Our Team

MISSION and VISION

Breakaway Outreach is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1995.

Our MISSION is to reach youth for Christ, disciple them in authentic faith, and equip the next generation of youth workers to make Christ known in their communities, across cultures, and beyond borders.

We believe every young person’s story can be rewritten by grace, redeemed by truth, and restored to purpose through the transforming power of Jesus.

Our VISION is to see young people breakaway from everything that stands in opposition to their God-given purpose—discovering their identity in Christ, growing in resilience and dignity, and becoming servant-leaders who influence their communities for the Kingdom of God.

With the purpose of helping youth “breakaway” from delinquency, founders Jimmy and Cindy Larche began the organization primarily as an outreach to at-risk teens in South Florida juvenile detention centers. Over the years—standing on the shoulders of faithful leaders and honoring the legacy of loved ones who paved the way—this mission has grown into an international network serving communities from the Appalachian region “to the ends of the earth.”

Today, our core programs in East Tennessee provide recovery-focused ministries for children impacted by hardship and trauma. Across the region and around the world, our growing missions network continues to multiply youth outreach movements through Christ-centered initiatives such as sports ministries, cross-cultural youth camps, English teaching and life-skills training, life-on-life discipleship training, and leadership development for the next generation of youth workers.

A Ministry of Presence

Breakaway is first and foremost a ministry of presence.

We believe transformation happens through consistent relationships, not just programs. By showing up, listening, and journeying with young people through their real-life struggles and victories, we reflect the relational love of Christ and create space for lasting change.

Young people rarely experience life change through events alone. It happens through people—mentors, coaches, and leaders—who invest in them over time. At Breakaway, we are committed to walking alongside youth as they discover what it means to follow Jesus in everyday life.

Go MAD: Life-on-Life Discipleship

“Go Make A Disciple” (Go MAD) is Breakaway’s life-on-life mentoring approach, rooted in Scripture and centered on authentic relationships.

Through intentional one-on-one connections between caring adults and young people, we nurture spiritual growth, strengthen biblical foundations, and cultivate accountability. Our heart is to walk alongside youth as they learn to follow Christ faithfully, live out their faith in everyday life, and grow into Christ-centered leaders who influence others for God’s Kingdom.

We are passionate not only about reaching youth, but also about teaching them how to share their faith and helping them become disciple-makers themselves.

No Borders. No Limits. Every Child a Camp.

Through our No Borders. No Limits. Every Child a Camp. initiatives, we work to remove barriers and make the life-changing experience of Christ-centered camps accessible to children everywhere. We believe every child—no matter where they live or what hardships they face—deserves the chance to encounter Jesus through camp.

For many of the children we serve, one week of camp can change the trajectory of a lifetime. Amazing things happen when a young person discovers faith, belonging within a Christian community, and pathways for discipleship. We have witnessed it again and again.

You can sponsor a child and help make the life-changing experience of camp accessible to a young person who might otherwise never have the opportunity.

Developing the Next Generation of Youth Workers

Breakaway also exists to equip the next generation of youth workers and ministry leaders.

Through mentorship, hands-on ministry experience, and leadership development, we train young leaders to reach their own generation with the gospel. Our goal is multiplication—seeing disciple-makers raised up who will carry the mission of Christ into new communities, cultures, and nations.

Our Story

The Redemption That Sparked a Movement

In September of 1987, Chaplain Alan Woody visited the Marion Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Ocala, Florida for his regular weekly program with incarcerated teenagers. After showing a Gospel film about the Prodigal Son from Luke 15, one of the youth inmates gave his life to Christ. His name was Jimmy Larche.

Jimmy’s childhood had been marked by abandonment, fatherlessness, abuse, violence, and addiction in his family. As a teenager he ran away from home, hitchhiked across the country, spent time in foster homes and homeless shelters, and was hospitalized following a near-fatal suicide attempt.

But everything changed when he encountered the message of Christ—and the steady mentorship of Pastor Woody, who became a lifelong spiritual father to him.

Jimmy often says that day he was given “a new and living hope.” His story is told in more detail in his book 13-Foot Coffins. While in college, Jimmy began returning to juvenile centers and youth prisons to share his testimony and offer hope to incarcerated teens, showing them that their past did not have to define their future.

“Just having one person in your corner can make all the difference in the world,” he often tells young people today.

Restorative Pathways: Juvenile Justice and Recovery Ministries

In 1995, Jimmy met his future wife Cindy. Together they began facilitating weekly chaplaincy services at the Jonathan Dickinson S.T.O.P. Camp in Hobe Sound, Florida—a juvenile justice aftercare program for youth offenders.

Cindy baked cookies for the youth while Jimmy led Bible studies. Teams of volunteers joined them to host sports ministries, music events, and life-skills workshops. Over time the programs expanded into multiple juvenile facilities across Florida.

Jimmy became an ordained minister, and Breakaway Outreach was officially born, carrying the vision of helping youth “breakaway” from destructive cycles and discover new life in Christ.

By 1999, Breakaway had expanded juvenile justice ministry across the state and began developing mentoring initiatives for youth on probation as well as re-entry support for young people returning to their communities. Training workshops were soon launched to help other ministries replicate similar outreach programs, forming a growing national network of partners committed to reaching at-risk youth with the gospel. A scholarship fund was started to send children affected by familial incarceration and other disadvantaged kids to summer camps.

Life-Changing Camps for Kids Facing Hardship

In 2007, Breakaway launched its first summer camp to serve children facing hardship in the Appalachian region.

These camps provide creative, adventure-filled environments for kids affected by poverty, parental incarceration, addiction, abuse, domestic violence, divorce, trauma, and other adverse childhood experiences.

Through sports, outdoor activities, mentorship, and Bible teaching, young people experience encouragement, belonging, and hope. Many attend through scholarships made possible by generous community partners.

For many campers, this week becomes the starting point of ongoing mentoring relationships and year-round discipleship through Breakaway programs.

A Catalyst for Global Missions

Beginning in 2010, Breakaway’s mission expanded internationally through partnerships that would become the Breakaway Global Missions Network.

Today this growing movement has served youth and children in 16 countries across four continents. Through sports ministries, English programs, adventure camps, leadership training, and mentoring initiatives, Breakaway works alongside local leaders to strengthen youth outreach in their own communities.

Our focus is not simply running programs, but equipping local leaders to sustain disciple-making movements that are culturally rooted and locally led.

We place special emphasis on reaching young people in hard places and under-resourced communities, offering compassionate, Christ-centered outreach that meets them where they are.

Cycles of Redemption

One of the greatest joys of Breakaway’s story is seeing young people who were once reached by the ministry grow into leaders themselves.

Former juvenile inmates now lead Bible studies inside detention centers. Children impacted by parental incarceration have grown up to become some of our most dedicated camp staff. Young people mentored through our programs now serve as leaders on cross-cultural mission teams around the world.

Each story is another example of Jesus breaking cycles of despair and replacing them with cycles of restored hope.

Why the Starfish?

The starfish logo represents the heart of Breakaway in two powerful ways.

First, it reflects our commitment to reaching one young person at a time through meaningful relationships.

Second, the starfish’s ability to regenerate and multiply reflects our passion for developing youth workers and multiplying disciple-making movements across cultures and generations.

Our Mission Today

Today Breakaway ministries span local communities and global partnerships—from East Tennessee to nations around the world.

What do Breakaway ministries look like today? That’s like asking what the weather or landscape is like in East Tennessee, South Florida, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, or East Asia. Our ministry expressions and outreach methods vary by culture and context, but our mission remains the same:

To reach young people with the gospel, disciple them in authentic faith, and equip the next generation to make Christ known.