By Lamont Curtis
MONTVALE, New Jersey--Last summer, at the close of the Higher Ground session of the Summer Educational Program (SEP), the teens and young adults were given a challenge, to not let SEP end but to take it back home to their families, jobs, schools and churches.
Hundreds of youths committed to doing just that, and I had the privilege of seeing that challenge fulfilled when I went to the Montvale and Middletown Mission Possible youth service and weekend Oct. 28 and 29.
The goal of the Mission Possible weekend was to remind our church, and our youths especially, that God's got an incredible love for them, can completely redeem them and has a unique purpose and plan for each of their lives if they would just heed the call.
In emphasizing that point, two heartfelt testimonies were given by teens. Affinity, a Long Island, New York, band, led worship. Two band members also shared experiences of how God brought them together, beginning primarily with asking for his intervention during a 40-day prayer vigil the year before. Praise and worship continued that evening, followed by a heart-to-heart group discussion between the teens and adult leaders about what we can do to help our church grow in size and spirit.
The service was an awesome step in the right direction for unity and evangelism in our church. I left, more than anything, reassured of God's incredible love and faithfulness, and only too eager to see where he takes us in the coming seasons.
Jon Gross commented that the event changed him in ways he did not expect. "My future is taking form before my eyes, and I see a path laid out for me by which to glorify God," he said.
"The weekend also served to heal friendships that were somewhat broken, or had just been drifting apart," he said. "I also had experiences that brought me infinitely closer to people I was not friends with. God's presence was beautiful throughout the weekend."
"God is doing amazing things in our church, and one can be only encouraged when one has the opportunity to observe his hand in us as a body."
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2001