Participants:
Series Code: 15GYC
Program Code: 15GYC000013A
02:27 Amen! Let us join, and stand, as we sing our theme song,
02:32 Once To Every Man A Nation. 06:39 Thank you for singing. 06:50 Good morning everyone! Good morning! 06:52 It's the brave and the faithful here this morning. 06:56 No, there's a lot of people that have already had to leave 06:59 this morning, but we're thankful for the ones that are able to 07:01 stay for our final charge. 07:02 It's going to be powerful. 07:04 At the beginning of our meeting today, we always do something 07:10 that's kind of enjoyable Sunday morning, and that is we have an 07:14 E- Com panel, in that as Executive Committee we meet 07:18 together, we talk about GYC constantly. 07:23 We have a group text that we're constantly communicating about 07:26 GYC group e-mail, and we talk about it all the time. 07:30 And we share our ideas, and we pray together, but at the same 07:33 time we recognize that other people have fantastic ideas 07:36 as well, and also that other people have questions 07:40 that may be or not apparently evident, or maybe something that 07:45 you're wondering, but you're wondering about with GYC, 07:48 and you want to be able to ask the Executive Committee, 07:50 so now is the time. 07:52 We don't have a ton of time, we only have 20 minutes, 07:55 and that goes by very quickly. 07:56 So anyone that has a question; it doesn't have to be, 08:01 it can be about the organization, it can be about 08:03 the Executive Committee, it can be a suggestion; 08:06 anything of that nature. 08:07 We have two microphones? two? 08:10 Yeah, one in this isle right, this center isle here, 08:15 another one here, and Michelle standing on this side, 08:19 and Nichole on that side. 08:21 And you can come up to them and share with them either your 08:25 question, or what not, and then you can share it with, 08:28 and then you can step up to the microphone and speak to us. 08:32 So, I need questions for the Executive Committee; 08:36 any suggestions, any reflections on the conference, 08:39 anything you want to contribute. 08:42 We don't have a ton of time, and so we're going to limit to 08:45 one question each, questions/ suggestion, which ever you want 08:49 to give, but one each so that we can move through as many 08:52 people as possible. 08:54 So we'll start at this microphone right here. 08:56 My name is Shawn Brisendine, and I had a question in regard 09:00 to the structuring of the small groups. 09:03 I noticed that some of the small group attendees seemed a little 09:08 bit unwilling, maybe, to try to write a sermon in a small group, 09:12 because it would kind of draw them more like to writing 09:15 rather than interacting. 09:16 And I was wondering if the E-Com had considered implementing 09:21 Johnny Wong's, Christ's Attitude Reflected In Everyone, 09:25 model care group, kind of in a smaller format, 09:29 because that could be reduplicated, maybe even in 09:31 churches, or in homes, and it seems to be interactive with 09:35 a passage of Scripture, maybe even a passage relevant to what 09:39 GYC is about, that theme that year. 09:41 It was just a thought. Huh, good! 09:44 I think that's a great idea. 09:46 We're always looking for new ideas. 09:48 There's a lot of challenges doing small groups at a large 09:52 conference, but we'll put that into our idea book, 09:56 and so I appreciate that. 09:59 Perfect. Before we continue on, I failed to do 10:02 this at the beginning. 10:03 Why don't we just go down the line, and each person share 10:05 their name, and what department you work with. 10:08 So why don't we start at the end over there? 10:11 Hi. I'm Shantelle, and I work with the Service Department, 10:15 so we plan the missions and the service opportunities 10:18 throughout the year. 10:19 Cool! I'm Esar Wendia. 10:23 I'm the Vice President of Networking. 10:25 And what we do is we try to connect people at the 10:27 conference, and outside of the conference, so we try to work 10:30 with their friend in departments for that. 10:33 Some things we do are the small groups, the networking session, 10:36 the 5-K, and we also help with following up with appeals. 10:40 It's like baptisms, or admission commitments. 10:44 My name is Taylor Hinkle, and I'm Vice President of 10:48 Evangelism, and we deal with the Evangels surrounding the 10:51 conference, which historically has been the pre-conference 10:54 outreach, and the Friday outreach. 10:56 I'm Michelle Lee, and I'm the Vice President of Resources, 11:00 and my department takes care of audio and written materials 11:03 throughout the year, and at the conference, 11:05 and we also take care of interpretation. 11:07 My name is Mark Pitten. 11:09 I'm the Vice President of Communications. 11:11 And my department is basically all the things that you see 11:14 throughout the year, whether it's social media, Facebook, 11:17 website, all our advertising, and that type of stuff. 11:22 My name is Glesni Mason. 11:23 I'm the Vice President for Logistics. 11:25 And so pretty much everything on the ground here falls under me. 11:30 Amen! I am Louise Retar, and I am the Vice President 11:35 for Programming, so all the seminars, all the program that 11:40 you experience at GYC, that is my privilege to serve under. 11:44 My name is Jeff Harper, and I am the Secretary, and I'm involved 11:49 with Internal Communication. 11:51 And I just want to let you know that I'm not texting right now, 11:53 but I'm taking notes. 