In Puerto Rico, Young people are challenged to cling to Jesus during online youth campaign

Hosts of Puerto Rico’s Win with Jesus online youth evangelism campaign interview a young person during a special segment at the Bella Vista Adventist Church in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. The online event was the first that the Seventh-day Adventist Church organized on the island, June 206, 2015.  Images by Israel Rodriguez

June 18, 2015 | Mayaguez, Puerto Rico | IAD Staff

Pastor Abner De Los Santos, Inter-American Division vice president and advisor for youth ministries, was the main speaker during the online youth campaign.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Puerto Rico organized its first online youth evangelism campaign in an effort to reach thousands of young people on the island and encourage them to cling to Jesus and share His love with others.

The five-day online campaign gathered more than 500 young people at the Bella Vista Adventist Church in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, June 2-6, 2015. More than 2,500 also watched the event live on the internet each night, organizers said.

Pastor Abner De Los Santos, vice president of the Inter-American Division and advisor to youth ministries director, spoke on John 15:1-5 and how to be on the winning team with Jesus.

“Jesus wants to help you overcome sin, He knows everything about you, wants to renew you, change the course of your story and wants to restore you completely and satisfy all your needs,” said Pastor De Los Santos during the core messages throughout the week.

Youth Ministries Director in Puerto Rico Julio Javier (left) speaks to the young people on picking the winning team with Jesus, while Pastor De Los Santos looks on.

The online youth campaign carried the same “Win With Jesus” theme used by Inter-America’s youth ministries department through their online youth campaigns during the past two years.

“We are so excited because this online campaign focused on young people and their need to belong to the winning team with Jesus,” said Pastor Julio Javier, youth ministries director and communication director for the church in Puerto Rico. “We are concerned for our young people who leave the church which hurts families and weakens the church, so we want to continue to offer attractive programs that reassure them of Jesus’ love and a church that prepares them to lead the church today and in the future.”

According to Pastor Javier, there are more than 8,000 young people between the ages of 16 and 35 in the 330 churches across the island. “This online event helped our young people recharge their batteries, listen to a series of refreshing subjects and motivate them to remain close to Jesus,” he added.

Young people singing during the online youth campaign.

The online programs included Q&A segments, testimonies from young people, reports from youth directors across the island, music, and more.

Nemuel Artiles, general director of Bella Vista Media Center overseeing production of the online event, said the five-day event was going to only run online.

“We really wanted this online campaign to be an event carried just online but decided to open it to the public,” said Artiles. “Because of the interest among our young people across the city, we wanted to draw on that audience feedback” said Artiles.

According to Artiles, the online event had an intense social media campaign weeks before it began and saw

Nemuel Artiles, general director of Bella Vista Media Center overseeing production of the online event said had an intense social media campaign weeks before it began and reached more than 2,500 connections during the event.

connections from dozens of countries including Mexico, Cel Salvador, Colombia, Brazil, Aruba, Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile Dominican Republic, the United Sates, Singapore, Italy, and more.

Church leaders are happy with the impact of the campaign which resulted in several young people interested in learning about the Bible and the church. Leaders are hoping to organize an online youth campaign every year.

The “Win With Jesus” online campaign was also broadcast through the church’s two radio stations, Radios Sol and Radio Paraiso, as well as Jireh Boradcast Radio in Puerto Rico and Radio Joven Adventista online in Houston, Texas.

To view more pictures on the church’s Win With Jesus online youth campaign in Puerto Rico, click HERE

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