Elita served with Toronto City Mission in the neighbourhood of St. James Town from 2005-2019, working with children, teens, and families. There, God grew her heart for ministry workers as she saw the impact they make on whole communities. In 2019, she joined Youth Unlimited (YU) Toronto and after a time of discernment, began working on the Internship program.

Elita's desire is to see emerging leaders minister out of a wholeness and rootedness in Christ. She wants to invest in building this next generation of ministry workers into healthy workers who will in turn, pour into the youth of the GTA. Her prayer is that this investment is a way to partner with God in establishing His witness in the city for decades to come.

Prayer Requests

Pray for wisdom as Mark and I raise our daughter.

Pray for interns to grow in skills and in their inner life as they step into youth ministry.

Pray for God to raise up approved workers who can proclaim the gospel effectively to the youth of our times.

If you’ve ever come across graffiti, breaking (breakdancing), emceeing (rapping), or deejaying, then you’ve encountered the culture of hip-hop. Those in this unique and misunderstood people group don’t know anything about Jesus. If they do, it’s usually the “bad things” about Christianity. Because of this, many or them are unlikely to go to a church to find out.

So God sends Youngdo to them.

Calling this mission City Lights, the purpose is to reach this community with the gospel in “their world”. A hip-hop ministry hasn't been done before in Canada, but since 2013,  through running events and programs, giving away Bibles, sharing the gospel, and building relationships, disciples, and other leaders to do the same, they are learning about God’s love and truth.

You can find more information here to receive monthly updates, connect with the mission team and they can link you with Youngdo to receive those. You can also view the City Lights introduction video.

The vision is to see the hip-hop community following Jesus Christ and with the help of supporters, including Grace Toronto Church, God keeps moving this ministry forward. It was his idea and he keeps paving the way. Youngdo (and his team) have been faithful to the work and God has been making the work fruitful. He is fulfilling the vision as this often-unreached group is being reached!

Prayer Requests

Pray for good health, true spiritual refreshment and rest, and for my family to deepen their faith and trust in the Lord.

Praise God for the many open doors within the hip-hop culture, and pray that He would continue creating opportunities to build connections and share the gospel.

Pray for financial stability across our nation. Pray specifically for the local hip-hop community, that the Holy Spirit would stir hearts to ask meaningful questions, seek truth, and encounter Christ through our work at City Lights.

Erika Hynds is passionate about helping young adults take their next step towards Jesus. She works in Toronto with Power to Change Ministries. Erika helps equip students with Spirit-led coaching, practical tools, and leadership development to help them live out God’s mission with courage and joy. Power to Change wants to show Jesus' relevance to all of life and create space for transformation by seeing and accepting all, welcoming faith and doubt, centring everything on Jesus as we call students to missional living. Interested in connecting with a Christian community on your campus or curious to learn more about P2C? Message Erika at erika.hynds@p2c.com

Prayer Requests

Pray that the university and college campuses of Toronto would be places where many students come to know and trust Jesus

Pray that Christians on campus would live by faith to share the gospel and love in Jesus' name