Montemorelos, Mexico…[Libna Stevens/IAD]
“I want you who are young to be involved in the life of the church, become involved, do not become an observer in the church. Come In. Do something.”
Those were the words of Pastor Jan Paulsen, president of the global Seventh-day Adventist Church, as he challenged more than 2,000 young people gathered at Montemorelos University Church in Mexico during a special youth event on May 6. A record breaking 2,500 internet users connected to tune into the program and thousands more via satellite.
Pastor Paulsen’s message came during a five-hour program geared toward youth ministries leaders and Adventist young people in the Inter-American Division territory. The event, coined by organizers as “Mega Youth Sabbath”, sought to focus on equipping young people throughout the church in Inter-America toward a stronger commitment to the mission of the church and their communities.
During the climax of the morning program, Pastor Paulsen reminded young people that, just like them, the Christian movement has always been led by youth from the time of Christ’s disciples until the early pioneers in the church. Pastor Paulsen challenged the young assembly to try a closer walk with Jesus.
“Please make Jesus Christ part of your plans for the future,” he said. “If you want to have a future, a good future, He must be partner in your life.”
At the end of his message, the Adventist leader prayed as a young person was baptized. Pastor Paulsen then called those from 8 to 30 years of age to commit their life to Christ and become actively involved in the church.
The event was broadcast live on Adventist Television Networks Esperanza TV and Nuevo Tiempo, as well as A.D.venir Network. Dozens of emails poured from around the world during the live program expressing appreciation for the program, it’s messages and more.
Additional guests speakers during the three-hour morning program included Pastor Baraka Muganda, world church youth ministries director, who outlined the different youth programs for the current five-year period. One of the programs, called Youth First, was designed to get young people involved in the mission of the church.
Pastor Muganda encouraged church leaders to involve the youth in the business of the church.
“Let them be part of the mission of the church,” he said. “We want young people to be seen and heard.”
In addition to the appeals and prayers, the program also featured an array of musical numbers, including small singing groups, a choir, orchestra, a brass ensemble, and a drama performance all presented by students of the university.
Three brave young Adventists from Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and Mexico were honored with special plaques as heroes of faith for making a difference in their communities.
The event was the brainchild of Pastor Bernardo Rodriguez, youth ministries director for the church in Inter-America. He thanked church leaders throughout the territory who embraced the idea of the first Mega Youth Sabbath part of a larger strategic plan of the Youth Ministries department in using technology to empower the youth of Inter-America.
The idea then drove church leaders to choose IAD’s Montemorelos University as the host of the event because of its strong youth ministries program and recently expanded tv studio and media productions center.
“We chose the university’s church as the host this first time because it is one of the largest churches with young people actively involved in youth leadership and community service,” said Pastor Rodriguez. Since the institution hosts a youth symposium every year where Adventist world leaders are among its guest speakers, arrangements were made to coordinate the event with it, he added.
The two-hour afternoon program included live interviews with Seventh-day Adventist leaders who answered questions about the initiatives, incentives, and resources available for young people throughout the territory of Inter-America during the coming years.
During an interview with Pastor Israel Leito, president for the church in Inter-America, he said the key to youth being involved in the mission of the church is to lead a Christian life.
“We should remember that the life of a Christian is the most important part,” he said. “It is the most important element that we have at hand to share with the world, the way that we live and the youth that lives the life of Christ in their university, at work, in the train, bus, just living that life, giving testimony is an essential element to go forward.”
“Young people should not feel that they do not have anything to contribute,” Pastor Leito continued. “The church is open so they can contribute with what they have for the advancement of the mission of the church.” Pastor Leito gave one example on how the youth of the church can help the church take gigantic steps into the latest technology for the advancement of the church.
Pastor Rodriguez echoed the voices in support of the youth and the need to empower them for active involvement in the vision for the church of Inter-America.
“Our vision is for a happy youth sure of their salvation in Christ Jesus,” said Pastor Rodriguez. “We hope that during this quinquennium we can enter into a permanent service to the community, and we hope that each Adventist young person can be a follower of Christ through service.”
“Our young people are obsessed with sports, technology and other things,” said Pastor Rodriguez, “so we have come up with the five-year theme of ‘Obsessed with Jesus Experience Him and Share Him.’”
He said the youth ministries for each remaining year in the quinquennium will focus on different “obsessions” with Jesus. For example, the theme for this year is “Obsessed with His love.” Next year’s theme is “Obsessed with His Word.” The focus for 2008, 2009 and 2010 will be on Jesus’ lifestyle, mission and second coming, respectively.
Part of the Obsessed with Jesus theme is to involve as many of the more than 1.5 million Adventist young people of Inter-America into evangelistic efforts, bringing at least one person into knowing Jesus.
The Mega Youth Sabbath ended with a challenge from every church leader who participated in the day’s event to make Jesus the center every young person’s life in a committed service to others.
The live event included a live internet chat room with dozens of users, and email address for many to send in their comments and questions. The program was viewed in more than 20 countries.
Pastor Rodriguez says a second Mega Sabbath is planned for next year during the IAD Youth Congress to be held in Medellin, Colombia. The event promises to gather 5,000 youth leaders from the territory for training programs and community service activities throughout the city.
The next IAD youth event will begin this summer as thousands of young people will compete in their local churches during the 3rd Bible Bowl. The topic of this year’s Bible Bowl is the Gospels. Finalists from all 15 regions of the territory will compete in late November for prizes.
For information on the Mega Youth Sabbath re-broadcast schedule during the coming months, and for more on youth events, visit www.interamerica.org.
