Part one of two parts
As Apollo’s Properties owners’ Jim and Elizabeth VanSteenhouse wait for the Leland Township Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) to consider their appeal of the planning commission’s denial of its special land use permit application, the couple sat down with the Enterprise to talk about Youth for Christ (YFC) in the community and what being a part of Fishtown means to them.
The township has scheduled the first meeting of the ZBA to consider the appeal for July 30 at 6:30 p.m., with the location to be determined. In a letter dated on June 26 and addressed to Robert Parker of the Parker Harvey law firm, one of the attorneys for VanSteenhouse, the township’s legal counsel, Lauren Teichner, stated that it is their intent that the July 30 meeting includes “the public hearing on the appeal, together with the ZBA’s deliberations on the issues presented.” Following that meeting, it was also stated that the township anticipates scheduling a second meeting at which the ZBA will deliberate further, if necessary, and render its decision.
Last year, the applicant, Apollo’s Properties, LLC., filed for a special land use permit to operate a YFC club center in Leland, and months of public debate about whether they have the right to be in the C-1 village commercial zoning district has continued ever since.
Apollo’s application has been a controversial topic amongst community members, particularly concerned parents and local business owners, since mid 2025, with many voicing their opposition to YFC publicly at township planning commission meetings and via written correspondence.
After months of review and deliberation, the Leland Township Planning Commission voted in April to deny the Apollo’s Properties special land use permit application to operate a YFC club center out of VanSteenhouse’s building located off N. Lake Street in downtown Leland.
Husband and wife duo Micah and Kya Cramer serve as the campus life director and associate campus life director for the Leelanau County YFC chapter known as the Leland LightHouse, an affiliate of Youth for Christ USA, a multinational nonprofit Christian organization. Micah’s uncle, Jim, of Apollos Properties, owns the building in which YFC would operate as a tenant.
The opposition thus far has not gone unnoticed by Jim and Liz, but they are hopeful for the future of YFC in Leelanau.
YFC local interest
Liz said there’s been an “incredible response” and interest in YFC programming from local youth in Leelanau County over the past year, despite the vocal opposition seen by many members of the public at township meetings.
The couple says they still invite people over, even those that are skeptical, for coffee and conversation. In the winter, the Cramers hosted a meet and greet at Locals in Lake Leelanau, for those interested to learn more about YFC and what they do as a youth group.
“They are real people, they are not cult leaders,” Liz said. “Just come and meet them.”
In the summer of 2025, the building downtown was utilized for activities by those in the youth group. Writing on the walls inside the building display the signed names of dozens of kids that have attended bible study sessions, and numerous uplifting passages from and about the bible can also be found across every wall. Above the signed names of those in the youth group reads, “I love my biblical community!”
“You are known here, seen here, loved here, by us and by the Lord!” a passage on another wall reads, while further away, another message reads “2026 the lord will have His way.”
Due to the continued interest from local youth, Liz said Micah will be leading an upcoming conference and camp experience at Lake Ann Camp called “He is” set for August 7-10. The conference experience is open to families, church groups, adults, and people of all ages and backgrounds. The three day-long conference will include a number of activities including scripture- rooted informative sessions for those struggling in certain areas of their life.
The lighthouse, referenced in the name “The Leland LightHouse,” is symbolic for “shining the light and bringing you back into safe harbor,” Liz explained. In their past, Liz and Jim, as well as both their parents, didn’t necessarily have the kind of safe community that offered opportunities like the YFC youth group does, and that’s been part of their inspiration for wanting to establish a club center in the county.
“That’s kind of our inspiration from our pain, that these children, teenagers, no matter what part of life they’re in, will have a place where they can share and just be real,” Liz said.
Despite not being exposed to Christianity until her 30s, Liz said it was good because it helped her recognize what life is like without that “safe place.”
“My family was very broken for generations, it wasn’t their fault, it was just the nature of their experience in this fallen world,” Liz said. “But because of that, I have such passion to see that for my own children and their friends.”
Jim said Micah helps kids in their YFC group tackle reading the Bible and scriptures in a way that they can understand it. By having a comfortable environment where there are others around that want to learn about the bible, Jim said it makes it easier to absorb information and ask questions.
“You have these ‘arise and shine’ (coffee sessions) during the school year and they (kids) go from knowing nothing to realizing that understanding who Jesus Christ is, my lord and my savior, coming to a relationship with Christ, understanding that it’s actually fun doing it, understanding how to get into scripture, to the point where they’re leading an actual devotion on a Friday morning,” Jim said. “That’s a life skill. You’re going to have to have a moment in your life and your career where you’re leading something, and these kids are choosing to learn about our lord and savior Jesus Christ, it’s their free will.”
Kids that have participated in YFC ministry programming are not just from Leland, but also surrounding towns like Northport, Suttons Bay, and Glen Arbor. Jim said some of the kids that were part of YFC last year have now graduated and gone on to college where they continue to be part of ministries and help lead Bible studies.
Editor’s note: the second part of the two-part series will appear in the July 16 edition of the Enterprise.
