Chris Patterson
Chris Patterson (known as “Chrispy” in Young Life circles) was baptized in the fifth grade in the Disciples of Christ Protestant denomination. He wandered from his Christian beliefs in high school, but returned his freshman year in college, when he put his faith in Jesus as savior. Four years later, realizing his life in Christ was lukewarm, Chris had a deeper conversion — a “come to Jesus” moment. “Lord, up to now I haven’t been very serious about You. But starting today, I will be!” God responded to Chris’s human-sized step with a God-sized step of His own. Chris found himself in the midst of an adventure! He has been running with Jesus ever since.
As part of this adventure, Chris became a volunteer Young Life leader, introducing high school kids to Jesus and helping them grow in their faith from 1982 through 2009. He received Young Life’s National Volunteer Leader Award of Excellence in 2012. In 2004 God began to draw Chris to the
beauty, depth, and truth of Catholicism. On August 3, 2007, he and his wife, Jan, joyfully entered into full communion with the Catholic Church.
Chris continues to serve in Young Life by leading retreats and training youth, volunteer leaders, and staff on various aspects of following Jesus, prayer, and evangelization. He is also a member of the Young Life National Catholic Board, helping both Young Life and the Catholic Church as they
collaborate in reaching kids with the Gospel.
At Twelve Apostles Catholic Parish, in Platte City, Missouri, Chris and Jan teach all ages, ranging from a prayer class for “seniors” in their sixties to hosting Lunch & Catholicism in their home for high school seniors. Chris’s desire to help Catholic kids grow in their faith motivated him to write
The Adventure: Catholic Edition.
Chris will tell you he has many identities: husband, spiritual father, “granddad,” lawyer, teacher, prayer minister, and friend. But most important of all, he’s one of God’s kids. His life motto is: Being a child of God is our true identity and our most important vocation.
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Get ready for the adventure of a lifetime! You’ll face risky ventures, thrilling rescues, and cunning enemies, but you’ll have powerful partners to help you triumph over it all.
It sounds like an action movie, but it’s better than that.
It’s what your life can be like when you get to know God, who chose you for a life of adventure with him.
The Adventure: Living Out Your Relationship with God (Catholic Edition) is your one-of-a-kind guide to the adventure God is calling you to live. It includes getting to know God, why having a relationship with him matters, and how to become friends with him (yes, it’s possible). You’ll learn how he talks to you, how you can talk to him, how you can do things with him, and how we connect with him and one another through the sacraments and the Church.
If you already know God, this book can help you know him even better. If you’re not sure about God or the Catholic Church, this book will bust the myth that it’s all about rules and help you to see that it’s all about a relationship.
