Participants:
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000746
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01:00 This year, I've been given the opportunity
01:03 to be the leader for the Youth Department. 01:04 And I'm very grateful for the last number of years 01:06 that I've worked with Janice in the Youth Department. 01:09 And we have a great team of leaders, 01:12 you will see now 01:14 just a little bit of what they've been doing. 01:15 They've been very busy up there. 01:17 And I'm just really grateful for each one of the leaders. 01:19 And so may you be blessed and encouraged 01:21 as you see what they've done. 01:24 We've had the joy of teaching our kindergarten class, 01:28 and our theme has been the harvest is now. 01:32 Now, we believe it's a time that children can work 01:35 with the master gardener 01:38 in harvesting souls for His kingdom. 01:41 So we want to share with you a little of what we've learned 01:45 about the garden of our hearts. 01:48 Our hearts are where God wants to 01:51 plant His seeds. 01:55 Okay. 01:57 All right. 02:22 Everyone has a garden, it's the garden of the heart. 02:28 Where is the garden of your heart? 02:30 In our minds. 02:35 We have chosen 02:37 to let Jesus be the garden of our hearts. 02:40 Who is the gardener of our hearts? 02:43 Jesus. Jesus. 02:46 Let's ask Jesus to come plant seeds 02:49 in our heart gardens. 02:53 Ask, ask, ask, we shall receive 02:57 Ask, ask, ask, we shall receive 03:02 John 16:24 03:07 Ask, ask, ask, we shall receive. 03:13 What are the seeds 03:15 that Jesus wants us to plant in our hearts? 03:22 Word of God. 03:23 Oh, I don't think the people in the back could hear. 03:25 What is it? 03:27 Word of God. 03:36 We're seeds of our God. 03:40 We're seeds of our God. 03:49 We're seeds of our God. 03:55 We plant God's words in our hearts, 03:57 it changes our lives. 04:04 Whatsoever a man soweth 04:08 That shall he also reap 04:12 Whatsoever a man soweth 04:16 That shall he also reap 04:20 Galatians 6:7 04:25 Amen. 04:27 Jesus teaches us to have good minds for Him, 04:30 so others can have heart gardens for Jesus too. 04:36 Lord Jesus we pray 04:42 Lord Jesus we pray 04:48 Luke 11:1 04:53 Says Lord 04:56 Teach us to pray 05:01 All right, 05:02 let's ask Jesus to be our gardeners of our hearts. 05:08 Dear Jesus, dear Heavenly Father, 05:11 please come be the garden of our hearts 05:13 and help us plant good seeds of Bible seeds 05:16 in our hearts in Jesus' name. 05:18 Amen. 05:44 The primary theme this year has been share Jesus now. 05:48 Each morning and evening programs 05:50 we have a nature nugget time, 05:52 which the children have learned about 05:54 one of God's creatures 05:56 that He has created 05:58 and the lesson that we can learn 05:59 from God's creatures. 06:02 Natalie, can you tell me 06:03 what you learned from the hummingbird? 06:05 I learned that even though the hummingbird is very small, 06:10 it's powerful. 06:11 And I learned that even though I'm a little child, 06:14 I can still serve God. 06:18 The children along with their parents 06:20 have been very enthusiastic 06:22 about our service project this year. 06:25 We are donating items 06:27 to the local Newborns in Need organization, 06:30 which helps provide essential baby items 06:36 to needy children 06:37 who are born in the Parkland Hospital system. 06:40 And we have a few children here 06:41 that would like to show you something. 06:44 Hannah, can you tell us a little bit about 06:46 what the projects you guys have been doing? 06:49 We have been making hats for the newborns. 06:54 And this is how we made the hats 06:57 and we would take some thread 07:03 and go around it and then loop it. 07:06 And it was fun because 07:09 we did it as a group. 07:13 And you know what else I heard? 07:15 I heard the primary class, 07:17 they have gotten 18 boxes of stuff to give 07:22 to these children. 07:23 And I'm going to ask, 07:26 what you have to show. 07:30 We have been collecting clothes 07:33 for the newborns in Texas. 07:36 I mean, in Dallas, and... 07:43 I can't remember the rest. 07:46 Thank you, Yuhanna. 07:49 And, Johnny, what have you been doing 07:50 this week to help the newborns? 07:52 We have been making blankets 07:56 for the newborns to keep warm. 08:01 And we have a little song that just goes along with 08:03 what we've been learning. 08:16 We are His hands 08:19 To touch the world around us 08:26 We are His feet 08:29 To go where He may lead 08:35 We are His love 08:39 Burning in the darkness 08:44 We are His love 08:48 Shining in the night 08:54 We are His eyes 08:57 To see the need in others 09:03 We are His voice 09:07 To tell of His return 09:12 We are His love 09:17 Burning in the darkness 09:22 We are His love 09:27 Shining in the night 10:14 Good evening. 10:16 This is the juniors 10:17 and their theme has been "Prepare to Share." 10:22 So they've been working 10:24 on how they can share their faith. 10:27 And not only just thinking about future 10:29 but how they can prepare right now, 10:31 at their age 10 to 12, to serve the Lord, 10:34 and we've been talking about a lot of different things. 10:37 We've been having devotionals that deal with 10:39 what they can do now to share their faith. 10:42 We've been talking about how to take care 10:43 of the most magnificent 10:45 and amazing machine in the world, 10:47 the human body. 10:48 And we have mission projects 10:51 and lots of different things we've been doing. 10:53 But I'd like to introduce you to a couple juniors 10:56 that we've had in the group. 10:58 This is Vicki and Seth. 11:01 And, Vicki, 11:02 what was your favorite part of the program? 11:05 The arts and crafts. 