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Daniel and friends at Timber Wolf Lake
Extending the Legacy
A Son Continues the Race He Began with His Father
By Jeff Chesemore
HOOKED
From the outside it seemed like an idyllic childhood.
A son of two loving parents and the oldest of three brothers, Daniel Taneyhill III grew up in a traditional family in the small Midwest town of Lake Fenton, Michigan. His dad, Dan Taneyhill, Jr, coached the boys in every sport they played, and was a pillar of the Lake Fenton community. Daniel and his two younger brothers, Darren and Matthew, knew they were loved and safe.
But Daniel soon discovered something was missing.
While attending Lake Fenton Middle School (LFMS) he was invited by Mary and Lee Rossmaessler, the parents of his friends, Tyler and Tucker, to something they were leading called “WyldLife”. The seventh grader checked out club and before too long was on the bus to a week of WyldLife summer camp at SharpTop Cove in Georgia.
“WyldLife camp was the first time I ever remember hearing the name ‘Jesus’ – and thinking, “Wow, Christianity is a thing and it’s real. They erected a cross on stage, and the speaker pointed to kids in the crowd and said, ‘Jesus died for you and you and you’. That made things personal. I thought, ‘Wow, someone would do that for me. I wanted to learn more. God was intervening in my life. The Holy Spirit was moving and that's what hooked me.”
WHY DON’T WE GO TO CHURCH?
The hook didn’t just stop with Daniel, however. “When I returned home from camp I said to my parents, ‘The Rossmaesslers go to church. All these people at camp I met go to church. Why don't we go to church?’
“And my dad said, ‘You know what? That's a good question. Let's find one.’ He was open to it right away! It wasn't important before then, but I guess when I thought it was important, he thought so too.”
Daniel’s dad asked Lee for church recommendations, and he and his wife, Roz, settled upon a church Daniel still attends to this day. Along with a church home, Daniel continued to find community with WyldLife. He went to camps, moved into Young Life in high school, and was eventually asked to become a leader… for WyldLife!
The high school junior gladly accepted the invitation. “I wanted to give back to kids, and leading definitely stretched my faith and started moving me in a stronger relationship with Jesus.”
Daniel Taneyhill Jr.
Daniel wasn’t the only Taneyhill to be recruited, though. “It was during this time they asked my dad to be a WyldLife leader too!” Dan was happy to accommodate and soon he and his namesake were taking middle school kids to camp together, which included Darren and Matthew.
“It was so cool to lead with my dad. He wasn't the most polished, but he loved kids and he loved the Lord. Dad was a bigger guy, and I can remember him in the cabin at camp pouring into the kids all around him, holding court and telling them stories about life. He’d done that for me and my brothers all our lives.
AT HOME, THEN AT HOME
As the entire Taneyhill family became invested in ministry, Dan continued to coach the boys in football, soccer, and baseball, while being a constant in their friends’ lives as well. “It demonstrated his big heart, and was a way to tell kids the truth and show them who Jesus was. He loved a lot like Jesus. He went for the furthest-out kids, always welcoming and bringing people into our home. Our house was the place to spend the night and things like that, because my family loved to bring everybody together. That was all because of my dad; it started with him.”
Dan’s big heart wasn’t just confined to WyldLife, however. “It was amazing to see how church and WyldLife ignited my father’s relationship with God. You could see it in the way he loved others throughout Lake Fenton, where everyone knows each other.”
For almost two decades Dan cared for the tight-knit community, until his untimely death in 2009 at the age of 50.
The town rallied around the Taneyhills in their mourning, letting the family know how much they loved Dan. The funeral was standing room only.
They honored Dan’s memory in another significant way as well. “My dad was the announcer for the Lake Fenton High School football team. The year after he passed the school district dedicated and renamed the stadium’s press box the Daniel Taneyhill Jr. Press Box.”
“Dad passed away when I was 22. It was shocking, of course. But I take a lot of comfort in knowing he knew the Lord and loved him greatly. I’m confident I'll see him again someday.”
GOOD BUT LOST
After graduating college, Daniel continued volunteering with Young Life for the next 10 years, until he knew God had a different future for him – in 2019 he came on Young Life staff. Today he’s the Young Life and WyldLife director in Lake Fenton, and his passion for ministry is unmistakable.
“I love the spirit, energy, and honesty of middle school kids. I want to reach all kids, but I certainly connect with those like I was in middle school. I came from a family with solid morals and a strong work ethic. I didn't do bad things, but I was definitely lost. I didn't know the truth: that there was something bigger in this life than being a 4.0 student who is good at sports, and a good son and brother. I didn't know there was eternal and abundant life available to me. I couldn't even imagine it.
“That’s why I'm drawn to kids who aren’t tearing up the school or anything, but they don't know about God yet. I want them to know the truth, and they're fully capable of making decisions about Jesus when they're in middle school. We don't always give them enough credit, but I know that's when I started learning these things.”
Daniel sees this lived out in a group of eighth graders, who caught the vision for reaching their friends. As they invited others from LFMS to WyldLife, club grew and their camp numbers doubled. “The kids had a great summer at Timberwolf, and these were some of the deepest conversations I've had in WyldLife. I know it's because of our volunteer leaders. We use junior leaders [high school students] here, and this was their third year leading. They were well-known, had built great relationships, and their influence with the middle school kids was amazing.”
FREE TIME = BIBLE TIME!
The results were obvious during the camp week. “Kids wanted to read the Bible with us during their free time at camp!” When the campers returned home, they told the leaders how much they loved their Bibles and asked where they could get one.
They started up a group chat where they posted pictures of themselves reading their Bibles, something Daniel had never seen before at the WyldLife level.
“It was awesome. God was moving. One of the kids, Baylen, has a mom who teaches at the middle school. She sent me pictures of four or five of the guys reading their Bibles during the free reading time in her class. She said, ‘I've never seen this!’ She then sent me a book report that one of the guys, Gabe, did on the book of Genesis! It warms my heart to see that they caught the passion the student leaders set for them at camp.”
GROWING THE WORK, CONTINUING A LEGACY
Today Daniel is a WyldLife representative for the Eastern Great Lakes region, keeping the region informed on effective WyldLife ministry, and how they can start the work in their own areas. “Regional reps are taught a lot about WyldLife and what middle schoolers are going through – physical, emotional and mental changes. In turn, we present this information at regional meetings, and are available to help answer questions.
“Our region’s goal is to have WyldLife in every place where we have a high school. We're not there yet, but we want to get there.”
As a husband to Maryalice, and father to Josephine and Daniel IV, Daniel continues to walk in his father’s shoes. He coached the high school football team for eight years, and today, along with leading WyldLife, he carries on another of his dad’s traditions.
“I’m now announcing the high school football games – in the press box named after my dad! I have the privilege of continuing that legacy. For sure, my dad’s love for the community has rubbed off on me and my brothers.”
A voice and heart that echo his father’s, and ultimately, the Father’s.
Daniel, Maryalice, Josephine and Daniel IV