11:58 My name is Amy Rotsara. 12:00 I'm the General Vice President, and that's an Administrative 12:03 role on the Executive Committee. 12:04 And I'm Illana Smith, and I serve as the Treasurer. 12:09 So that gives you an idea of what each member of the team 12:12 does, so depending on what your question is, various members of 12:16 the team will respond, depending on their departments. 12:18 Alright, so let's come over to this microphone over here. 12:22 My name is Ricardo. 12:24 This is my second time at GYC, and it's a tremendous blessing. 12:28 Welcome, glad you're here. 12:29 But I have one big concern. 12:30 I see five thousand people here, and I go to the prayer room 12:34 and I see five people. 12:36 I realize we spend 90% of the time in sermonizing, 12:40 but very little prayer. 12:41 And there is no revival without prayer. 12:43 The Devil, he's not afraid of preaching, 12:45 but he trembles when we pray. 12:46 So I would like to see more intentional efforts 12:49 for us praying together. 12:51 You know, sometimes rather than having a sermon 12:54 have a time of prayer. 12:55 You know, I would definitely like to see that. Thank you. 12:58 Appreciate that. Appreciate that recommendation. 13:01 We always need more prayer. 13:02 Alright, anyone want to comment on that? 13:04 I fully agree with my brother that we need more prayer. 13:10 We also need more people that are willing 13:15 to go to the prayer room. 13:17 It's our appeal, but you know, we could promote it, 13:21 we could talk about the prayer room, 13:22 but really it's your decision, and our decision to do that, 13:26 so let us pray that people will pray more together, 13:30 and we could do that together. 13:32 Alright, back to this microphone. 13:33 My question is, If you group register, can a website be 13:36 structured so people in that group can be able to register 13:40 for meals individually? 13:41 Yes, we just had a transition in our registration system 13:46 this last year, and we are still absolutely open to suggestions. 13:50 We're working on making things a lot more smooth for everyone, 13:54 so I just appreciate your suggestion. 13:56 And we are working on the group registration process. 14:00 Appreciate that suggestion. 14:01 Alright, back to this microphone. 14:03 Hi, this is a question and a concern that 14:07 our group, that we had. 14:11 We saw that a lot of the material that was being given 14:14 to us was put on the seats, and we collected what was 14:19 given to us, and we figured whatever extra we could take 14:22 it to our churches. 14:24 But then we heard that a lot of that material got taken, 14:27 and put into garbage cans, and into like big dumpsters, 14:30 or something of that so, it was just a large amount of material 14:33 that was thrown away. 14:34 Is there a way that some how it can be collected, 14:37 and put on tables so that those who want to take it back home 14:40 to those who were not able to receive the blessing that we 14:44 receive, that we could take it back home to our churches, 14:47 our conferences, so it doesn't get wasted, and God's money 14:51 doesn't seem to be like it's being thrown away? 14:53 Because that was a lot of good material that was given to us, 14:56 so if there could be a way that we can just get that collected 15:00 so those who want to take it back home can do so? 15:03 It's a fabulous suggestion. 15:05 Does anyone want to comment on that? 15:06 Maybe we just take that as a suggestion. 15:08 Appreciate that. And it is something that we do continually 15:11 discuss as an Executive Committee. 15:13 You know, how do we get out resources to people, 15:17 so that people can get it, but that it's not wasted? 15:20 So we appreciate that suggestion. 15:21 Hello, my name is Andre. 15:24 I just had a suggestion. 15:26 During our group sessions we were getting together, 15:29 and we realized we hadn't had any formal Bible studies 15:33 together with the young people. 15:35 I know that it's on the schedule to have a devotional together, 15:40 but we thought that it would be really cool if there was some 15:41 type of formal way, or formal program to actually 15:44 study the Bible together. 15:46 And we realize maybe there needs to be a program to teach people 15:49 how to study the Bible, young people particularly, 15:51 because I think a lot of young people don't really know how 15:53 to actually study the Bible. 15:54 They may open it up, but they don't really know what to do, 15:56 so maybe there can be some type of program integrated in GYC 16:00 where you teach young people how to actually study the Bible. 16:05 Anyone want to comment on that? 16:07 I want to say, my brother, that is a really good suggestion. 16:12 And we have a really good Programming Vice President that 16:15 is incoming, and I have full confidence that he has 16:18 taken note of that, and will... 16:20 I got notes man. And we got notes as well. 16:22 Praise the Lord. Thank you so much for that suggestion. 16:25 And I just want to say a quick word that, please if you have an 16:28 idea for seminars, and so forth, you could e-mail 16:31 programming@gyc. org, and we seriously look at them, 16:35 and we'll love to consider those great ideas that you guys have. 16:40 Thank you. 16:41 Alright, back to this one. 16:43 Hi, my name is Esther Morris, and I've been 16:46 blessed here at GYC. 16:48 My suggestion is just regarding registration. 