11:06 Okay, the arts and crafts. 11:09 Now, what kind of things did you make in that? 11:12 I made a pen. 11:14 I made a book and another pen. 11:18 Okay. 11:20 They're doing quite a few different things. 11:22 And, Seth, I see you made yourself a cool hat here. 11:26 Well, I actually didn't make myself a cool hat. 11:28 I made it for the kids in an orphanage. 11:32 Okay. 11:33 So you made it for kids in the orphanage. 11:35 Tell us... 11:37 Where was that orphanage? 11:39 It's actually in El Salvador at the ICC Village. 11:43 Okay, the International Children's Care 11:45 and instead of just making things 11:47 for themselves to take back, 11:49 they've been very unselfish and enthusiastic 11:52 about making something to share with the orphans 11:56 in South America, in Middle America. 11:57 So we also today we have a song that we want to share with you. 12:02 It's been our theme song. 12:04 Joshua 1:9, 12:06 we're gonna share that this time. 12:14 Have I not commanded you? 12:17 Be strong and of good courage 12:22 Be strong Be strong 12:26 And of good good 12:29 Good good courage 12:34 Do not be afraid, Nor be dismayed 12:38 For the Lord Your God is with you 12:42 Be strong Be strong 12:46 And of good good 12:49 Good good courage 13:03 Be strong Be strong 13:07 And of good good 13:10 Good good courage 13:16 Joshua 1:9 13:32 I've had the wonderful opportunity 13:34 to work this week with the early teen department, 13:37 their age is 13 through 15. 13:39 And so I brought some wonderful young ladies tonight 13:42 to share with us. 13:43 One is Angela and another one is Serena. 13:46 Let me ask them some questions. 13:48 Now I understand that today you did a very fun event. 13:51 Where did you go today? 13:52 We went to the Dallas Life Foundation 13:54 which is in the downtown Dallas. 13:57 Okay, Serena, can you tell me 13:59 a little bit about this foundation? 14:01 The Dallas Life Foundation is an organization 14:04 that takes in people from every walk of life 14:07 and helps them get back on their feet. 14:09 They have 10 months to work, 14:12 to find a job and find a place to live, 14:15 and then they leave and have a better life. 14:19 Well, we had a lot of fun there today. 14:21 First we arrived, 14:23 then we got a tour of the place. 14:25 How many people can this place hold? 14:27 It can hold 500 people. 14:29 Five hundred people, was a very big place. 14:31 And first they took us downstairs 14:34 where we got to do some fun stuff. 14:36 What did we do? 14:38 They show... 14:39 No, we did, sorted clothes. 14:42 For the Mexico trip 14:44 we sorted them into piles for ladies, 14:45 men, girls and boys. 14:48 We put shoes together and match them in sizes, 14:51 and bag them, and mark them. 14:54 And we sorted toys and put the ripped 14:56 and torn ones and threw them out 14:58 and kept the others. 15:00 All right now after that you had lunch 15:03 and we all ate together. 15:04 And then what did you do? 15:06 Then we cleaned up in the kitchen. 15:07 We washed tables, washed dishes, swept floors. 15:12 Okay now, how did these tables and floors get dirty 15:15 in the first place, Serena? 15:17 Well, the first group went and we cooked in... 15:20 We helped to make the meal for them. 15:23 And some of us helped and served the people. 15:26 And that's how all the tables really messy. 15:31 Okay, so half of you sorted clothes in the morning 15:33 and then half of you are helping 15:34 to serve the people. 15:36 What were the expressions of these people? 15:38 What were their faces like 15:39 when you were helping them through line? 15:40 Were they sad or were they happy for this? 15:44 Some are happy, some were a little gloomy but, 15:48 I know that it was really fun seeing 15:51 how their face looks... 15:52 some people's face lit up 15:53 when they saw people helping them. 15:56 Some were really happy and they were saying thank you. 15:59 And it was fun, like giving people compliments, 16:01 making them feel better about themselves. 16:03 And telling them that there's going 16:05 to be a better day and it was really fun. 16:09 Well, thank you, Serena. 16:10 I am so glad you guys had the opportunity 16:12 to work there today. 16:14 Now, yesterday, 16:15 we went on a train ride and a canoe trip. 16:18 And that was kind of fun. 16:19 And then when we came together at night, 16:21 we had a really fun event 16:22 and I think it has something to do with your T-shirt. 16:24 Why don't you tell me 16:25 a little bit about your T-shirt? 16:27 My T-shirt says "Your Talents use them now." 16:31 And it is our theme for the early teens this year. 16:34 And it basically means to use the gifts and talents 16:38 God has given you 16:39 and use them to bring other people to Him. 16:42 Okay, so when we got together that night, 16:45 we had workshops to help you develop your talents 16:48 so that you could be a blessing to others 16:50 and bring them to Christ. 16:51 Tell me about the workshops you went to, Angela? 16:53 I went to childcare first and then organization. 16:57 Childcare was learning about how to take care of babies 17:00 and organization was learning about 17:01 how to keep your room and things neat and orderly, 17:04 and they gave us a little box of papers 17:06 to show us where we put stuff. 17:08 So we could do it easier. 17:10 All right, how about you, Serena? 17:12 The two workshops... 17:14 The two workshops I took were hospitality and homecare. 17:19 And what we did in homecare was learned a lot about 17:22 the different products used to keep our house clean. 17:26 And the second one was hospitality. 