YOUTH MISSIONS CONFERENCE JUST GO!
— MARZO 2024 —
Who?
As believers we are called to be the one who goes. -John 20:19-23
Where?
To all the world. -Matthew 28:19-20
Because?
Because the great commission has not yet been fulfilled, each day is an opportunity to share the good news. -Matthew 24:3-14
For the third year in a row, we held the youth missions conference Just Go! alongside Calvary Chapel St. George. Almost 80 youth attended, where the word was shared by various speakers experienced in missions. Each focused on the essential questions of missions: who should go?; where should we go? : and why should we go as missionaries? These three questions are essential to understand the essential questions regarding our call to missions today.
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I answered: Here am I, send me.
-Isaiah 6:8
After many enriched teachings, the youth formed teams and prepared to evangelize around local churches, where in addition to evangelizing they prepared a class for the children. This dynamic helped reinforce what they learned to take a step of faith, leaving their comfort zone and serving in another church.
After serving, the youth spent a time of encouragement and fellowship and a meal with the pastor of the local church. During this time, we saw how God is preparing the next generation of missionaries in the hearts of these young people, calling them to reach out and support others who are doing the same.
Missions and the reality of the world need is not often talked about in churches. During the conference, youth were confronted with some sobering statistics: a World Population is approximately 7.888 billion people om which about 11% call themselves born again Christians and another 20% attend church, but may not recognize themselves as Christians; about 36% of the world's population has the opportunity to hear the Gospel, but they remain unevangelized despite the frequency of churches in their region. That leaves 32% of the world's population without the opportunity to hear the Gospel.
The conference ended with a time of prayer and commissioning, and a commitment card given to each student, to take the next step in being a part of evangelizing the world. The steps ranged from “creating a healthy devotional life” to “seeking out a missions opportunity.” Pray that God continues to use this challenge, to JUST GO!, to impact the world and open new doors for the Gospel.