16:51 We come from a community where there's not a lot 16:54 of text savvy people. 16:56 And some of our friends who tried to register could not 16:59 figure out the website. 17:00 And there was no phone number that they could call. 17:03 And so I tried to help them as much as I could, 17:06 but it was hard, you know, because I wasn't there. 17:09 And I just, my suggestion is that maybe there be a phone 17:13 option for registering for those who don't understand 17:16 how to use the Internet. 17:17 Okay. That's definitely an excellent suggestion. 17:21 We do have our Administrative Assistant who does run our 17:24 phone for our organization, and she is very capable of answering 17:29 questions, but also in, as we discussed before, 17:32 the registration system we're working out kinks. 17:35 And we appreciate that, yeah. 17:40 Okay, very good. Thank you for that. 17:43 I think we're back to this microphone over here. 17:46 Yes, my question is kind of in regards to 17:50 having an exhibit booth. 17:51 I had filled out the registration form, 17:56 and the application for that, but I never heard back as to 17:59 whether I could have a booth or not. 18:02 And I was just wondering if I was doing something incorrectly, 18:04 or if there's something else that needed to be done. 18:11 We did have a transition where you applied for the exhibits 18:15 on, through your registration profile. 18:18 And I know at the beginning of the year we had a mistake where 18:21 the application was still up on our website as well. 18:24 And so I'm not sure which channel you tried to go through, 18:26 but my apologies that that slipped through the cracks. 18:28 And we hope to avoid that next year. Okay. 18:30 And here's just a suggestion. 18:32 If anyone has a comment or a suggestion that's more, 18:37 maybe focused on just one department, and maybe not 18:40 so much on the... Ah, it doesn't have to be... You can still just 18:44 ask a question based on one department. 18:46 But if you have a question, or suggestion that is more focused 18:48 on one individual, as soon as the charge is over, 18:51 the Executive Committee, both the outgoing and the incoming 18:54 are going to stand here in front of the stage, and we welcome 18:57 as many suggestions, as many questions as you want 18:59 to give then as well. 19:00 So lets go back to this microphone. 19:03 Excuse me, my name is Martha, and I love GYC, and I know GYC 19:10 has been in existence for ten plus years. 19:13 But my question is, How do we move to the next level, 19:16 like the 2.0 GYC, where we can utilize all these thousands of 19:21 people to really be out in the mission field? 19:23 I know we have a pre-conference, and a four hour sort of window 19:28 of while we're here at GYC we can go out. 19:30 But I just think that after my experience of doing a missionary 19:35 trip, I feel I like instead of sitting down for sermons 19:39 for so many hours and days, can we use this precious time 19:43 and all the number of people we have to go out and do the work? 19:49 Because that's where the real power is; where they will meet 19:52 Jesus, and that's truly where they will go back and use it 19:57 in their home when they have those personal experiences. 20:01 Appreciate that! Evangelism, do you want to comment, any of you? 20:05 Yeah, I think there's always a balance. 20:09 You know, how can we be trained, but also then 20:12 go for God as well? 20:13 And that's something that we're really looking at to provide the 20:16 best opportunity for spiritual growth and development, 20:18 and also growth in mission and service. 20:20 What's interesting to me is even during the pre-conference 20:23 portion, you know, which we hold where 120 people go out 20:26 door to door, 8 hours a day, we still have a large portion that's 20:30 training, probably at least 4 to 5 hours a day, and some of the 20:33 newer people maybe up to 6 hours. 20:34 And so I think the goal of GYC is to not only provide 20:37 opportunities for mission, which we want to do. 20:40 We want to do that on Friday. 20:41 We want to do that before, and there's talk about even doing 20:43 that after the conference, and more during it. 20:45 But also providing resources that people can learn new ideas 20:49 in evangelism, and take it back home to their local church. 20:51 So that's something we're constantly playing with. 20:53 I know with the programming department, they may have more 20:55 to say, but it's always the balance of, you know, 20:58 where do we give and take to make sure that the mission of 21:00 God is still completed? 21:02 Thank you. That's well put Taylor. 21:07 Okay. But I would say, as well, that we need to have a vision 21:12 for our local churches. 21:14 You know, in the book, Education, it says that the 21:16 local church is built for service. 21:18 And GYC serves a purpose, but the local church is there 21:26 for you year round. 21:27 And if we're not a missionary in our local churches then we 21:31 should think again because that is a mission field. 21:34 Amen, Amen. Alright we'll come back to 21:37 this microphone, I think. 21:42 I have a concern/suggestion. 21:47 I see a lot of both unhealthful and immodest dress 21:51 here at this convention. 21:53 And I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, so please 21:56 understand, but I believe God is calling us higher. 22:01 And I'm praying that you would consider next year to have 22:07 a seminar on modest dress. 