It is no secret that the
Adventist Church Community is losing its young people at a faster rate
than we care to admit. A number of our young people leave for college,
but when they return they don't come back to church.
Young people
are continually saying that Adventist Christianity is no longer
relevant. However, it doesn't appear to be ‘doctrine’ why young people
leave the church, but because, they argue, that the church seems
indifferent to the social issues young
people and the people in their communities face on a daily basis. They
say, that in order for Christianity to be relevant to our young people,
they need to be part of a church that makes the gospel message of
Christianity tangible. They need to see the things that we preach, read
and pray about, being practiced in their lives and in their communities.
Most importantly, they need to be part of the mission to make it
happen.
As a direct
response to this issue a group of young adults, youth leaders and
Pastors from around the south Bay Area, drawn by the power of the holy
spirit, have come together to form The Bay Area Youth and Young Adult
Ministry. (B.A.Y. Ministry). The B.A.Y. Ministry has three elements
spiritual, outreach and social. Our objective is to find ways to engage
our young people and ultimately nurture them into a lasting
relationship with Jesus.
This past Sabbath we launched the outreach arm of the ministry-FIGHT THE HATE
OUR FIRST MISSION: To deliver thank you cards and gifts to police
officers and fire fighters to show our appreciation for their selfless
service in our community.
THE OBJECTIVE: To show and spread God's
love in a practical, tangible way. To make connections and build
relationships with these agencies, in the hope that we can collaborate
with them in identifying social issues in our communities and work
together with them on future outreach projects.
The 90+ youth and young adults that took part were split into groups of 10-15, then headed out to complete the first mission.
It was so awesome to see such enthusiasm for God's work. The feedback
we received from police officers, fire fighters and our young people was
so very positive.
A fire has been ignited in hearts of our young
people in the Bay Area. Praise God!! Please keep our young people and
this ministry in prayers.