17:28 And we learned a lot about 17:30 making people feel welcome in our house 17:32 and making them feel like 17:34 they're wanted and needed in your life. 17:37 Well, good. 17:38 It sounds like you have been able to learn some things 17:40 that are gonna help you to be a blessing to others. 17:43 And I understand there's even more workshops to come. 17:45 Is that correct? Okay, we have some tonight. 17:48 And then tomorrow morning, 17:49 we have things like Christian songwriting, 17:51 and Christian story writing, Christian storytelling, 17:55 child evangelism and a lot of fun 17:57 other workshops that will help you 17:58 to really be a blessing to others. 18:00 So in closing, I know you've also been having 18:03 some really neat morning speakers, 18:05 or at least a speaker 18:07 who's been telling you different wonderful things. 18:08 Tell me a little bit about that? 18:11 Well, this morning, our speaker told us about 18:14 making decisions about how Lot made, 18:17 he was started out very good 18:19 and he made these little decisions 18:21 that which led him in the wrong way, 18:24 where he eventually ended up with none of his family 18:28 and was lost and then about Joseph 18:32 who made right decisions, 18:34 even though they were just little 18:35 and how it led him and he had everything. 18:38 Okay, and the night before or the morning before, 18:41 what did we hear about? 18:43 He taught us more about our talents, 18:46 and he used the story of the three servants 18:48 that were giving them talent 18:50 to from their boss so that they can multiply it 18:54 and we learned how the last servant had one, 18:57 but he buried it and he didn't use it 19:00 and he showed us how God gave us lot of talents 19:03 like singing, musical, instruments, 19:06 and doing a lot of other things, 19:08 but we bury them like he buried his talent, 19:10 and we don't use them for His glory. 19:13 All right, well, thank you ladies. 19:15 I hope that we can use what we've learned 19:16 to reach souls for Christ. 19:28 Good evening, my name is Christine Neall. 19:31 And I am working with the youth here at ASI. 19:35 The Bible says in Revelation 22:12-13. 19:39 "And behold, I come quickly." 19:42 Jesus is coming soon, isn't He? 19:44 The next verse says, 19:46 "I am the Alpha and Omega," 19:50 the beginning and the end, 19:52 the first and the last. 19:54 Our theme this year has been Jesus first, 19:59 last, and best. 20:01 And we've been enjoying experiencing Him. 20:04 I have with me this evening, 20:06 Shauna Chung from Georgia 20:09 and Elizabeth Ruling from Tennessee. 20:12 And is this your first year at ASI 20:15 or have you come before? 20:17 This is my fifth or sixth year attending ASI. 20:22 This is my second ASI. 20:25 Okay, and so you've both been here before. 20:29 What type of activities have we done this year? 20:33 Well, this afternoon, we went canoeing, 20:36 and we were able to witness God's nature. 20:38 We saw fish and birds and we think a few snakes. 20:42 And then afterward we cooled off 20:43 by having a water balloon toss. 20:46 And yesterday, 20:48 we picked up trash as a community service project 20:50 and although it wouldn't have been 20:52 my first choice to pick up trash 20:53 in extremely hot weather, 20:55 it was a completely humbling experience 20:57 and just to know that we helped to make a difference 21:00 really made it worth it. 21:03 You would have been proud to see those young people 21:05 dripping sweat, drinking lots of water, 21:09 and all having a positive attitude. 21:12 I was just thrilled to be able to work with them. 21:14 You know, we've also been having some seminars 21:17 and meetings. 21:18 What is something that you've learned 21:21 here this week? 21:23 The other night, Dr. Pippen spoke to us. 21:26 And one of the things that he said 21:28 that really touched my heart 21:30 was that to know God is to love Him, 21:33 and to love Him is to serve Him. 21:35 And it just really made me think 21:37 how true that is in our everyday life 21:40 that we need all three, to know, to love, and to serve. 21:44 And if we have these in our lives, 21:46 then our relationship with Christ is bound to grow. 21:51 This morning, we had a series of seminars 21:54 on music, guidance, and parents. 21:57 The seminar that really impacted me 21:59 was honoring your parents 22:01 because I learned that honoring your parents 22:03 is not robotically submitting to everything 22:06 that your parents command 22:07 but heart fully and willfully accepting what they have to say 22:11 because it is the right thing to do. 22:14 Amen. 22:16 You know, when I come to ASI, 22:19 it seems that every year, 22:22 I make some new resolution. 22:25 Have any of you felt that way before? 22:28 Sometimes I make resolution to do more outreach 22:32 or to study my Bible more, 22:34 but always it's something that inspires me 22:37 to gain more out of my Christian experience. 22:40 And I was wondering, 22:42 is there anything that you've learned this week 22:44 that you can apply to your own lives? 22:49 Well, there has been a special emphasis 22:51 on having a devotional life with Christ. 22:55 And so the lesson that I will take back 22:57 with me to Georgia is to have a more consistent, 23:00 more heartfelt, more deeper relationship 23:04 with Christ through morning devotions. 23:08 And mine's along the same lines as Shauna, 23:10 is to have a more heartfelt devotions with Christ 23:14 and get to know Him as my personal Savior, 23:17 and develop that stronger 23:19 and deeper relationship with Him 23:21 through spending time in His Word 23:22 and applying it to my life. 23:26 We've really enjoyed our time here this year. 23:30 I know that all of the division leaders 23:32 can say we have loved your young people. 