Mid

Mid-Atlantic puts on
Builders Weekend

By Shane Bazer

FUQUAY-VARINA, North Carolina—After attending several Discovery Weekends and perhaps the Summer Educational Program once or twice, many young people want to make the next step beyond their commitment to Jesus Christ. They now want to take an active part in building their own youth ministries.

Over the Labor Day weekend, Aug. 31 to Sept. 3, the Mid-Atlantic District sponsored a Builders Weekend for more than 40 on-fire youths and youth leaders at the Agape Retreat Center in Fuquay-Varina.

It was packed with workshops, dynamic praise and worship and discussions that focused on training our young people and those who minister to youths to be more effective builders of the kingdom and builders of the Worldwide Church of God.

Most of the congregations fully or at least partially sponsored their young people and youth pastors to attend. Attendees represented 16 WCG congregations.

Jeb Egbert, Summer Educational Program director, was the keynote speaker and provided motivational talks on Christian leadership, public speaking and being like Jesus. He said: "At such conferences, we learn how to complement the work of parents and the congregation to help create an environment in which Jesus is presented to all young people. My hope is that all districts will have conferences like what we experienced. I am certain that if they do, we will soon be reporting on significant growth within our denomination."

One of the participants, Alicia Pencola, from the Frederick, Maryland, church, said she felt that the weekend was "successful in providing more knowledge on how to get youths at each of our churches more involved."

Tim Brassell, pastor of the Norfolk, Virginia, church and one of the presenters, said: "I was highly inspired and encouraged as I witnessed a well-balanced and intentional Holy Spirit equipping session!"

Calvin Simon, one of the young men from the Norfolk church, led two young women to Christ after the "How to Share Your Faith" session by Paul David Kurts.

Debbie Harris, a youth ministry leader in Richmond, Virginia, was moved by the weekend. "To see God working among our teens and young people was powerful, she said. "Our teens were on fire for Jesus and it was overwhelming to experience this joy over Jesus firsthand."

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