1st Youth Sunday

I grew up in a small country church, and I’m glad I did. For as long as I can remember, our youth group met on Sunday nights and followed the organizational structure of another organization called Christian Endeavor (CE). Bobby and Britney, a young missionary couple who arrived in Jan, do an excellent job with youth ministry here (particularly gauged for teenagers). They were the youth leaders in their home church back in Ohio. I find it interesting that they are beginning to learn about concepts in youth ministry that CE was doing many years ago, particularly the idea of youth taking roles of leadership. I can’t tell you how many numerous times I and my best friend Kim have been thankful for our years in Christian Endeavor. Although we didn’t know it back then, CE built solid Christian leadership skills into us that we now use in our every day lives. One of the things CE encouraged was Youth Sunday, where the youth were responsible for every part of the service, form door greeters to preaching.

On Sunday Nov 4th, we had our first ever (as best we can tell) all youth led Youth Sunday here at the Home. I’m so proud of Bobby and Britney and the kids. They spent many hours in planning and rehearsing. Every piece of the service was done by the youth: the decorations, the music, the drama, the preaching, the clean up afterwards, etc. Teen-aged Rodrigo seems to have a passion to be a pastor and it certainly looks like he’s gifted that way. With some guidance from Bobby, he did an outstanding job. For an object lesson, Rodrigo obtained a big barrel that was no longer being used. Then during the service (as practiced), he got a small tyke (Milton, who’s just a little taller than the barrel), and put Milton into a trash bag up to his neck, and then into the barrel. Then, as the whole congregation watched, he had older boys add bucket after bucket of sand into the barrel around Milton. The whole time, Rodrigo was teaching that our lives are like this when we sin. The more we sin, the more we get trapped and feel weighted down and unable to get out of the mess we’ve created, until we’re up to our neck in trouble and completely unable to help ourselves. By this point Milton was nearly up to his neck in sand. Then, as Rodrigo explained, we realize we can’t do anything to help ourselves and we must understand that we need help. If we pray to God, repent from our sins, and ask His forgiveness, He is certain to forgive us and help us in the midst of any circumstance we’ve gotten ourselves into. Then, on cue, the boys who dumped in the sand, start lifting up the barrel over Milton’s head. Unbeknownst to the audience, the bottom of the barrel had been cut out, and the sand poured out the bottom of the barrel as it was lifted up, thus freeing Milton. The audience applauded loudly. I think it’s an object lesson they won’t soon forget.

Rodrigo is the guy in red in the background. Although Milton is looking a little concerned at the moment, I promise you he was all smiles at the end as he had everybody's attention and applause.