23:34 And we're just thankful that 23:36 God has given us so many opportunities, 23:39 and so many ways that we can serve Him 23:41 through our lives. 23:42 Thank you. 24:04 Boy, that's bright. 24:20 Good evening. 24:23 We just want to welcome you to the Friday night ASI Youth 24:26 for Jesus presentation. 24:28 And we're so happy that you could join us. 24:30 We've had a fantastic month, 24:33 it's been very blessed. 24:35 And we've had a wonderful, 24:37 wonderful month of evangelistic programs 24:41 in the Dallas community. 24:43 But before this month, 24:45 there were quite a lot of work done 24:46 in the Dallas metro area. 24:50 And we want to share with you tonight 24:51 the testimonies and the results 24:54 of what the Bible workers were doing, 24:56 what the youth were doing, 24:58 the way that God has blessed. 25:00 And I know that they will inspire you 25:03 and encourage you 25:05 to go out to your communities and to work for God also. 25:09 Tonight, I just want to... 25:11 This is Our Youth For Jesus Group 25:13 with our Bible workers and our youth participants, 25:17 and our staff. 25:18 And I just want to first of all say 25:20 a great big thank you to our staff. 25:23 It's, you know, 40 young people. 25:27 The energy from the 40 young people 25:30 is boundless. 25:31 And I know you parents of teenagers, 25:34 you know how boundless that energy is. 25:36 And it's been just a joy to work with your children, 25:42 but sort of challenging for the staff sometimes. 25:46 So I just want to say thank you for the staff. 25:48 If the staff would just step up. 25:51 We had a very young staff this year. 26:05 And I just want to say a heartfelt thank you 26:08 from the bottom of my heart for their contribution, 26:12 for their patience, 26:13 for their love for the children, 26:15 for their support of me. 26:20 Thank you very much. 26:22 And also, the Bible work actually began, 26:26 the pre work began back in January. 26:29 And I'd like to introduce Kevin Sears. 26:32 Kevin Sears was our Bible worker coordinator. 26:35 He came in the month of January 26:37 to start working with the churches, 26:39 to set up the churches, 26:41 to be involved in this program. 26:45 And, Kevin, when you came in January, 26:48 what did you do? 26:51 I laid all the groundwork down for the coordinators 26:54 that were coming in in February, 26:56 made sure that all the sights were all set 26:59 and spoke with the pastors 27:00 and the leadership in the churches, 27:02 and just kind of laid down the groundwork 27:04 for the coordinators to come in. 27:07 Thank you so much. 27:08 And at this point, I'd really like to thank 27:11 the Texas Conference. 27:13 You know, when we came down here 27:15 last September or October, 27:17 if we could have Elder Holly come out. 27:20 When we came down here last October, 27:23 September or October, I can't remember exactly when, 27:25 it was end of September, I think. 27:27 We met with the Texas Conference personnel. 27:29 And they were so encouraging and so supportive 27:34 and so excited about this program, 27:36 and I just really, really appreciated 27:40 their enthusiastic support. 27:44 Now, we've had some wonderful experiences. 27:49 And what we want to do right now is share 27:53 what some of those experiences were. 27:56 We have some Bible workers 27:58 that want to give their testimony, 28:02 and I know when you hear them that you will be inspired. 28:07 Well, good evening, everyone again. 28:09 Good evening, everyone. 28:11 All right. 28:12 Are you with us tonight? Excellent. 28:14 We could literally share 100 stories with you tonight. 28:19 We don't have the time for that, obviously. 28:20 So we're just gonna share a few. 28:22 And our first one, Lindsey, why don't you come up here. 28:24 Lindsey Gilmore, she was a Bible worker 28:26 with the Dallas First Church. 28:28 And she has a very interesting story to tell us. 28:30 So why don't you tell us, Lindsey? 28:32 Well, when I first met Don, I was gonna study with her. 28:36 And her fiancé Cedric was there and I said, 28:39 "Cedric, why don't you join us?" 28:41 And he says, "No, I don't know, 28:42 the Bible is not my thing. 28:44 And besides that, 28:45 I'm going to jail in a couple of days." 28:47 Going where? To jail. 28:48 To jail. 28:50 So I said, "Okay," 28:52 and he listened to the Bible sitting at a distance. 28:54 And the next week I went back 28:56 to pick up Don for the meetings and he was there. 28:58 So I said "Cedric, what are you doing here?" 29:00 He say, "Oh, they lost my file." 29:02 I said, "Praise the Lord, why don't you come with us? 29:04 You got nothing better to do." 29:05 And he says, "Okay." 29:06 And he came, 29:08 and he still wasn't sure if the Bible was his thing, 29:10 but he was liking the meetings, 29:11 and then they put him back in jail. 29:13 And he was gone for a couple of days. 29:16 And then I went back and he was at home and I said, 29:18 "Cedric, what are you doing here?" 29:20 He says, "Well, somewhere between jail or downtown jail 29:24 and the main jail, they lost my file." 29:27 And, I said "Praise the Lord, why don't you come with us?" 29:31 Well, he started to really like the meetings, 29:34 and this guy started to come on fire. 29:36 But he says, "I don't know if this is gonna work. 29:37 I had to go back to jail." 29:39 And I said, "Don't worry about that." 29:41 And then the next day, he was there, 29:44 they wound up losing his file five or six times. 29:48 And he came to almost every single meeting 29:50 for a whole month. 29:52 And this was an amazing miracle. 29:56 And he's ready to get baptized but he's in jail right now. 29:59 He will be when he's out. 30:02 But in the meantime, 30:04 he has spread the gospel in his neighborhood. 