How We Started

After preaching for over 23 years with four wonderful congregations in Georgia and Florida, Ryan Tuten realized he had become complacent in his work. The work had become more about doing "church work" than doing the "work of the church" and he lost the zeal for preaching. 

It was time for a change. God opened a door for Ryan and his wife Michelle to help those in great need and The Youth IMPACT Center was founded in Lakeland, GA. It is the goal of the center to focus on having an IMPACT on the lives of youth, families, and the community. 
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The word "IMPACT" stands for: I Must Personally Advance Christ Today. We believe if we would simply demonstrate the various characteristics of Christ every day that we will have the greatest IMPACT on the lives of children.

Our Story

After preaching for over 23 years with four wonderful congregations in Georgia and Florida I realized that I had become very complacent in my work.  I was no longer doing what I believed God called me to do. The work had become so much about buildings and budgets that I lost that zeal for preaching.  I had become so busy doing "church work" I was no longer truly doing the "work of the church". So after much prayer and discussion with my wife, we decided to ask God to open a door of opportunity for us to help those with the greatest need.  Soon after that decision, a friend called me about an opportunity in Lakeland, GA with a facility that use to be used as a school but had been vacant for many years. We came and visited the area and done a tremendous amount of research and found that Lanier County was the perfect place to live, raise our children and use our talents and abilities to help those in need. We named our non profit and center; The Youth IMPACT Center because we want to focus on having that IMPACT on the lives of youth, families and community.  The word "IMPACT" stands for: I Must Personally Advance Christ Today. We believe if we would simply demonstrate the various characteristics of Christ every day that we will have the greatest IMPACT on the lives of children.

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