Dear youth leaders of the world!
Greetings with 2 Timothy 4:2:
“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”
From this verse, we can see that a major part of our responsibility as youth leaders is to educate and strengthen the youth in God’s word, so that in turn they may be equipped to share His gospel of love to the world.
At this time, I would like to encourage you as a local youth department leader to participate in a special program that will be promoted worldwide.
This program involves gathering the youth from your local church once a month on Sabbath afternoon to read one chapter of Messages to Young People, and then have a short discussion afterward.
I believe there are many different ways we can make this very attractive to the youth. I will share just a couple ideas and suggestions, but please feel free to improvise as you see fit.
1. Choose an attractive location
Have the monthly reading together somewhere beautiful in nature or in the countryside. After the reading, reserve some time to walk, socialize, and explore God’s beautiful nature together. Many times as a young person myself, I was very anxious and even a little bored with being inside the church all day. I was always ready for any opportunity to get out and be in nature. So this may be a great option if you are near mountains, parks, or places in nature.
2. Take the reading home
Have the reading and discussion at approximately 5pm on Sabbath afternoon at a member’s home, which could be rotated each time.
After the reading and discussion of one chapter, serve a meal. Coordinate with the parents of each youth to prepare or bring something to eat so they can share a meal. Then, depending on when the Sabbath closes, they could play some Bible trivia or Bible games together. After the closing of the Sabbath, they could continue in other games and activities as deemed appropriate.
In this manner, we are able to promote and combine the importance of spiritual growth along with building connections, friendships, and memories together.
From my experience with youth, this will really show them that we care about them in many ways including mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
My recommendation is that as soon as you receive this message, that you begin planning and implementing these monthly youth events in your local church immediately.
I want to kindly thank you in advance for considering and being willing to participate in this program on a worldwide level, as we continue to be used to educate and strengthen our youth in God’s word and the values of our church family. May God bless you all!
Daniel Balbach
Youth Department Director, General Conference