30:06 And his mom is now attending an Adventist church 30:09 due to a Bible study he gave her 30:11 and this man is on fire. 30:13 So pray for Cedric 'cause he's a powerful man. 30:16 Thank you. 30:22 You know, it's amazing. 30:24 Before Cedric went to jail, he said to me, 30:26 "Kevin, I can't wait to get in that jail 30:28 and teach everybody about the Sabbath." 30:32 It's good for you. 30:33 All right, our next one is Omar. 30:35 And Omar Mosquera was not only a Bible worker, 30:40 he also was a speaker 30:41 and coordinator for the Plano Spanish site. 30:45 And Omar has a very interesting story for us as well. 30:47 He's gonna share with us. 30:49 Well, in the beginning I was a little disappointed 30:51 because in the first week of the evangelistic series, 30:54 we don't have any, 30:55 lot of people coming to the meetings, 30:57 and I was praying about it, 30:58 you know, because we were supposed 31:00 to have a lot of visitors in the meetings, 31:02 so but praise the Lord, in the first week, 31:04 we have a real revival in the church. 31:07 A lot of people, 31:08 you know, church members then came to the meetings, 31:11 and we have a real revival 31:12 talking about the doctrines of the church. 31:14 And it was beautiful because of what said 31:16 after the first meeting, 31:18 excuse me, after the second week, 31:20 you know, just the visitors started coming to the meetings, 31:23 and we have such a nice blessing. 31:25 But let me tell you one story. 31:27 One day was a very hot day here in Dallas. 31:30 No. 31:34 So I went to visit some somebody 31:36 that I have Bible studies with this family, 31:39 but I got lost. 31:40 You know, I got lost and I can't find the house 31:42 and I was driving around the neighborhood 31:44 and I can't find the house. 31:45 So finally, I saw, 31:47 you know, somebody selling ice cream 31:50 and I say "Well, I'm gonna drink something cold" 31:56 because I was so hot. 31:57 So anyways, I went to talk to this guy. 32:01 And he was amazing because when he saw me, 32:03 he said, "What are you doing here?" 32:05 And I said, "Well, I'm a Bible worker." 32:07 And he said, "Can you pray for me?" 32:09 And I said, "Okay, we can go to your house 32:10 and I can pray for you." 32:12 So we went to the house, and when we kneel in prayer. 32:16 I said, "What do you want me to pray for?" 32:18 And he said, "Well, I drink a lot of alcohol. 32:20 Please pray for me." 32:23 So believe me, I pray for him. 32:25 And I said to him, "Now you're free. 32:27 God in a mighty way give you the victory right away 32:30 because the Bible says that 32:31 'The gospel is the power of God for salvation.' 32:35 "And now you're free. 32:37 The next week, I went to visit him, 32:39 because he asked me for the Bible studies. 32:41 And he told me, "Omar, you know what, 32:43 I'm not drinking anymore." 32:45 So later, two weeks later, I went to visit him, 32:48 and he told me, "Omar, I'm not drinking anymore." 32:50 And that is amazing, you know, 32:52 because one of the most wonderful things 32:56 to do evangelist 32:57 is because you can see the people, 32:58 how the people change, you know. 33:00 And that is amazing. 33:01 Amen. Amen. 33:03 Thank you. 33:05 Thank you, Omar. 33:07 Come on up here, Jon. 33:08 Jon Tillay was a speaker for the Mesquite 33:11 Seventh-day Adventist Church 33:13 and he has a very interesting story as well. 33:15 Well, this summer was the first time 33:17 I'd ever been accused of being an axe murderer. 33:21 An axe murderer, I thought to myself, 33:23 "Do I look like an axe murderer," 33:25 but that's what she accused me of being. 33:27 I was a simple Bible worker knocking on doors, 33:30 doing surveys trying to study the Bible with people. 33:33 And she was wondering, 33:34 "Well, who are you? What are you all about?" 33:36 Praise the Lord. 33:37 She accepted Bible studies on two conditions. 33:40 She said number one, 33:41 we have to meet in a public place. 33:43 So I don't do anything, 33:44 you know, I don't kill her with an axe or something. 33:47 And number two, 33:48 I had to bring someone with me. 33:49 So we met at McDonald's week by week. 33:52 And as people were eating their French fries 33:54 and thinking about Ronald McDonald, 33:55 we were breaking the bread of life 33:57 thinking about Jesus Christ. 33:59 By the grace of God, 34:01 she came out to the meetings night by night faithfully, 34:03 and I saw her trust build in me. 34:06 She began to get confidence 34:07 that I was a trustworthy person. 34:09 But more importantly than that, 34:11 she saw that Jesus was a trustworthy person, 34:14 someone that didn't want to do her harm. 34:16 In fact, she realized that prayer doesn't jinx you, 34:19 prayer doesn't make bad things happen, 34:20 prayer makes good things happen. 34:22 And by the grace of God, 34:24 she's made a decision to follow through in baptism. 34:27 Not only that, 34:28 but her son also who comes in black clothing 34:31 proclaims to be an atheist has also decided 34:33 to become a Christian 34:34 and wants to follow eventually in baptism. 34:37 Praise the Lord, prayer works. 34:39 Amen. 34:40 Thank you, Jon. Thank you. 34:47 Okay, I want to thank 34:48 Elder Leighton Holley for joining us. 34:50 He is the president of the Texas Conference. 34:52 And this summer we held evangelistic efforts 34:57 at nine churches. 35:00 Five English speaking churches, 35:02 and four Spanish speaking churches, 35:04 and I just want to thank Elder Holley 35:06 for attending as many of those meetings as possible. 35:09 I know how busy he is. 35:10 And now you've attended those meetings. 35:13 And you've come in and shared worship with our Youth 35:16 For Jesus participants. 