22:10 What does God expect? 22:12 You know, and the dress reform is not just a moral issue, 22:16 it's also a health issue. 22:18 Because there are people here around us that are suffering 22:23 physically because of dress that is 22:26 physiologically damaging to them. 22:29 So it's a real concern I have on my heart. 22:31 I have Amish friends that I would love to invite to GYC, 22:36 because the messages here, that I'm hearing are from God. 22:41 So I have friends I want to invite. 22:44 But friends, we must be obedient to God. 22:48 And when He explains to us how we should dress, we need to be 22:54 willing to obey Him. 22:55 We need to be willing to take God's standard 22:59 rather than the world's standard. Amen! 23:01 I appreciate that comment, and I think programming will take 23:05 note of the recommendation. 23:07 Thank you. Alright, to this one. 23:11 Hi, my name's Angel. 23:13 I come... I went to a school called, named Ouachita Hills 23:17 Academy, and when I was there I had this group of friends. 23:22 It was like six of us in total. 23:24 And we came together to kind of form something 23:30 like what GYC was about, just in a separate term. 23:34 But there was a lot of times when we didn't know what 23:38 we were doing, or how we were going to do it. 23:41 So I was just wondering how GYC came about in general. 23:46 Like almost, also like logistics, because you guys 23:50 were all a really good inspiration to us. 23:53 Hum, praise God! Amy do you want to give us a recap of that? 23:58 That's a good question. 24:00 It was before my time, but not too much, I guess. 24:03 Really GYC came together with a group of young people who were 24:08 having a practical experience in Godliness. 24:11 They wanted to follow through with the things that they were 24:13 learning in the Bible, and as a result of that they wanted to 24:16 bring their friends along. 24:18 As time went on, of course, the organization 24:20 grew more formal. They did start to develop logistics, 24:23 and programming, and it became a more formal 24:26 conference like we see now. 24:28 That said, really I think the help came from older people 24:33 who knew how to do those things. 24:35 And so they had mentors who came in who taught them. 24:38 This is how you can run a conference. 24:39 This is how you can do things like that. 24:41 In terms of how can you get that kind of experience 24:44 I would say two things: 1. Our goal from people coming to GYC 24:48 is not necessarily to go back and start another conference, 24:51 it's like when we earlier, to get involved with your local 24:53 church, and the local church is already built with a structure 24:56 that you can work within, so you don't have to figure out, 24:58 How do I build this thing from scratch? 25:00 But 2. If as things grow in your local church, and local churches 25:04 in your community, you do see something like a conference 25:07 necessary, then you can contact GYC and we do try to provide 25:11 resources to people in order to know how they 25:14 can support community. 25:15 Those resources come from the Networking Department. 25:17 They also come from what will now be called the General Vice 25:20 President for External Affairs. 25:21 So those are both ways that you can connect with us. 25:23 So you can find that on the website, 25:25 or e-mail info@gycweb. org, and that information 25:28 would get passed on. 25:29 Perfect. Thank you, Amy. 25:30 Alright, we have three minutes left. 25:33 Lets see if we can get two more questions in. Yes. 25:35 Hi, my name's Shawn Worgs, and I have kind of like a slush 25:40 question/concern for programming. 25:42 Yesterday, Sabbath, after the I believe portion, after he gave 25:47 that powerful testimony, and he was very eloquently versed about 25:50 what Adventists believe. 25:51 And he sent out the invite, you know, If you're looking for 25:54 a church, you want to join the church. 25:55 And then we had the song that followed, and the opening stanza 25:58 to the song was the guy standing outside the pearly gates, 26:00 wondering who was in heaven, and who wasn't. 26:02 And I go to a big university, and I have opportunity to study 26:08 with a lot of different people in different religions, 26:09 and I know that creates a huge clash for what our statement of 26:13 belief is about death, and hell fire, and heaven, 26:15 and eternal life versus what the world believes. 26:19 And, I guess, it would be my suggestion to be very careful 26:23 about what we allow to be presented on the stage, 26:27 especially on the high Sabbath with lots of viewers, 26:29 because that could be very conflicting. 26:32 Alright, appreciate that, appreciate that. 26:35 Comment? Alright! 26:37 Just a quick question. 26:39 The last GYC and this GYC, several seminars that I went to 26:47 they ran out of handouts. 26:49 And when we asked could they get handouts to bring them in, 26:53 we were told they wouldn't print anymore. 26:55 And I just wondered what their rationale was behind that. 26:58 Because I'm sure there's no way to know how many people are 27:01 going to show up at any given seminar, but wondered what the 27:06 plans are if you do run out of handouts at a given seminar 27:10 to actually provide fot those who didn't get them? 27:16 Um, yes, like you said, it is hard to kind of know how many 27:19 people are going to show up. 27:20 And we apologize that we did run out. 27:22 We are hoping to move to have more electronic handouts in the 27:25 future so that even if you didn't get it, you will be able 27:27 to download it later, or at the time on your Smartphone. 