AN ARMY OF YOUTH TO CONVERGE ON MIAMI

by Pedro Perez, Florida Conference Youth Ministries Director
 
https://youtu.be/jkcMDovv_6E
 
Have you ever heard the expression, “an army of youth?” This phrase comes from an Ellen White quote in which she envisions young people being properly trained to help prepare people for Jesus’ return. The Youth Ministries Department takes these words seriously. We are on a mission to train, equip, and deploy an army of young people.
One of the strategies in place to accomplish this is through the summer IMPACT events. The Youth Ministries Department is ready to launch its second summer mission trip experience, IMPACT Miami, June 22-29, 2014. The first was last summer in Orlando. The vision is to offer young people, ages 14+, a Florida mission trip opportunity. It will be affordable and focused on training young people to do ministry and develop their spiritual gifts.
Students will attend as missionaries for the week. We will train them how to go door to door, how to start a children’s ministry, how to start a video ministry, how to start a homeless ministry, how to start a sidewalk ministry, how to start an elderly/nursing home ministry, how to start a hospital ministry, how to conduct Vacation Bible School (VBS)/CREATION Health meetings, and more! We want to create opportunities for young people to partner with pastors and local churches to advance the ministry of their local church and community and, ultimately, grow God’s Kingdom. We have partnered with SALT (Service And Love Together—a group of young adults in Florida) to help with the training.
Every day, young people will participate in community service projects to help beautify the city as they share the love of Jesus. They will also receive practical training and put into practice the skills learned that day.
We want to see an army of young people trained, equipped, and deployed. We are putting plans in place to make this a reality. We hope you consider joining us with your young people for this life-changing experience. More info is at http://www.env-floridaconference-fcoldweb.kinsta.cloud/iym/youth/mission-trips/, or you can call (407) 644-5000 and ask for Micky Santiago.
It is exciting to see young people catapulted into prominent roles of leadership and service in the local church and strengthen what the church means to that community. Young people who attend this mission trip are poised to IMPACT their local towns, recruit friends to join them, and start ministries that will IMPACT others in the cities and towns from which they came.
We are especially excited to see how well this fits into the vision of Mission to the Cities launched by our president, Mike Cauley. We see that young people can play a key role in making Adventist churches in a city more familiar to members of the community and serve them better.
We are all on the same team, and we all want to move in the same direction—reaching our cities and reaching our young people. Together, we’re stronger. Together, we can do more. Together, we can advance God’s Kingdom. Together, we can raise an army of young people that will help Florida Conference, with its Mission to the Cities, make an IMPACT and prepare young people for a life of service.