35:18 What was your impression of the program? 35:21 And how has this impacted your conference? 35:25 It's not hard for people in the audience 35:26 to tell that we were greatly blessed. 35:30 It was a privilege for us to have them. 35:32 And in fact, 35:34 it's been a real blessing to our churches 35:36 that were participating churches. 35:39 We would have loved to have even more, 35:42 but they've been very effective. 35:44 The Lord has blessed them with many baptisms. 35:47 The best thing about it though, 35:49 is the inspiration that they are to others 35:52 and that they experience themselves 35:55 is life changing and that's most exciting to me. 35:59 Now your wife came with you to our worship. 36:02 And she told me something afterwards and she said, 36:04 "I have never heard youth of our church 36:07 sing hymns like that." 36:09 She said it made goose bumps on her arms. 36:12 It was tremendous. 36:14 They have a wonderful Holy Spirit experience. 36:18 That's the bottom line. 36:19 Well, that's the most important thing. 36:21 Thank you so much, Elder Holley. 36:22 Thank you for coming. And welcome to Texas. 36:25 Thank you. 36:31 Now, many people ask what is Youth For Jesus? 36:35 What is ASI Youth For Jesus? 36:37 And so I'd like to take just a few minutes 36:40 and tell you what Youth For Jesus is. 36:42 Youth For Jesus is a program that impacts three areas. 36:48 It impacts the youth that participate, 36:51 it impacts the church where we have these meetings, 36:55 it impacts the community. 36:57 And many people ask, 36:59 "Well, what do they do? 37:02 Do they just come and they just, 37:04 you know, sing songs and do they... 37:06 What do they do?" 37:08 Well, I want to tell you right now 37:09 that Youth For Jesus is a program 37:12 that puts your youth 37:14 on the front lines of evangelism. 37:17 When they come, 37:18 they participate in a program from greeting, 37:23 ushering, special music, organizing children's programs, 37:28 to preaching all the messages. 37:33 But we don't just throw them into those jobs 37:36 without giving them training. 37:37 We give them a thorough training. 37:39 In the mornings we give them a class 37:43 on how to do evangelism, how to go door to door, 37:46 how to give Bible studies, 37:47 how to lead people to make decisions, 37:51 and when the time comes, 37:52 how to clear people for baptisms, 37:54 and they work with the Bible workers 37:56 that have been in the community for a few months. 37:59 Now, in the afternoon they go out into the community 38:04 and they actually put what they learned 38:06 in the morning into practice. 38:08 But evangelism is not all that we have classes for. 38:13 We also discuss teen life issues, 38:17 like dating and courtship, 38:18 like dress, like music, computer games, 38:23 you know, your time, 38:24 how to lead other teenagers to Christ, 38:28 not just the community. 38:31 And so it's an all around program. 38:33 It's a very intense program, 38:35 the, you know, 38:37 and when the temperature was in the triple digits 38:40 for 13 days in a row. 38:43 Your youth kept going out every afternoon, 38:46 they came back to the school looking pretty tired 38:51 and pretty worn out. 38:52 But they had wonderful testimonies to share. 38:54 And so I would like to share 38:56 some of those testimonies right now. 38:57 And we have four youth here who are going to tell 39:00 what this experience has done to impact their lives. 39:05 And we will start with... 39:09 Who are we going to start with? 39:12 Michael Anderson? 39:14 I'm sorry, 39:15 I didn't write the name down here. 39:18 Okay, Michael, you are an ASI kid? 39:22 Yeah, I've been here a lot. This is my sixth year. 39:25 Okay, and your father is Terry Anderson 39:28 who is involved with ASI? 39:30 Correct. 39:31 Okay, so since you've been coming 39:33 to these ASI conventions, 39:38 you know what ASI Youth For Jesus is, 39:40 you've heard the reports? 39:41 Oh, yeah. 39:43 So when you came was it what you expected? 39:47 Yes and no, I mean, I didn't expect sitting in a, 39:50 you know, living in a classroom 39:52 and going out in 107 degree heat. 39:55 And it was really hot and kind of cramped. 39:59 Now you had a wonderful experience 40:03 while you were here. 40:05 Can you share with us your testimony? 40:07 Well, to start off with, 40:08 I actually did my first Bible study here 40:11 and it was amazing. 40:12 I mean, I felt really cruddy when I did it, I did... 40:15 You know, I was speaking, I was stuttering, 40:17 it just felt really bad. 40:18 But as I went through it, 40:20 I, you know, started to get a little better 40:23 and pick up speed and the people were interested 40:26 in what I was talking about, 40:28 they gave feedback and they were, 40:29 you know, receptive toward the topic. 40:34 Okay, now, that was a Bible study 40:36 that you did from your Bibles workers' contact? 40:39 Yes. Okay. 40:41 Now what happened a few days later? 40:42 Well, a few days later, my friend and I Noah, 40:45 we were out get, you know, we were doing surveys, 40:47 trying to get a Bible studies. 40:49 So the first like three, 40:52 three whole apartment buildings were, you know, 40:54 just stores in our face or no one was home. 40:56 So we finally get to this lady and she doesn't speak English, 41:01 but, you know, Noah my friend, he knows how to, you know, 41:03 see if there's anyone else who speaks English. 41:06 Well, her daughter spoke English. 41:08 So we asked her and we gave her the Bible study and, 41:11 you know, we came back later 41:12 and she didn't do the Bible study 41:14 but she said she really, 41:16 you know, enjoyed our survey and she wanted us to come back 41:19 but I told her I couldn't because, 41:21 you know, YFJ goes really fast, so... 41:25 So you got to do a first Bible study 41:27 from your Bible workers' 41:29 contact and then you got your own Bible study? 