27:31 But, yes, those are logistics that we are still trying to 27:34 finesse, and figure out how to make it work out 27:36 out best for everyone. Thanks though. 27:38 Alright, thank you. 27:41 Hope that answered your question. 27:43 Think we have time for one more quick one. 27:49 Did you decide? Alright. 27:51 Yeah, I was just wanting to hear from each one of you in your 27:55 area of planning for this GYC, what motivated you? 28:00 And in thinking about it, and planning it, and how was it 28:04 played out in your vision, and how has God blessed? 28:08 Alright, since we are very short on time, why don't we have two 28:12 people share concise answers. 28:15 Were you able to hear the question? 28:16 Sorry, there's a lot of echo, so it's a little bit difficult 28:18 to hear you. Were you able to hear what he... Pardon? 28:23 Okay, what I understood you to ask was basically, 28:27 Can some E-con members share what was the motivation behind 28:32 their work? and how God has blessed. 28:35 Can you just share? Mark. 28:37 Um, so the motivation behind my department, 28:41 which is Communications, so basically the online stuff, 28:44 the theme graphic, that type of stuff. 28:47 A verse that God brought to me a while back was in Psalm 50:2, 28:55 saying that out of Zion, meaning Jerusalem, the perfection of 28:59 beauty, the Lord hath shined. 29:00 So basically out of a human city God shined from its beauty. 29:05 And I think that that's a powerful point for us to 29:07 remember that when we are doing things God wants us 29:11 to make them beautiful. 29:12 Look at Solomon's temple. 29:13 It was beautiful, right? 29:15 And I think the more we can strive for beauty in what we do, 29:17 I think it honors God. 29:19 And that's, I also really believe that there's a powerful 29:22 use for media and evangelism. 29:24 And so those two things have been strongly motivating for me 29:28 in the communications department. 29:29 Does that kind of, kind of what you are saying? Yep. 29:31 I think ultimately all of us are strongly motivated by our own 29:36 walks with God, because we want to share that with others. 29:40 And it just, it comes down fundamentally to how connected 29:45 we are with Him, and how much we love our church. 29:48 And those two things are very highly motivating in each of our 29:50 experiences, although of course, we all individually have one 29:54 thing or another that motivates us perhaps, but fundamentally 29:58 we want to serve God. 30:00 Unfortunately, we are out of time now 30:03 for any other questions. 30:04 Anybody else that has a question or a suggestion, 30:06 once again at the end of the charge, the E-com, both outgoing 30:11 and incoming will be down in front of this stage, 30:13 and we welcome anything you have to share or say. 30:17 We thank you so much for your participation 30:20 in this conference. 30:21 It has been a tremendous blessing to all of us. 30:23 And we have been blessed. 30:24 And we certainly hope that you have been as well. 30:29 So I think the next thing, I think this current E-com is 30:35 going to stay on, and we are going to be joined by some 30:40 board members for a special time. 30:46 Good morning GYC. Good morning! 30:49 It's a new day, it's a new year, and I hope that as you've been 30:54 here at GYC you've been blessed and inspired to begin anew. 30:58 The team that you have standing before you has done an 31:03 incredible job over the last two years. 31:05 And this is a transition year, so over the next few minutes 31:10 you're going to be, we're going to be expressing our gratitude 31:14 for the work that's been done, and introducing the new E-com 31:18 members who are coming. 31:19 But I just want to say on behalf of the board, and Justin and I 31:23 are here to represent the board this morning how grateful we are 31:27 for each one of you, and the work that you have done. 31:30 You know, you've all, we who attend the conference probably 31:36 can't, probably is not the right word. 31:39 We definitely can't comprehend the amount of work, energy, 31:43 and effort that goes into planning a conference like this. 31:46 And the GYC team has not just been satisfied with status quo. 31:53 They're constantly pushing the envelope, and becoming more 31:57 efficient cutting edge ways of dealing with the problems 32:01 that we face in a conference like this. 32:03 Most importantly though, these are young 32:05 people who love the Lord. 32:07 And they have given their heart and soul into the work 32:13 that they have done. 32:15 You know, there's a text in the Bible, it's Luke 14:14. 32:20 And Jesus is talking about when we do work for those who 32:23 can't really repay us. 32:25 And what He says is you will be repaid, but you're going to be 32:30 repaid in the resurrection of the just. 32:31 And today we really can't fully express our gratitude to you 32:37 for what you have done. 32:38 But we do know that a day is coming when the skies are going 32:46 to open, and that little black cloud half the size of a man's 32:50 hand is going to appear, and Jesus is going to come. 32:54 And I believe that there are going to be young men, 32:58 and young women, and even older men, and older women 33:01 who are there on that day because of your sleepless 33:06 nights, and long days, and extra heartfelt prayers. 