Partner in the Gospel: Meet YEPAW's Gabriel Black

Partner in the Gospel:
Meet YEPAW's Gabriel Black

Gabriel Black has come full circle. After attending YEPAW here as a teenager, Gabe joined The Chapel staff as a video intern from 2019-2020. We caught up with him last month while he was serving as the Production Director with the YEPAW team. Here’s what he had to say about his relationship with our church and with the ministry of YEPAW over the years.

Q: How did attending YEPAW as a student impact your life and your faith?

A: I grew up in church my whole life, but YEPAW was a hub of really fun young adults gathering just to talk about God on our level, with our own language. Even in moments when I was a little weak in my faith, I always went back to YEPAW.

Q: You served as a Video Intern here at The Chapel. What was it like working on staff after years of coming here for YEPAW?

A: YEPAW gave me a beautiful start in video production moving at a very fast pace. Working at The Chapel forced me to slow down and really look at my strengths and my weaknesses. It taught me so many technical skills, creative skills. It made me address places where I was strong in my faith, but also a lot of places where I was weak in my faith. It forced me to look at my life holistically and ask, “What are my weaknesses?” and to realize, “I need to address them. I can’t leave it there, I have to change them.”

Q: In 2020 you transitioned to a new job, but you still are connected with The Chapel through YEPAW. How does it feel to have come full circle?

A: I think the only two words I can say are speechless and grateful. When I come back, I miss it a lot, way more than people really know. It really does feel like home. I love seeing the people I know, I really miss the faces that I don’t see when I come. Working here instilled so much in me that now I can take back to YEPAW. Having a relationship with people here, it’s so beautiful.

Q: What would you most like to pass on to the new groups of students coming along after you?

A: I would love to pass on what I got from YEPAW: Using your gifts to exalt Jesus’ name and to grow the Kingdom. It might not be everybody works in a church or everybody works in a ministry, but even if they are working in a secular place, being able to take Christ in there and be a light in the darkness.