Royals pitcher urges Bethel youth: ‘Find truth’

Use your head and let God guide your heart to make the right decisions, Kansas City Royals pitcher Scott Sullivan told more than 600 youth gathered at Linden Baptist Church, Linden, for Frontline 2005.
   
The event, co-sponsored by  Bethel Baptist Association, is geared toward reaching youth throughout the area and surrounding counties but attracted people from all age groups and many denominations.
   
“We call it Frontline because it is putting us as Christians on the front line in our walk with God,” said David Grayson, education and student minister at Linden.
   
Visitors sat in every available space as keynote speaker Sullivan explained that many teenagers have a hard time making the right decisions because they are bombarded with messages from so many people about what to do and how to live. 
   
Using his testimony, he encouraged them to trust Jesus in order to sort through those messages and find the truth because He is the truth. Sullivan told the audience to keep their heads in the game and pay attention to the decisions that they make.
   
“He (Sullivan) has a heart for young people,” Grayson said. “It was a passion in his heart. He wanted that message to go out.”
   
Also featured was contemporary Christian group Brother’s Keeper, who performed a full concert and invited those in attendance to accept Jesus Christ as Savior. According to Grayson, eight students made public professions of faith and six rededicated their lives.
   
“It wasn’t just entertainment,” said Pastor Billy Harris. “They gave an altar call, and God blessed it. They spoke in the kind of way that they connected with the kids. We saw a great harvest from it.”
  
Grayson added that the event exceeded his expectations and renewed his commitment to youth. “I think teenagers have more of a hunger for God than we might expect,” he said. “But it becomes a challenge for us to reach them with the gospel of Jesus Christ because the world wants them, too.”
   
According to Harris, Linden wants to be a “mover and shaker” church that intentionally reaches out to the surrounding community. “We are very much turning our vision outside ourselves, asking what we can do,” he said.
   
He added that the church recently completed a $2.4 million fellowship center and office complex, hoping to use it to handle overflow crowds in future outreach programs.