Hometown Heroes

The Family Life News Tuesday Podcast

Victory Sports in western New York spreads the Christian gospel by distributing sports gear to young people in need.

Founder Doug Rifenburg takes us inside this ministry -- and out to the neighborhoods they influence -- with this "Hometown Heroes" interview with Family Life's Mark Webster.

This Family Life "Hometown Heroes" interview continues in with Part 2 which first aired in the Noon Report on February 11.  You can listen, download that segment, or share it from the link at www.FamilyLife.org/newspodcasts:  Heroes 2/11/25

Victory Sports is headquartered in the Buffalo suburb of Clarence, New York. Their distribution center is open selected hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The website is www.VictorySports.org. Doug Rifenburg's biography is here.

The Hope Center in Western New York

Family Life's Hometown Heroes podcast

The Hope Center of Leroy, New York, is a community focused organization which provides a variety of services to the people of Genesee County.

Diane Sia is the director there, and she gives Family Life News Anchor Mark Webster an overview of their many community ministries, including:

Sia says the most beneficial byproduct of the Hope Center of Leroy is the personalized connections that happen with the young people, parents and others they see. Those people get an attentive listening ear, experiences of care and encouragement, and tangible evidence of Christian faith.

You can also find out more about their tutoring, senior moments luncheons, GriefShare workshops and other programs at www.HopeCenterofLeroy.org.

Catch up with all the individuals and organizations who are transforming their local communities with our Hometown Heroes podcast archives anytime. We encourage you to listen, share, subscribe or download all your favorite Family Life features from www.FamilyLife.org/newspodcasts or from many popular podcast platforms.

Hometown Heroes

a Family Life Tuesday news feature and podcast

Co-founder Ray Oberst tells us of the value he sees in Christian weekday education as a New York State Christian school continues to grow

Today's edition of "Hometown Heroes" features the co-founder of the Parker-Jordan Christian Academy in Allegany County, New York.

Pastor Ray Oberst tells our Mark Wester about the vision and the launch for a Christian K-12 school there. While many look at faith-based education as an alternative with Scriptures and traditional family values as a primary goal --- and those do happen at PJCA too --- one of the biggest accomplishments that happens at a Christian school is marked improvements in academic performance.

Oberst talks about how the academy has seen mushrooming growth since it opened with a handful of students in 2019. He says families are seeing the progress students make in their classes, extracurriculars, faith, and their emotional/personal/relational lives.

For more information:  PJCA website

Hometown Heroes

A Family Life podcast

Sandy Lenehan from Shamokin, Pennsylvania, has produced a series of YouTube videos called “Wee Steps with God”.  Her goal is to get the word of God into the hearts of young children.

These videos are online at youtube.com/@WeeStepsMinistries/videos.

Bob Price has this week's "Hometown Heroes" interview.

Life Matters

The Hometown Heroes podcast from Family Life News

The Life Matters Training Center in Canastota, New York, is a pro-life ministry which prepares fellow Christians to effectively carry on the pro-life cause.

Hear their success stories from Joanna Myers, the center's director of program development and expansion. 

For more about this ministry, their website is www.LifeMattersTrainingCenter.com

For all the archived episodes of Mark Webster's Hometown Heroes interviews, visit www.FamilyLife.org/newspodcasts or your favorite podcast platform.

All of our Family Life podcasts are available to hear, download or share with others. You also can subscribe to receive a notification a new episode is posted for your choice of our podcasts.

Wreaths Across America

The "Hometown Heroes" podcast from Family Life News

Perhaps you can feel like a Hometown Hero this weekend (Saturday, December 14).

A nationwide project is seeking volunteers for "Wreaths Across America", where Christmas wreaths are placed on the graves of America's war dead. Veterans will be honored this way at 4.600 cemeteries in this nation, at sea and abroad. This includes dozens of site in Pennsylvania and New York -- from Butler to Batavia to Buffalo, from Fairview to Scranton to Oswego.

A searchable map can help you find a location near you. click on the Volunteer tab at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.

The Family Life Interview features Dan Miller, a longtime participant in this massive wreath-laying ceremony at the Bath (NY) National Cemetery, gives us insights its history, purpose and significance.

Tyanne and Peter Jurka provide you the inside story of a Christ-based mission school, as the next generation of the Jurka family unexpectedly step up to serve nearly two dozen children -- even as they had an infant of their own.

In Part Three of Mark Webster's "Hometown Heroes" interview with these international mission workers with roots in the Family Life listening area, Peter and Tyanne tell about how God's providence provided just the right reassurances, at just the right time.

They have spent decades serving the Lord -- and serving the people in several regions of Central America.

A video highlighting the results of their life-enhancing work is available from StorehouseMission.org.

PART ONE of this Hometown Heroes series is available from your podcast app. Tap here or search for 11/12/2024.

PART TWO of Mark Webster's interview aired on the 11/19/2024 edition of Hometown Heroes.

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Hometown Heroes - Thanksgiving on the Streets

Pastor Alex and Eric Johns - Buffalo's Dream Center - a 25-year tradition

Peter and Tyanne Jurka are Mark Webster’s guests on this week’s “Hometown Heroes” feature. The Jurkas are longtime Christian mission workers, serving in Central America. They talk about signs of God's provision and blessing as these two natives of the Family Life listening area chose to serve in international ministry.

A video highlighting the results of their life-enhancing work is available from StorehouseMission.org. The next generation of their family also is active in this ongoing mission work.

PART ONE of Mark Webster's interview aired on the 11/12/2024 edition of Hometown Heroes.

PART THREE aired 12/03/2024, and is also available on the Family Life News podcast feed.

Peter and Tyanne Jurka are Mark Webster’s guests on this week’s “Hometown Heroes” feature. The Jurkas are longtime Christian mission workers, serving in Central America. She is from western Pennsylvania, and he grew up in western New York. Their children and grandchildren are also part of their ongoing ministry.

Their story — in their personal lives and the ways they have served people in international mission — are fascinating and heartwarming.

A video highlighting the results of their life-enhancing work is available from StorehouseMission.org.

PART TWO of Mark Webster's interview aired on the 11/19/2024 edition of Hometown Heroes.

PART THREE aired 12/03/2024, and is also available on the Family Life News podcast feed.