33:13 And so we just want to thank you for what you have done. 33:16 And we want to have a special prayer as they transition 33:20 that God is going to continue to use them, and continue to bless 33:23 them wherever they go. Justin. 33:26 I'm going to invite you to bow your heads, and close your eyes. 33:29 I ask the E-com to kneel at this time. 33:39 Father in Heaven, it was after the flood, after the building 33:44 of the ark when Noah was tempted and fell into drink. 33:50 It was after Mount Carmel that Elijah ran away from You. 33:56 And Father, we pray this morning that after these years of 34:01 service, after these multiple Mount Carmel experiences here 34:07 at GYC, as we see these young leaders pass on to the next 34:13 stage of their life, that it not be recorded that these were 34:19 to have fallen away. 34:20 Father, we pray that the faithfulness that they have 34:24 shown through these years continue on 34:27 after their GYC service. 34:29 And Father, if Thou should tarry further, we ask that You 34:34 bless them abundantly with their family members, their spouses, 34:40 and if it is according to Your will, their children. 34:43 But Father, may You grant them the gift of faithfulness. 34:47 This is not within our power. 34:50 This is not within us. 34:52 This is only a gift that you give, so Father, we know that 34:56 You are good enough, and You are loving 34:59 enough to give this gift. 35:00 We ask that You bless each of these leaders going forth, 35:05 and that You continue to do big and wonderful things of which 35:10 we cannot imagine, of which we cannot speak of. 35:13 And at the end we may have nothing but praise from our lips 35:17 for how great You are. 35:19 We ask this blessing in Jesus' name, Amen. 35:28 Over the last two years, as Natasha has served as president 35:33 and leader of this team of young people, and I know that is a 35:37 special burden, and a special responsibility. 35:40 We appreciate so much, Natasha, the spirit and the vision that 35:43 you've brought to GYC. 35:45 And at this time we have a gift that we'd like to 35:48 present to you from GYC. 35:54 Oh, I love it! It's amazing! 35:57 And this marble globe is just a symbol of the worldwide mission 36:03 of the GYC movement, and the young people who are called to 36:08 take the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. 36:14 Amen. Well, it has been an incredible honor and privilege 36:19 to serve as president of this movement. 36:22 It has been one that I have... 36:25 It wasn't a position that I originally wanted, 36:27 but I knew it was a position that God was asking me to take. 36:31 And yet it was my conviction that He would not ask, 36:34 that I would not hold this position any longer than I 36:37 needed to, until a Godly young man could take the position 36:41 and lead this organization. 36:42 And I really believe that today God has answered those prayers. 36:45 And there is a Godly young man to take this organization 36:48 definitely to the next level, and to lead this movement. 36:52 And I am thankful to God that He has smiled upon His people, 36:57 and that He will lead Moice and his team, and will definitely... 37:02 Great things are in store. 37:03 Great things are ahead. 37:05 Keep your eyes on GYC because God is going to work. 37:10 And, furthermore, this Bible that I'm holding in my hand, 37:15 some of you who were at Phoenix GYC last year, 37:19 and heard Justin's introduction to me, he gave me this Bible. 37:23 This Bible is the GYC president Bible, and it goes to who ever 37:26 is the current president of GYC. 37:29 And so I have had it, and it's been a privilege. 37:31 Its gone to many different countries, 37:33 and different continents traveling with the presidents, 37:35 and I have been blessed to have it. 37:37 And now its time to pass it on to Moice, and Moice, I just want 37:41 to say that book is your qualification. 37:45 And the more you read it, and the more you wear out the pages, 37:48 the better of a president you will be. 37:49 So its my challenge to you to devour that book in the next, 37:56 in your term, and may God watch over you, 37:59 and may His Spirit guide you. 38:01 Amen! Thank you, Natasha. 38:03 At this time I'm going to ask the new incoming GYC team 38:07 to come on stage, and the incoming team, can you guys 38:11 get reassembled with your team and come to our right over here? 38:14 Come to this side over here. 38:16 And we are very excited for those of you who are GYC nerds, 38:21 we want to do, we've got some statistics. 38:24 The outgoing GYC team, the average age was 25. 38:30 The incoming team the average age is the young age of 23. 38:35 So we have decreased our age by two years of experience. 38:39 I'd like to introduce this team to you. 38:42 Four of the members of the old team are staying on. 38:45 Our president is Moice Rosara. 38:49 You can see him on the screen there, 38:51 his mug shot, beautiful face. 38:55 Our treasurer is Joshua Neblett. 38:59 Standing next to him is Taylor Hinkle, general vice president. 39:02 This year we have expanded the team to another general vice 39:06 president with Casey Vaughn. 39:08 Our executive secretary is Shawna Chung. 39:13 Vice president of programming is Jonathan Walter. 39:18 Leslie Mason will be staying on as our 39:20 vice president of logistics. 39:22 Eric Lowe is our vice president of communications. 