Twenty-eight children and youth ministries leaders, who compose the Youth Council, met on the weekend of January 5-7, 2024, at Camp Alamisco to pray together and allow the Holy Spirit to guide them in planning the direction of the Youth Department over the next few years. The Youth Council includes representatives from Adventurers, Pathfinders, young adult ministries, and Federacion de Jovenes Adventistas (FEJA).
Seeking the council of various leaders and working collaboratively aligns with the Gulf States Conference’s mission of providing discipleship and mentorship opportunities to the children and youth of the Conference, so that they can know and love Jesus.
Highlighting the teamwork, Michel Rodriguez, youth director, expressed his anticipation, “This year I’m so excited for all the events that are coming up. It was so good to see all the ministries from within our Conference come together to plan. I’m really excited about the unity we have with all the ministries working together. It’s a great opportunity for us to continue to grow and get our kids closer to Jesus Christ.”
Many of the leaders, like Greg Myers, area coordinator on the Gulf Coast for Pathfinders, have shown their care for their respective ministries for several years. Myers, who has been serving in his capacity for 15 years, explained the focus of the weekend, sharing that, “This weekend [we have been] doing our annual planning. We have a big event this year with the International Camporee in Gillette, Wyo., coming in the summer, but we also have a Pathfinder calendar for 2025 to plan out. So, there’s a big group of us here trying to make youth ministries a priority in our Conference, so that our kids have something to do from a planning perspective and a path to be led to Christ and be drawn closer to Him through the youth ministry program.”
The single-minded focus of planning programs that will bring the youth in the Conference to a life-changing decision for Jesus was evident throughout the weekend.
The sentiment was echoed by Jessica Nazarenus, Youth Council member. She shared, “What I like best about the Youth Council meeting is that we get together, we collaborate, and we unify as a team to be able to plan events that will help our youth in this Conference to be able to draw closer to Jesus.”
Gulf States | April 2024
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