, after getting a job offer from Living Hope Family Church as a student ministries director.
With a heart to reach the young people of the area, Emelio reached out to Youth for Christ.
In 2017, YFC Cape Cod was launched.
Emelio believes that impacted teens has to go well beyond a sermon or a sound bite. As the director of Youth for Christ Cape Cod, Emelio is committed to reaching young people at their level--whether it's having fun or simply being available for tough conversations.
Anxiety, depression and drug abuse are all up for discussion.
"Of course, those are very serious mental health issues," Emelio says.
He also believes that the pandemic really amplified the crisis, saying, "so as beautiful and amazing as Cape Cod can be and is, there’s a lot of young people that are really crying out for help and guidance and sort of feel isolated in a certain kind of way.”
Emelio’s heart is to get to know each student, mentioning that "they come in with preconceived ideas and all that but with us just doing what we’re doing, sharing the love of Christ, being there, being goofy with no judgment, we sense that students really feel drawn to that.”
In 2023, Youth For Christ Cape Cod hosted more than 20 events and trips, held 50 club meetings and has led 41 students to make a commitment to Jesus.
And Emelio can't wait to see what God has in store for the future.
