Women Nationally Active for Christ
A Promising Future: National Youth Conference 2009
“My First One!” shouted a Truth & Peace altar counselor after the Monday night service. With an expression of pure joy, she recounted the experience of leading someone to Christ. Yet her experience was only one of more than 200 responses for salvation or surrender that students made during services at the 2009 National Youth Conference.
The conference made a profound impact upon the lives of the 1,917 students who attended. Reach That Guy participants who cleaned up an abandoned housing project were moved to tears by the squalor they witnessed.
Teens who attended Global Purpose Seekers seminars learned how to use Scripture, mentors, prayer, their conscience, and experiences to make wise decisions in discerning God’s will. The cross-cultural setting of the GPS-X International Marketplace prompted one student to observe, “Now I have a better idea of how to pray for missionaries.”
Teens and children who attended creation video sessions were equipped to defend their faith against attacks by secular philosophies that deny the reliability of God’s Word. Trips to the Creation Museum provided a realistic depiction of God’s account of Creation and The Great Flood.
On Tuesday night, Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis and The Creation Museum, provided overwhelming evidence to support a young earth to an overflow crowd in the Hyatt Regency Ballroom. He described an earth shaped by a catastrophic global flood and supplied relevant answers to many questions that can weaken the faith of today’s Christian students.
Youth leaders and adult attendees discussed the elements of a biblical model of youth ministry. They defined the God-given responsibility of parents to transfer their faith to their children. Youth leaders were challenged to develop reliable resources to provide relevant answers to questions asked by their students.
Other conference attendees enjoyed a demonstration of the new Elements Kid’s Worship from Randall House. Children and youth leaders alike were excited about the product, its features, and the price. The customizable program allows youth workers to plug in their own music to fit with the video, Bible lesson, and other valuable elements of the program.
Attendance is on the rise as 969 students participated in competitive activities, a six percent increase over last year. Student registration was up by five percent (97 more teens and children), and total attendance increased by 254, topping out at 4,186. The slight dip in Reach That Guy statistics reflects the cancellation of several outdoor projects due to rain. Still, participants logged 2,433 hours of community service and collected 69 units of blood at the blood drive.
The 2010 conference theme was introduced Wednesday night. Wherever incorporates Acts 1:8, which commands us to be witnesses of Christ at home and around the world. This theme complements the 75th anniversary celebration of International Missions.
Free Will Baptist students have been challenged to walk 10 miles along a 2,500-mile-route (once traveled by Laura Bell Barnard) to raise funds for the Go10 project. The unique event will start on Easter Sunday at Miss Barnard’s home church in Glenville, Georgia, and conclude next July during the Tuesday evening youth service in Oklahoma City. The goal? To raise $1 million dollars by the time International Missions General Director James Forlines walks into the auditorium! Visit www.fwbgo.com to learn more about how you can become involved in the Go10 project.
2009 National Youth Conference Overview
Theme: Sixty Minutes With God
Registrants: 4,212
Competition Entries: 969
Buck-A-Week Offering: $4,044.33
Reach That Guy
· 175 volunteers
· 2,412 hours of labor
· 23 completed projects
Worship Coordinators
Preschool: Katie Greenwood
Children: Johnny Miller
456: Steve Greenwood
Teens: Jacob Riggs
Teen Speakers: Cameron Lane (AR); Tommy Swindol (MI); Jason Taylor (AZ) Allen Pointer (AR); Ken Ham (OH)
Youth Worker of the Year: Josh Young, Porter FWB Church (OH)
Youth of the Year: Stephanie Sparks, Bloom FWB Church (OH)
Youth Group of the Year: First FWB Church, Fort Gibson (OK)
2010 National Youth Evangelistic Team
Directed by Jeff and Sherri Sloan
Audrey Hollified (TN)
Kevin Strouth (VA)
Lauren Mitchell (GA)
Matthew Berry (FL)
Elizabeth Snow (TN)
Tyler Donaldson (SC)
Chesi Spriggs (KY)
Patrick Easley (MO)
Beth Ash (AR)
Tyler Cagle (AL)
Ashley Clark (KY)
John Palmer Rea (IL)
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