Jim West (email)
I remember quite vividly that my parents raised me attending three-plus weekly meetings at our church. Thanks be to God that my folks choice of churches was true to the Bible and very Gospel pointed. With that much exposure to the Gospel, the consistent message of my church was not lost on me. After a time, I began to feel the tugs of the Holy Spirit upon my young heart. Soon I wanted to seek out my pastor to become a Christian, but I held out due to what seemed the difficulty of the task.

I'm really not sure how old I was when I woke my parents up in the middle of the night asking to know how to become a Christian, but I did so, and they both prayed with me to receive Christ as my personal savior. We three did this in the wee hours of the morning on my knees in our home. A year or so later, (approx 5th grade) I was attending an old-time evening revival service at my church and from the balcony I made the long journey to the front of the church in response to the speakers invitation to receive Christ. By this time, I understood that in order to please God, I needed to make my earlier decision public.

I fondly remember in those very early days of my faith, seeking closeness with my God. I remember physically reaching my hand out and asking him to take hold of my hand as I walked to school. Such was the simplicity of my faith after the countless hours of being exposed to the men and women of the Bible. It seemed such a natural thing to converse with God about my life and His will. It was also clear to me that the God of the Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob wanted to reach the hearts of my peers as well.

Soon on the heels of this, I felt compelled to follow the Lords leading into ministry. I believe this was about 5th grade. There was much skepticism from my pastor at the time because of my age. He asked me to take a few years to rethink things so I did. Somewhere between my sophomore and junior years in high school, I had become sure. I got up before my church one Sunday and restated my desire to follow the Lord into fulltime ministry. I still feel strongly I could do nothing other.

In my high school years, I was asked to be the leader of my youth group. We started a youth-focused coffee house (a slightly radical/slightly popular thing to do in the late 60s early 70s). Through this coffeehouse my Christian friends and I spread the Gospel liberally to our peers, and a fair number of fringe people whom our church would never have gotten to otherwise.

Ten years later, I emerged from college and seminary having maintained the dream of boldly going where the church could not go. So I entered the service of Youth for Christ as a Campus Life director. Campus Life has always been the model for my work with teens.

In 1987, God put it into my heart to found Barnabas Ministries. In all these years, my passion remains to introduce those that God brings my way to the Good News of His Son, Jesus.

Denise West
When I was 18 years old, I met Jim West while we were both working on the stage crew of our high school play, The Matchmaker. One of the first questions he asked me was if I was a Christian. I answered yes. Id always believed in God, lived in America, attended Sunday School and church now and then and had never killed anyone (which in my mind was the worst thing anyone could ever doan act that would certainly send one straight to hell). So yes, sure, I was a Christian. But what I didnt tell Jim was that I always felt so insecure about if I did die, would I indeed go to heaven. What if I hadnt been good enough that day? What if the bad side of my lifes balance sheet had more entries than the good side? What if; what if; what if.

Jim and I became friends. He introduced me to a group of his friends from church and they, too, became my friends. I attended their church youth group with them, an in home Bible study with them, and our high school Campus Life Club with them. They were a very musical group of people. We all discovered I could sing, so I became a part of their group. We sang in church, in coffee houses, at church revivals.

Through my exposure to their lives, I began to see they had something I did not. They had salvation through Jesus Christ and the assurance that because they had accepted him as Lord and Savior, they would live forever with Him in heaven. It was based on what Christ did, not if they were good or bad. I wanted that assurance, too. So, one night in my room, by myself, I knelt beside my bed and invited Christ into my heart. My life has never been the same.

I ended up marrying my friend, Jim West, in 1974. Im proud to stand with him and support him as he ministers to teens to bring them the good news of Jesus—the same good news that I responded to when I was 18.

Dale Meischner II (email)
In the summer 1979 Dale accepted Christ in his parents living room. Dale's faith has matured at a rapid pace even since the beginning. He has been involved with 7:17 club since 1983 and has a knack for the zanniness that kids love. Dale avidly attends seminars dealing with leadership and Christian life. He likes such authors as Charles Swindoll, George Verwer, Hank Hanegraaff, Glen Kaiser, and a favorite Francis Schaffer. Dale has attended the Cornerstone festival in the past where he has helped in making the shows go smoothly and is always willing to let God work through him. Dale is also a great lover of music and is a musician himself. He has been in several bands, and lists as influences Seeds, Stryper, and Glen Kaiser.

David Maas (email)
David has been a Christian since 1986, when he accepted Gods free gift of salvation in his families living room. David has been dedicated to Christ since that point. David has taken on many positions as a leader among his friends. There is seldom an experience that he cannot look at objectively and discuss from a biblical perspective. During High School David attended 7:17 club as a student, then later took on a leadership role, and finally becoming an Associate Staff member. As a student of history at Bradley University, David recognizes Gods existence and meaning in the world we live in. David also admires such great men as Francis Schaffer, C. Warren Hollister, and James Dobson. Also being an avid student of philosophy he can balance the ideas that make us think with the reality that gives us life. David also likes the outdoors, and welcomes occasional zanniess that can come about when working with youth.

Brenda Waremburg (email)
At the tender age of five, Brenda asked Jesus into her heart in the back of her family's station wagon. Her relationship with the Lord deepened as she learned more about Jesus through attendance in Sunday School and Awanas. Brenda's sister took her to 7:17 Club (then called Campus Life) when she was in 8th grade. Brenda faithfully attended Club all the way through her senior year. She was a student staff member during those years. She has many fond memories of Club and can't imagine how she would have survived her teen years without the guidance she received there. Around the age of nine, Brenda felt the call to missions. As a teenager, she went on her first mission trip. She was hooked and more trips followed. In the fall of 1987, she joined the staff of Teen Missions International, where she served the Lord until moving back to Illinois in the fall of 1990. In June 1995, Brenda had the privilege of renewing her relationship with 7:17 Club by becoming as Associate Staff member. Unfortunately, the first few years she could only help part time due to her work hours. Brenda's prayer is that the Lord will use her to reach the teens she works with. In addition to helping with 7:17 Club, Brenda currently teacher Sunday School and serves on the Mission's Ministry Team at her church. She also is married to a wonderful man that the Lord brought into her life in the fall of 1991.