39:28 Vice president of resources is Esther Nanasee. 39:31 VP of evangelism is Lisa Monsonatis. 39:35 Networking will be taken over by Mackenzie Gallant. 39:39 And VP of service is Shantel Kiumba staying on our team. 39:45 I'd like to charge this new team with some words. 39:51 This is a very weird GYC for me personally. 39:55 It has been my privilege to come to every GYC for the last 39:57 13, 14 billion years. 40:01 This is our first GYC for me where I brought my son, 40:07 newly born, not newly born, just born recently... son! 40:14 It was surreal. I did not think when we started the first GYC 40:21 I would ever be bringing my son to a GYC. 40:25 It has been a great privilege to do so. 40:29 In many ways GYC is the child of the board, and the founders. 40:36 We take great care. 40:37 We love this. In many ways my two children have met together. 40:41 It's a weird, surreal experience. 40:46 But we have not accomplished the goal that we set out to do. 40:51 We have a sacred trust placed upon our shoulders. 40:54 We need to revive young people, young adults 40:57 all around the world. 40:59 And praise the Lord that GYC has made an incredible impact. 41:03 We are on six continents. 41:05 We have thirteen affiliates in North America. 41:08 We have trained leaders across the globe. 41:10 But our work is far from done. 41:13 There is a sacred trust placed upon the GYC leaders. 41:18 And this, the sacred trust, causes some weird reactions 41:23 to certain individuals. 41:24 Responsibility placed on shoulders often elicits fear. 41:31 And fear causes people to do some crazy things, 41:34 say some crazy things. 41:35 And so this morning I leave you with three things 41:39 that you take seriously: 1. Please be yourself. 41:44 You're standing before here all these people, 41:46 and you've been given these great titles. 41:47 And ladies, you did your hair this morning to look good 41:50 in front of 3ABN and the whole world. 41:52 And it is easy to get into the rites, and the rituals, 41:56 and the pomp, and circumstance of things. 41:59 Do not take yourselves seriously, 42:03 but take the Lord seriously, and be yourselves. 42:08 The Lord has created you with a power of individuality. 42:14 Do not mold yourselves to the expectations of others around 42:19 you, but fulfill the task and responsibility, and the calling 42:24 that the Lord has given you individually. 42:26 We ask that you explode GYC, and you explode 42:31 the Seventh-day Adventist church, you explode the world 42:34 with the Lord's glory. 42:35 2. We ask that you lower self. 42:38 John 3:30, He must increase, but I must what? decrease. 42:43 You're going to be on a lot of teleconferences. 42:46 You're going to love each other. 42:48 You're going to hate each other's guts. 42:49 You're going to hate them. 42:51 They're going to hate you. 42:52 There's going to be a whole hate fest. 42:54 But in that hate is a lot of love, Amen? Amen! 42:57 And in that midst of it you have to learn to lower yourself. 43:01 That this work is beyond yourself, 43:04 beyond your girlfriend's, beyond your boyfriend's, your spouses, 43:08 your families, beyond your all, whatever, who we are. 43:11 This is the Lord's work. 43:12 Lower yourselves, humble yourselves. 43:16 And lastly, Luke 9:23, And He said to them all, If any man 43:21 will come after Me, let him deny what? himself, take up the cross 43:26 daily and follow Me. 43:27 Be yourself, lower yourself, and deny yourself. 43:32 May your carnal self die. 43:35 And I pray that through your GYC experience, 43:38 with all the contributions that you give to GYC, that these 43:41 years of experience may be something that really enliven 43:46 your experience with the Lord Jesus Christ. 43:50 My question to each one of you is this: Do you promise, 43:53 before all these people here this morning, before the world, 43:56 to take this responsibility seriously? 43:59 To not to look on it in indifference, or to forget this, 44:03 but take it in prayer every morning. 44:06 If that is your so desire, I ask that in front of all these 44:10 people please say Amen. Amen. 44:15 And all of you here this morning, you're not here 44:17 to listen to some show. 44:18 You were all witnesses, meaning when the Lord brings tasks 44:24 and responsibilities, and missions upon people, 44:26 He has people witness. 44:28 All of you are witnesses, Amen? Amen. 44:30 That means if these individuals should fail in their 44:34 responsibility, it is up to you to hold them accountable 44:38 to the Lord's call, to the Lord's standards. 44:42 So if you are willing to take this responsibility as being 44:45 witnesses to their promise this morning, I'm going to ask all 44:49 of you to say Amen at this time. Amen! 44:53 Chester, could you lead us out in prayer, please? 44:55 I want to invite the E-com, just move forward here a little bit. 45:01 Maybe make a little semi-circle. 45:04 And we're going to kneel together as we pray. 45:11 Our Father and our God, today we stand, or we kneel, 45:17 in the first few hours of 2016 realizing that You would have 45:23 loved to have come before now. 45:27 Realizing, Lord, that the limitation is not with Your 45:30 power, with Your love, with Your message. 45:32 The limitation is with us. 45:33 And today we want to just give ourselves once again 45:39 as Your humble servants. 45:42 Father, GYC was begun with a vision. 45:46 It was begun with a vision to take the Gospel to the world 45:49 in this generation. 