Witnessing Ideas

by Kathy Winings <IRFFint@AOL.COM>
Wednesday 2 Jun 1999

I wish to offer a few thoughts on the young people matching/blessing.

Working together with a minister and his youth group, or two ministers and their youth groups, or a minister and his youth group and our local second generation: create a one day service learning program following a schedule such as: meet at the church by 9:00 on Saturday. Begin a brief one hour orientation to the project and the value of service to others. Begin the project at around 10:30am. Break for lunch at 12 noon. Go back to the project by 1:00 and finish by 3:00pm. Gather at the church again for a reflection time and debriefing from the project. Have pizza dinner or something of that nature. Bring in a short and exciting purity presentation or video in the evening.

Projects can be local such as: painting a church hall; painting or repair of an orphanage, community center, nursing home; cleaning up a vacant lot; planting a garden in an open space; working on a playground to make it clean and safe; etc. Talk to your group of ministers and see what project they would like to see done in an area of need locally. Ministers will be educated by working side by side with you; youth will be busy doing a principled activity rather than something unhealthy; have the youth stay all night in the church and attend the service - minister becomes excited to see youth excited and happy to be there.

Several things are going on: ministers are brought into a creative process of how to revitalize their youth and in working with you learn from your wisdom. Youth are in a service activity which excites today's teens and hear some purity message.

By working with ministers to support them in revitalizing their young people in their churches, we are sharing with them our content and purity message for youth as well as having their youth do something exciting and principled. Then, the ministers will feel more call to continue this activity and ask for more material to teach their youth - we have IEF - Character Ed, PLA - purity, and DP to offer.

The more they do this, the more chance these ministers will teach this material to their church members. Then the ministers can match and bless the youth of their church.

This is just one idea that has been done. I am also offering to regions through my visits and any other means, my research and resources on working with adolescents and young adults as I give seminars and workshops to ministers, parents and teachers both inside the church and outside the church on this topic.

ITN,

Kathy