YOUNG DISCIPLES BRING SOULS TO JESUS

by Daniel Schiffbauer
A three-week, youth-conducted evangelistic series held at Altamonte Springs Church by four young people, ages 13-15, featured 16 full-length sermons, including two on Sabbath morning. As a result of the meetings, five individuals made decisions for baptism, several decided to join the church by profession of faith, and a number of nonattending members returned to church.
Many families expressed interest in joining the congregation because of the priority given to young people, and they are now attending Sabbath services. Several members remarked that the presentations helped them come to a deeper understanding of the teachings of the Church. One man said, “The kids made the doctrines more clear than many professional evangelists I have heard.”
Just prior to hearing about the death of a close relative, one woman heard the message about the state of the dead. She was not troubled by death as in times past because she now understood that her loved one was resting in the grave and would soon be reunited with her when Jesus comes.
The greatest impact of the meetings was felt by the young people who delivered the sermons. In January, they were encouraged to attend a special preaching seminar held by Florida Conference at Pine Lake Retreat in Groveland. Later, Altamonte Springs Church decided to have the youth present an evangelistic series as a follow up to the area-wide summer outreach initiative, Impact Orlando, sponsored by Florida Conference Youth Ministries. Though several elders and Pastor Dan Schiffbauer helped prepare the young people for the series, it was mainly through the efforts of head elder Josie Oates that they practiced, prepared, and rose to the occasion.
Every night, Schiffbauer, Oates, and other prayer team members prayed over the youth evangelist who was going to speak, asking for him or her to be anointed with the Holy Spirit. The young people mentioned they felt God helping them as they spoke, and many attendees said they could feel the Holy Spirit working.
Each of the speakers said they would like to preach again in the future. Through their influence, other young people have asked if they could participate in a future youth evangelistic meeting. Altamonte Springs Church looks forward to being the launch pad in the months and years ahead for many aspiring young preachers.