NEW YOUTH MINISTRY PROJECTS
Help Build The Northeastern Conference
Youth Ministries Multipurpose Complex
CHRIST MONOLOGUES
WHAT IS CHRIST MONOLOGUES?
An expressive way for adults and youth to share feelings and emotions about their journeys and experiences with the Lord.
In the church today there are far too many misperceptions and misunderstandings between our youth and our adults. Often, young people believe that adults do not have a clue about their problems. On the flipside, adults believe that youth do not have any problems, and if they do, they are not equipped to handle them. In turn, young people do not rely on adults to help them with their problems. And adults are quick to judge young people for their shortcomings with the Lord. As a result, a gap has developed between the two—a disconnection between our youth and adults that Satan uses to his advantage. This is a disconnection that, as a church, we must address right away in order to keep the devil from conquering even one soul. Thankfully, the Lord has impressed upon my heart a creative way of building such connections: through shared testimonies.
One of the most effective ways of relating to others is to share our own experiences. When we are willing to be honest with others about our struggles, we feel a connection with someone else. And we realize we are not alone. When we learn how the Lord has lifted others out of struggles and changed their lives, we feel a sense of hope for our own lives. Often times, we will reach out to that person for advice, support, and most importantly, prayer and fellowship. I really believe that this type of sharing—open and honest sharing—is required between our youth and our adults.
It is time for our adults to share their experiences—their personal and emotional experiences—with our youth! Not just the joys and wonderful blessings they have received, but the trials they have faced and overcome, especially in their young lives, to get close to the Lord. At least one adult from each church will be asked to participate. Adults must focus on the feelings they experienced during their trials and those they felt when the Lord lifted them out of their situations. The point is not to glorify sin or sinful actions, but to focus on the feelings—of fear, self-hatred, desperation, suicide, etc—to create a space to share similarities and hope. Adults will be asked to describe their experiences in an artistic form, such as a story, a skit, a poem, etc. to be shared with the six churches.
The twist, and how this differs from regular testimony, is that the stories, skits, poems, etc., of the adults will be performed by the youth. Adult will be required to work closely with youth to make sure their experiences are fully understood. The youth will then present the experiences of the adult. The youth will take on the character of the adult and will embody the feelings and emotions experienced by the adult. This form of sharing and acting will hopefully create connections and relationships between our adults and youth based on personal experiences and emotions. If this ministry is successful, bonds will form between our youth and adults that will continue long after. And hopefully these initial relationships will spark others to share and build connections.
HOW DOES THIS WORK
This is a BIG task! It will take a lot of work and dedication. The following is a template of what is required to make this a successful ministry:
AYS Leaders from each church will need to speak with adult(s) they think will share and that will work closely with the youth.
The chosen adult will then need to prepare his/her testimony in an artistic way.
TWO different ways to create a testimony:
The chosen adult can create his/her own presentation (a poem, a skit, a story, etc). Then the adult must share his/her testimony in detail with the chosen youth, who will then present.
OR
The chosen adult and the chosen youth will create the testimony together. The adult will share his/her story and together the youth and adult will determine the best way to present the testimony.
Testimonies should be captivating. Please do not lie or embellish. Adults will be required to describe his/her true emotions and feelings. Testimonies should be no more than 10 minutes each.
AYS Leaders will choose youth from their individual churches to work closely with the adult.
Depending on how the testimony is to be presented, additional youth may be required to act, create costumes, set design, or any other requirements.
The chosen adult and chosen youth must sit down and talk—openly and honestly.
The adult must share his/her testimony in detail with the youth. The adult must speak openly and honestly about his/her feelings and emotions. The youth(s) should ask questions and connect with his/her own emotions to truly be able to represent the adult’s experience. Youth will be presenting the testimony as if they themselves are the adults.
The adult and youth will need to create a schedule to meet outside of church to practice and continue to share. This is not the type of ministry where one meeting is sufficient. You must meet regularly and continue to build relationships.
AYS Leaders, chosen adults and youth will participate in phone conferences, meetings, and any rehearsals that may be required to make this successful.
If you have any questions, concerns, and/or suggestions, please feel to contact me by phone at (917) 574-8793 or by e-mail at hemangi.pai@gmail.com. God Bless!
Hemangi Pai
SIGNS OF PRAISE
My name is Sean Thomas and I am the President of the Hud-Cap Youth Federation. I am writing to give you information about a new ministry that I am starting called Signs of Praise.
The purpose of the ministry is to infuse dance as a way for young people to share their struggles, testimonies, and victories in being young Seventh-Day Adventists in today's world. Although we have a lot of youth who are active in the youth ministries of our churches, there are still a number of young people who are yearning for a way to express themselves to the world and the church.
Signs of Praise is a dance ministry that will be individual to each church/ area and will be geared towards self reflection, self expression, and reassessing their personal walk with Christ from past to future.
I am starting this ministry because my talent is dance. I was a professional dancer for six years and was very much on a tract to be the center of a new broadway show. I became very narrow minded and selfish and the Lord showed me that my talent for dance wasn't meant for the world but to engage other young people to step out for the Lord. I simply want to share what the Lord has deemed on my heart with your federations and if you are interested, please feel free to email me.
My vision is to start mini Signs of Praise groups in each of your areas and to come in and help your young people express themselves through dance. I know some continue to say that SDA's don't dance, shouldn't dance, or aren't supposed to dance, but just like David danced these young people will embrace this respectful artform with open arms. The focus will not be on them or even on their sins, but on the Lord and what He has done for them.
Thank you for your time and God bless each of you.
Sean A. Thomas,
President Hud-Cap Youth Federation
Signs of Praise on Facebook
www.youthallied.com
Dear Youth Ministry Leaders,
My name is Rolanda Kingston. I am writing you this email because I am part of a ministry name Youth Alliance. Our Mission Statement is "Youth Allied to finish the work of the Gospel". We are a group of Young Seventh-day Adventists men and women that desire to help spread the good news especially in these End Times. Our website www.youthallied.com contains four interactive podcasts; YA Radio, Health Education, The Spotlight, YA/Audiobooks, A Monthly Newsletter that we consistently publish sharing the Gospel through thought-provoking articles, an inspirational video page and many other great features!
We have also done presentations on Last Day Events, Educational and Health Tips to help encourage our fellow youth in the Lord. This year we are endeavoring to reach out to various Youth Groups, AY Leaders and Federation Leaders, that are looking for Programming for 2009. I believe that if we could work together to accomplish the cause of Christ we would be unstoppable and on fire for the Lord. We would love to offer you our services in any way possible and collaborate with you in the outreach events that you have planned. If you are looking for our ministry to come to your church and provide programming for your Youth we would be more than happy to be of assistance!
Thank you soo much for your time. If you have any questions please let me know. I look forward to keeping in touch as well as sharing in ministry with you!
God Bless,
Youth Alliance
www.youthallied.com