45:51 Lord if we're honest with ourselves we realize that 45:55 generation is really, has passed the torch to a new generation. 46:01 Today this new E-com represents still the only generation 46:09 that can reach their generation. 46:11 And we just want to pray, Lord, that as they take this charge, 46:15 as they have made this commitment, that they might 46:20 be a part of the final outcry of Your Spirit to this world. 46:27 That You might use them in a way that is heretofore unseen. 46:33 That we might see Your Holy Spirit being able to use them, 46:38 because they allow room for the Spirit to work in their hearts. 46:42 Lord we thank You that You've called us to 46:46 such an hour as this. 46:47 We thank you for each one of these young leaders. 46:50 Lord we don't know the challenges they 46:52 will face, but You do. 46:53 We don't know the roads they will walk, but You do. 46:55 We don't know the trials, and the struggles, and the pain, 47:01 and the sorrow that even their responsibilities at GYC 47:06 may bring, but Lord You have foreseen all. 47:09 And I just want to pray that you'll be preparing them 47:11 each day in their time with You to be ready for whatever this 47:15 responsibility will bring. 47:17 Lord we want You to come quickly. 47:21 These young people are here because they want 47:24 You to come quickly. 47:26 They're not taking of their free time, and sacrificing of their 47:29 energies, and of their families and relationships, 47:35 and everything else, because of any selfish reason, Lord, 47:38 but because they want to be a part of encouraging, 47:41 and equipping, and helping others to be ready 47:45 for Your soon return. 47:46 So today, Father, I just want to pray that You will pour 47:51 Your Spirit upon them in unmeasured quantities that they 47:56 might be able to do great things, not for their honor 48:01 and glory, but for Yours. 48:02 And that as a result of their service, their sacrifice, 48:08 that You might come quickly. 48:09 Keep them faithful, keep them strong, 48:12 keep them from temptation. 48:14 Make of them men and women with Your character, 48:19 in Your image, that will be a part of lightening 48:24 the earth with Your glory. 48:26 And we thank You for this in Jesus' name, Amen. 48:48 Good morning GYC! 48:51 You know they asked me to say an acceptance speech, 48:56 and I am actually quite shy. 48:58 I like to be in the background. 49:02 That's why I do programming. 49:06 But, you know, when God calls who are we to say no? 49:13 To thank God is not enough. 49:18 I want to say that I plan, as president of this movement, 49:24 to make God the forefront of everything we do. 49:27 Without Christ we are nothing. 49:30 Without Christ we have nothing. 49:34 Without Christ we can do nothing. 49:39 I want to say that we should lean harder on Christ 49:42 than we have before. 49:45 I want to thank Christ, because He took me out of deep darkness 49:49 into His marvelous light. 49:52 I also want to thank my family, and especially 49:55 my lovely wife Amy. 49:58 Amy has been to me like my best friend. 50:04 We are one, and I want to thank her so much for her support, 50:07 for her prayers, and I want to plead with you 50:11 to please pray for us. 50:13 Please pray for us, because without prayer 50:20 God will not move. 50:23 It is said that a man is not bigger than his prayer life, 50:28 so if we don't pray, who are we? 50:31 We need to become a prayer movement for we need to 50:35 finish the work in this generation, 50:38 for we're living in solemn times. 50:42 And God is looking for young people, and young at heart 50:46 people that want to finish the work, 50:49 because Jesus has to come back soon. 50:52 If I had my way, I wish we didn't plan for another GYC, 50:59 that when 2016 comes, Jesus would have 51:03 come before GYC comes. 51:05 But if GYC chooses, if Jesus chooses to wait, 51:12 we want to be faithful, and we want to found 51:16 called, chosen, and faithful. 51:18 For I want to tell you something that GYC is you. 51:24 GYC is not us. We're just here to plan. 51:27 All of us are volunteers. 51:30 We don't get paid to do this. 51:32 We have jobs, we have lives, but we have a burden to let 51:37 you know that you are GYC, and you are the generation 51:42 that can finish the work; that can finish the work 51:47 in your generation. 51:51 All I ask from you is let us be faithful 51:55 even in the little things. 51:58 For it is in the little things that our strength lies. 52:01 For the little things build up until they become 52:04 the big things of life. 52:06 So be faithful in your local church. 52:09 be faithful in your post of duty, for when Jesus comes 52:15 He won't ask us, What did you do? 52:17 He'll ask you, Were you faithful to Me? 52:21 Do I know you? Do I know you? 52:24 So GYC I plead with you, please pray for us. 52:29 We are praying for you. 52:30 Jesus is coming soon. 52:32 We're living in solemn times. 52:35 Let us be found faithful. 52:37 Thank you so much! 52:39 And as the president of this movement, 52:41 it is my prayer that I will serve you to my utmost, 52:46 an idea on another day I pray that I could answer Christ 52:50 and say, Lord I have done my best. 52:52 I have given everything, for You have given everything to me. 52:57 Thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity, 53:00 and I look forward to seeing you, God willing, in Houston. 53:04 Thank you. Amen. |
Revised 2016-10-06