41:31 Yes. Then I got my own Bible study. 41:33 Now, what will you do when you go home? 41:35 Hopefully give more Bible studies 41:37 and my dad probably wants me to preach one. 41:40 So I think that would be very exciting. 41:42 Amen. 41:44 Thank you, Michael. 41:45 Now, Xavier. 41:51 This is Xavier Collins, 41:53 and he comes to us from Sacramento, California. 41:56 Now, Xavier, 41:59 tell me when were you baptized 42:01 into the Seventh-day Adventist Church? 42:03 I was baptized June 3 of 2006. 42:08 So you were baptized basically about three weeks 42:11 before you came to Seventh-day Adventist 42:14 Youth Evangelistic Program? 42:17 Yes. 42:19 Okay, now had you heard 42:20 of Seventh-day Adventist before that? 42:22 I've heard of the church but I didn't know 42:24 what the Seventh-day Adventist believed, 42:26 I didn't really know anything about Seventh-day Adventist 42:28 but they had a lot of rules, 42:31 that's all I knew. 42:36 And so coming fresh 42:38 from being baptized into this church, 42:42 into this very intense evangelistic program, 42:46 what was your impression? 42:48 Really, I didn't know 42:49 what to expect to start off with. 42:51 But I was really excited about it 42:53 because of a good friend of mine. 42:56 The one who actually invited me to this seminar 42:58 held on were from Amazing Facts. 43:02 I was truly blessed by that 43:03 and that's really what impressed me to come. 43:06 But I didn't know really what to expect 43:09 through the evangelistic series, 43:11 I had no idea. 43:14 So now after you've gone through this experience, 43:18 what did you learn? 43:20 I came in knowing nice amount about the Bible, 43:24 and I knew I love the Lord. 43:26 But I know now that I love the Lord 105%, 43:30 I can say 1000 times more. 43:32 I've learned so much and I was truly blessed. 43:34 And I truly know now that I've made friends 43:36 that can truly last a lifetime. 43:39 Now, what are your plans when you go home? 43:43 Well, I'm looking forward to going to AFCO in January, 43:46 and coming back to Youth For Jesus 43:47 next year as a Bible worker. 43:50 Amen. 43:52 Thank you, Xavier. 43:54 Okay, this is Olivia Webber 43:57 and she was our last entry 44:00 into the Youth For Jesus program. 44:02 How did that happen? 44:04 Well, three days before Youth For Jesus started, 44:07 I was told through a friend 44:08 that there were three open spots. 44:10 And if I wanted to do it 44:11 that I'd have to decide the next day. 44:13 So I was immediately interested and I started to pray. 44:16 But the really cool thing about this is the Sabbath 44:19 before Youth For Jesus started. 44:21 We were sitting in church and our pastor said, 44:24 "If you feel like you want a spiritual revival? 44:27 If you want to just totally 44:30 be re-energized in your spiritual life, 44:32 then try sharing Jesus with somebody." 44:37 And right there I just prayed. 44:39 I was like, "God, 44:40 I want to share You but I don't know how. 44:42 So if you really want me to do this, 44:44 then give me some opportunity to learn 44:46 how to share others with You. 44:47 And then it was that Monday morning I think, 44:50 that I got the call 44:52 telling me about Youth For Jesus. 44:53 So I felt like God just... 44:55 It was amazing to see the miracle 44:56 He worked out. 44:57 Now you learned how to share Jesus, 44:59 and what will you do with this? 45:01 I hope when I get home my plan is to try 45:04 to plan an evangelistic series of my own 45:06 and me and another one of the youth 45:08 we would like to hopefully do our own evangelistic series 45:12 and maybe do some door knocking and Bible work as well. 45:16 Amen. 45:18 Thank you, Olivia. 45:23 You know, throughout the history of ASI 45:26 Youth For Jesus, which began eight years ago, 45:29 several of the youth have gone back 45:31 to their communities, 45:32 to their churches, to their academies. 45:35 And they have organized evangelistic meetings 45:38 similar to what we do here 45:40 and have held whole series 45:42 impacting those communities and churches. 45:45 Now, next we have Julia, this is Julia. 45:50 I'm not going to say her last name, 45:52 I'm going to let her say it. 45:53 And, Julia, first of all, 45:55 tell us what your name is and where you're from? 46:05 My name is Julia and I'm from Ukraine. 46:12 And now Ukraine is a long ways away from you, 46:16 in fact it's about halfway around the world. 46:19 What made you decide to come? 46:42 Well, the purpose of our visit to come here in the States 46:46 was to see this Youth For Jesus program, 46:49 to participate 46:50 and as we go back home to do the same thing there. 47:09 I heard a lot about this program 47:11 but you can never explain with the words 47:14 what evangelism is all about. 47:16 You have to try it. 47:18 And the Youth For Jesus program gives you this opportunity. 47:22 Now in this country, 47:24 we've done this Youth For Jesus program, 47:26 youth evangelism for a number of years now 47:29 and it's getting more widely accepted. 47:31 In Ukraine is that the same situation? 47:46 Mostly all of the evangelistic series' 47:49 or evangelism is done by the older people. 47:58 And nobody even knows that 47:59 the young people can do something meaningful for God. 48:09 And that's why young people do not do anything. 48:12 And that's why lots of young people 48:14 leave the church. 48:28 And so our goal as we go back to Ukraine is to show and prove 48:32 the young people that we can serve 48:34 and do something meaningful for God today. 