Share God’s love with students and help them grow in faith – Shaw Local

Bureau County has long had an outreach ministry for youth.

This mission will continue under a new name.

Princeton Club 56 was founded with the mission of sharing God’s love with students and helping them grow in faith.

Sue Scruggs, Chuck Warren, Linda Fine and Barb Jesse, board members of Princeton Club 56, decided that the ministry should be overseen by the local board and that all funds should remain in Bureau County.

To accomplish this, the board left Young Life at the end of 2022 and formed a new, local nonprofit organization. Princeton Club 56 was officially incorporated in the state of Illinois in August 2023 and officially recognized by the IRS as a 501c3 nonprofit organization in October 2023.

The board hired Buc and Carmen Gray on February 1. Buc Gray works full-time as an area director at Princeton Club 56, and his wife, Carmen, is a part-time office manager. The Grays have a long history of youth ministry, beginning in West Virginia in the 1990s and then continuing in Princeton with Young Life from 2002 to 2022.

Princeton Club 56 offers many programs for middle, high school, and college-aged students, including:

Junior High Club: Extracurricular outreach club for Logan Junior High students during the school year, Wednesday afternoons from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Senior High Club: For high school students during the school year, Wednesday evenings in the youth room of New Hope Church, 30 N. Sixth St.

College/Young Adult Club: For young adults who meet on Sunday evenings.

Weekly discussion groups for all ages held throughout the year.

Camping trips in summer and fall.

Khristian Whitfield, a young volunteer leader of Princeton Club 56, summarized the ministry.

“We are here to give students love and open arms, just as God has for us, no matter who needs it,” Whitfield said. “I want to make sure everyone knows that Club 56 will be a place where people of God will share His Word and love each other for a long, long time.”

Princeton Club 56’s budget for fiscal year 2024 is $140,000. There are two major annual fundraisers for the ministry, a banquet and a golf event. All funds raised through the banquet and golf outing stay on site.

There are many local individual donors and businesses, community groups and churches that support Princeton Club 56.

If you would like to donate, please send a check to Princeton Club 56, PO Box 56, Princeton, IL, 61356. Your donation is tax deductible.

To see more pictures and follow Princeton Club 56 on social media, visit their Facebook page at Princeton Club 56 and Instagram at Club 56 Princeton. For more information about Princeton Club 56, contact Buc Gray at 815-878-5874 or email [email protected].