Youth Evangelism Conference stresses high-tech witnessing

Youth Evangelism Conference stresses high-tech witnessing

Bright lights, high-energy music, big crowds, videos, dramas and speakers all converged on The Church at Brook Hills, Birmingham, July 21–23 for one reason: getting Alabama’s youth excited about evangelism.

Along with that, organizers of this year’s Youth Evangelism Conference (YEC) wanted to teach the tech-oriented generation how to do evangelism using a familiar approach and familiar technology.

This concept is why YEC’s sessions were focused around the Connect emphasis, said Mike Nuss, director of the office of collegiate and student ministries office of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM).

Connect, developed by the North American Mission Board, encourages students to connect with God, connect with a friend and connect that friend with God and a local church.

“It’s a user-friendly approach for young people to do the work of evangelism in a personal way,” said Rick Lance, SBOM executive director.

Each segment of YEC focused on an aspect of Connect, and those in attendance were encouraged to use Connect’s Web tools.

Central to Connect is its Web site, www.connectwithgod.com. By registering, youth leaders can post announcements for their youth groups, and students can access witnessing tools, training and chat rooms to share thoughts and prayers with other Connect users.

“Connect is an umbrella of evangelism tools,” said Keith Loomis, who works in the areas of junior high and high school students for SBOM. “It creates a community that says this is all about challenging kids to share their faith.”

Chad Childress, director of student evangelism for NAMB, said, “Connect is taking the elements of the Great Commission and living those out.”

Childress, who spoke at the conference, said YEC was an encouragement to him. “It’s refreshing to see students leave with the challenge to go and reach out.”

Nuss echoed that, saying, “All along, the most important aspect of this event has been to help students understand they’re an integral part of connecting their fellow students with Christ,” he said. “The numbers are too big, the need is too great” to leave the job up to pastors and churches only.

Led by Christian artists Big Daddy Weave, this year’s 2,700 participants connected with God through song and celebration.

They were reminded of the reason behind the technology talk and worship by the Dramatic Vagabonds, a Christian group formed out of Student Life, whose skits act out Scripture and its lessons.

David Nasser, nationally known evangelist; Mike Satterfield, pastor of The Church at Shelby Crossings and Rick Ousley, pastor of The Church at Brook Hills, joined Childress in encouraging the youth to connect with the world around them in order to connect that world with God.

Nasser — a Birmingham native — encouraged students to have an Isaiah 6 “DSL connection” with God, instead of settling for a “dial-up connection,”  the effects of which may only last a little while.

“We’re talking about a fully connected, DSL moment where God just slaps love on you,” Nasser said. “It will mark you.”

Nasser cautioned students to be careful that, when seeking a connection with God, they do not settle for a connection with “God’s stuff,” such as an event, the music, the church, the pastor or even the emotion of a moment.

Satterfield challenged students to be “who you really are.” Drawing from 1 Peter 2:9–10, he said Christians are “a royal priesthood, a nation, holy to God.”

Explaining that in Old Testament times the job of the priesthood was to connect the Jews with God, Satterfield said, “The job once entrusted to priesthood of the Jews has now been given to the Church, and  you are the Church.”

God’s invitation to become a Christian is an invitation for “direct access” to Him. But with that access comes a responsibility to befriend and connect the world to Christ, Satterfield said.

Instead of leaving the work of evangelism up to preachers and church leaders, “We are priests called to link arms with each other in order to impact the days and lives of everyone whose path we cross,” he said.

At the end of each session, students had the opportunity make decisions and to commit to using Connect during the upcoming school year.

Nuss said while 56 youth made decisions to follow Christ, and 297 recommitted their lives to Christ, 1,110 youth signed and turned in commitments to work during the next school year to win one of their lost friends to Christ.

“That’s the thing that’s really exciting to us,” he said. “(YEC this year) exceeded our expectations.”

Besides a new emphasis, the conference also had a different format this year, being split into two identical sessions that ran back to back to allow more people to attend, Nuss explained.

Next year’s YEC will again be at Brook Hills with the same format, July 20–21 and 21–22.