Post on 14-Dec-2015
STARTER KIT
20092009
YEAR OF YEAR OF SHINING SHINING
IDEAS AND SUGGESTIONS for youth leaders
Produced by theGeneral Conference of Seventh-day Adventist
Youth Ministries Department
A Chinese pastor was known for always
instructing new converts to begin witnessing
as soon as possible. One day, upon meeting a
newly baptized member of the church, the
pastor asked, “Brother, how long have you
been a Christian?”
“About three months,” the man answered.
“And how many souls have you won to
Christ?”
“Oh,” the new convert said shyly, “I’m only
a learner.”
Shaking his head disapprovingly, the
pastor responded, “Young man, the
Lord doesn’t expect you to be a full-
fledged preacher, but He does
expect you to be a faithful witness.
Tell me,
when does a candle
begin to shine —when
it’s already half
burned up?”
“Certainly not,” the convert stated. “It offers light as soon as it’s lit!”
“That’s right,” the pastor said with a smile.
“So, let your light shine right away.”
In the dark of night, even one
candle can be seen from a great
distance. When that same candle
shares its flame with other candles,
very soon whole areas can be
lighted. We’re called to be “light
bearers” to the world; to first shine,
and then share our light with others
in the dark places of sin.
Christ’s parable about the candle
hidden under a bushel has a lot to
say about what God expects of us.
When we’ve been given the light
of truth, we’re supposed to shine!
What He has placed in our hearts
was never intended to be kept a
secret; to remain hidden.
“Let your light so shine before
men,” God commands, “that they
may see your good works, and”—
here’s the part that many fail to
grasp — “glorify your father which
is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
The light that is in us is meant
to glorify God, not us. It’s His
goodness that shines; His
compassion, His tender regard
for fallen humanity that our
light illuminates.
This year our goal is to
challenge youth to shine
and share the light God
has placed in their
hearts. The dark world is
waiting for the light of
God’s love.
HIS WITNESSInvite members of your group to find or create a series of skits depicting the various methods Christ used to touch the lives of those around Him.
Perform these skits for your church family, explaining why you're studying this particular aspect of Christ's life and how you plan to use those methods to reach the community.
GETAWAYSpend a weekend by the shores of a local lake, examining the stories of Christ's life centered in Galilee.
Place those happenings in today's world, using modern words and examples and determine how the group can evangelize the community using those ancient ways of witnessing.
HOUSEBOUNDInvite each in your group to choose one member of their family as their "witness target." Their assignment is to show that person (the witness target) one thing about God this week. Have them report back to the group the results of their action (if any) and share what they learned from the experiment.
LITTLE THINGSPrepare a Sabbath service highlighting the “little witnesses” that Christians can share in the home—no grand schemes, no multi-city meetings, just one-on-one witnessing in the home.Use skits, music, and readings showing church members how they can share God's love anywhere.
LOUD SILENCESpend a session discussing ways of generating a "silent witness" at school or work. This might include displaying spiritually uplifting artwork in your office, your choice of music and literature, and the ways you react to life situations.
Have each person in the group choose one and apply it.
FRIENDSHIPOrganize a weekend of activities to
which your members can invite their
friends. On Sabbath, hold health and
relationship seminars. On Sunday, schedule games and
other outdoor activities. Each day let your visitors know
that you're trying to make their lives
better and more meaningful.
THANKSGIVINGMaintain a large bulletin board at your church with a supply of note cards and invite members to write short notes of thanks to God for their blessings. Include some artwork and decorations in and around the board. Refresh the board every month with new decorations, artwork, and notes.
THIS IS MEWith your pastor's blessing, create a complete Sabbath service where each member in your group shares what God has done for them in the past. Some may witness in song, others through the spoken word or skits. Make sure each member glorifies God, not themselves.
Quotes
"God has given us the gift of
speech that we may recite to
others His dealing with us, that
His love and compassion may
touch other hearts, and that
praise may arise from other souls
also to Him who has called them
out of darkness into His marvelous
light" (Counsels to Parents,
Teachers, Students, p. 243).
"The silent witness of a true,
unselfish, godly life carries an
almost irresistible influence. By
revealing in our own life the
character of Christ we co-operate
with Him in the work of saving
souls" (Christ's Object Lessons,
p. 340).
"I can of mine own self do
nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my
judgment is just; because I seek
not mine own will, but the will of
the Father which hath sent me. If I
bear witness of myself, my
witness is not true" (Words of
Christ, as quoted in John 5:30,
31).
"The spirit of the Lord GOD is
upon me; because the LORD hath
anointed me to preach good
tidings unto the meek; he hath
sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty
to the captives, and the opening
of the prison to them that are
bound" (Isaiah 61:1).