48:37 Amen. 48:39 Amen. 48:48 You know, we can share hundreds of more testimonies, 48:51 how youth are impacted through this program, 48:54 not just the youth that participate in the program, 48:57 but the youth in the churches also. 49:00 And that's the second area where the focus of ASI Youth 49:05 For Jesus program is, 49:06 is to impact the youth and also to impact the churches 49:11 that participate with us. 49:16 Hello again, everyone. 49:18 Hello again, everyone. 49:20 All right. 49:22 Are you guys getting fired up? 49:23 This is exciting, isn't it? 49:26 These are life changing experiences of people, 49:30 hundreds of people in your Metroplex area. 49:33 Can I get an amen? 49:35 Amen. 49:36 Here we have Pastor James Buckmaster. 49:39 He was the youth pastor at the Dallas First Church. 49:42 And, James, why don't you tell us 49:44 how long have you been involved with the youth? 49:47 Well, I started with youth ministry 49:48 when I was about 14 years old at summer camp. 49:50 Fourteen years old? Fourteen years ago. 49:51 Couple of years ago. 49:53 A little bit back. 49:54 Been doing it ever since 49:56 and I've been loving youth ever since. 49:57 Excellent. 49:58 You were the youth pastor at Dallas First 50:00 which is where we kept, we housed all the youth. 50:03 And this was the main site. 50:05 Tell me what were some things 50:06 that we got the youth involved in that 50:08 may have been different in other churches? 50:11 Oh, it was really nice. 50:12 We're starting the media ministry 50:14 at Dallas First Church. 50:15 That was the whole reason you were brought in, correct? 50:17 Right. Well, youth and media. 50:18 Youth and media. 50:20 And the young people in our church 50:21 had the opportunity to run the cameras, 50:24 run the switcher, direct, 50:26 something they haven't got to do in other churches. 50:28 They produced and duplicated all the shows of every night. 50:32 How many CDs and DVDs did they duplicate? 50:36 The young people here have put out 50:37 over 6000 pieces of media 50:40 and left it in this community to continue their ministry. 50:43 How many? 50:44 Six thousand. 50:46 Did you hear that? 50:47 Six thousand pieces of CDs and DVDs as well 50:52 have flooded your communities as a result of 50:55 what these youth have been doing? 50:56 Absolutely awesome. 50:58 So we see... 50:59 Let me ask you, having the youth, 51:02 having this program in your church, 51:04 how has this impacted your church? 51:06 Well, I had one of my youth 51:08 that I was actually driving back 51:09 and forth from home 51:10 because I needed him on the switcher. 51:12 And so for the first week, 51:14 I drove him back and forth every night 51:15 so that he could be there to help run the switcher. 51:19 Did this have an impact on him specifically? 51:22 You could say that. 51:23 Tell us what happened? 51:25 He decided to join the group 51:26 and so he came and stayed 51:27 in the dormitory with the group. 51:29 And, you know what? What? 51:30 Tuesday night I got to watch him get baptized. 51:32 Amen. Amen. 51:34 What a blessing that was, 51:36 you know, we can... 51:37 Thank you very much, James. Thank you. 51:38 We can see how this program not only impacts the community, 51:43 it impacts people of other denominations, 51:45 it impacts our churches, and it also impacts our youth. 51:49 What a blessing. 51:50 Here we have Hubert Duarte and Hubert was an elder 51:54 or is an elder at the Richardson Church is it? 51:57 At the Richardson Spanish Church and this is Jay, 52:00 he's gonna translate for us. 52:02 We have a very interesting story here with Hubert. 52:05 He's an elder at the church and he is a Bible worker. 52:09 Tell us, Hubert, how long have you been 52:10 doing Bible work? 52:19 About two months. 52:20 About two months. That's interesting. 52:22 What did you do before Bible work? 52:34 He was a cement worker in construction. 52:36 So he was a construction worker 52:38 and why only two months you've been a Bible worker? 52:41 How did this come about? 52:59 Well, I was anticipating the opportunity 53:01 for a long, long time to get involved 53:03 in soul winning. 53:05 And by the grace of God ASI came to my city. 53:07 And now I'm a Bible worker today. 53:09 So what actually took place? 53:11 Let me... So everybody knows. 53:13 Hubert, let me say this. He has a family of five. 53:16 And as ASI came to his church and began training his church, 53:22 Hubert was already on fire wanted to work for the Lord 53:24 but didn't know exactly how. 53:26 He actually quit his job as a construction worker. 53:29 Family of five, did I tell you that? 53:31 He actually quit his job and took a very serious pay cut 53:36 to do Bible work for ASI and... 53:39 Amen. Let me get an amen. 53:49 Family of five and two cars to pay off. 53:53 Praise the Lord. 53:54 Well, let me ask you something. 53:55 How many Bible studies were you giving every week? 54:05 Approximately about 25 Bible studies per week. 54:08 Twenty five Bible studies a week. 54:10 This is a Bible worker right here. 54:14 Amen. 54:15 Out of those 25 that you were giving, 54:17 how many people came out to your meetings 54:20 out of your contacts? 54:33 About 13 of the 25 came to the evangelistic meetings. 54:35 Thirteen people came to the meetings 54:37 as a result of God working through Hubert. 54:40 Amen. 54:41 This I'd like to say to the Texas Conference, 54:44 this man you want to pick him up 54:46 as a Bible worker. 54:47 This man is on fire, 54:48 25 Bible studies a week. 54:50 We would love to have all of our Bible workers 54:52 giving 25 Bible studies a week. 54:54 So I want to thank Hubert 54:55 and I'd like to thank all of you. 54:57 God bless you. |
Revised 2020-02-10