H15 in Millersburg remains faithful 10 years into the dream

For Andy Schafer, the past decade has flown by as a dream became reality for him and his wife Tammy, and H15 Teen Center Ministries was born.

It hasn’t been easy rebuilding the trio of buildings in Historic Downtown Millersburg, with plenty of challenges, struggles and obstacles along the way, but along with those have come plenty of times of rejoicing and a great faith that God will always supply.

Andy Schafer looks back on that time 10 years ago when the teen center was but a dream, and he celebrates seeing how far the mission has come over the past 10 years.

“Early in the evening hours of May 4, 2016, I stood on the sidewalk in front of the buildings we now know as the H15 Teen Center and received the keys from the owners,” Schafer said. “I remember it like it was yesterday. The awe and wonder of knowing God was at work and the excitement and anticipation of looking ahead at the future were just about too much for me to handle.”

Handle it they did, and Schafer has done much of the heavy lifting when it comes to rejuvenating the eyesores that were the trio of buildings.

The center building has offered a wonderful place for area teens to gather in a safe, faith-driven facility, and work continues as the center strives to complete its second phase, the café in the west building.

However, back in those early days, the initial obstacle was finding a way to fund the purchase of the buildings.

“At first, we had been trying to figure out how to buy the buildings outright, but that wasn’t in God's plan,” Schafer said. “We then talked with the owners about leasing with an option to buy, which is what we ended up doing.”

The agreement was to lease the property for $800 per month.

That alone was a huge obstacle.

“When I gave them the check for the first month, there wasn’t enough to pay the second month and nowhere near enough committed to cover it,” Schafer said. “At that moment we only had $75 per month of commitments. When I signed the lease agreement, I made it clear that we were doing this whole thing completely on faith and that in human terms there was no reason for them to trust that we would make it.”

The owners said they were fine with that because there really wasn’t any risk to them since all the renovations and repairs that needed made were up to H15, so even if the organization found itself in default, they would just take the buildings back and any completed work would just be a benefit to them.

The Schafers remained steadfast in their belief God would provide, and that belief was rewarded.

“From that day on, God continued to work in miraculous ways over and over,” Schafer said. “First, the renovation was far more involved than I had originally pictured, and instead of a few months of minimal cleanup and work, it ended up being three years. However, God provided for every penny needed and brought hundreds of people to help with the work.”

H15 opened its doors in March 2019 just to end up having to close again a year later when COVID hit. Once again, God had plans for that time in which the Schafers invited several youths into their lives to develop a personal relationship with them and with God.

When the center finally reopened with the rest of the world, Schafer said God went right back to work, and so did they. More teens came to the center, and so did another blessing — food.

“We had been trying to have snacks available, but we weren’t always able to do that, but after we reopened, without us pursuing it at all, God provided abundantly for us to be able to have a full meal every evening we were open, and he has continued to do that in abundance,” Schafer said, noting the caring people and businesses of the area stepped in to offer help with food and finances.

More importantly, God continued to work in the teens, allowing H15 to have a faith impact on the youth. Schafer said there have been many teens who have watched as God has opened doors for deep relationships and impact. He noted some teens said they are like a family and H15 is different from any other place they go.

“It’s very obvious that God has been working,” Schafer said.

The blessings continue to grow, and in January 2023, H15 was able to obtain financing to buy the buildings. The community provided nearly $100,000 to put an entirely new roof, framing and more on phase two of the rebuild, kicking off the long process of getting the café building renovation started.

Over the decade Schafer said he and the board have realized nothing is too big for God.

“I have learned that God doesn't care about human wisdom or understanding, because if you look at the past 10 years through the lens of human logic, business sense and financial stability, there is no possible way we should still be going,” Schafer said. “He asked us to step out in faith that he would take care of everything, and he has not failed.”

Currently, H15’s monthly budget is right around $4,500 per month, but there is only about $3,000 a month coming in. Schafer said the belief is God will continue to provide.

“Whenever I feel discouraged or overwhelmed, all I need to do is look back and be reminded that God is far bigger than anything we face,” Schafer said. “Ten years down of eternity to continue reaching teens and seeing the fruit. I can’t wait to see what he has planned for the next 10 years.”

If anyone feels led to aid in this mission, they may call Schafer at 330-231-7147.