Bartlesville KLIFE held a reception for its donors at its new location across from Bartlesville High School on Thursday evening.

KLIFE's Michelle Robertson said it was great to celebrate the completion of their new building with approximately 85 to 90 people. Robertson said KLIFE's new home was a dream that was conceived in 2015. She said the project took several years to complete between fundraising and building, but they are beyond excited to see how far they've come.

KLIFE received support for the new building at 305 E. 18th Street from 166 donors, including foundations, individuals and families. Robertson said these donors contributed 93-percent of the total raised during their initial campaign. She said they set out to raise $3 million, but ended up raising $3.2 million.

To have a huge chunk of the funds raised from the 166 donors that believed in the vision of KLIFE has made Robertson believe in the philanthropic nature of the Bartlesville community. Robertson said the generosity of the Bartlesville community is something we can all be proud of moving forward.

During KLIFE's reception on Thursday, donors had an opportunity to tour KLIFE's new building. Robertson said her hope is that the donors thought that KLIFE was a good steward of the gifts they provided to make KLIFE's dream a reality. She said they also prayed over the building, prayed over the staff and thanked their donors during the event.

KLIFE started in Bartlesville 1986. The original idea for KLIFE came around 1979 when a group of parents approached Joe White - the Director of Kanakuk Camps at the time - and told him that they loved the experience their kids had at Kanakuk during the summer. Those parents wanted something like that for their students during the school year. Thus, KLIFE was born.

Robertson said Bartlesville KLIFE was one of the first Chapters in the nation in 1987. She said they have seen incredible growth over the years as they have been blessed with a great, gifted staff.

The purpose of KLIFE is a one-on-one discipleship program. Robertson said their model is an inverted triangle. She said their staff meets a lot of kids in big kid events called "One to Many." From that, KLIFE hopes kids are interested in getting into the Word and seeing how God speaks truth into their lives and how that's relevant to them in Bible Studies/Small Groups called "One to Few." At the end point of the inverted triangle is the ultimate goal: all kids have a one-on-one discipleship experience with KLIFE's staff and small group leaders.

Being a teenager can be tough, which is why KLIFE wants its kids to understand that God loves them. Robertson said they want their students to know that God can speak truth into their lives in applicable ways no matter what they are struggling through. She said they want to prepare their students for life in college through a life of faith so when they take that next step in their lives they will know what they believe in and how to defend their faith.

KLIFE ministers to children from third through twelfth grade. Third through fifth graders go through the "Super K" program, which meets every other week on Fridays to play games and hear short messages. Sixth through twelfth graders is KLIFE's primary focus as they offer small group/Bible Studies, one-on-one discipleship and big kid events. KLIFE is a non-denominational ministry and is open to all kids in the Bartlesville area.

Robertson said she is incredible grateful to live where she lives. She said she loves seeing generous hearts contributing to a ministry that has eternal consequences for our youth.

Those looking to give can visit KLIFE's website and click on the donate tab at the top of the screen.