Awake to the Young Harvest

[Billy n NC]

The following statements were made in other threads.


KB Said:
I agree, preach to the young people. Stop preaching to the adults and preach to the kids. This comes from a youth pastor. You can talk how we need to minister to them all you want, but if you do not minister to them you have done nothing in my opinion.


McDanger said:
My one constructive criticism is tainted by my passion. If we are indeed "turning to the young harvest" then lets have a service geared completely for them. Even though Bro. Vines did a fine job, I watched as MANY young people got up and started leaving a few minutes into the sermon. The halls were full of youth.

Eager said:
I was wondering about that when I saw Bro Vines up there. I wondered why there wasn't a focus toward preaching toward the youth myself.

I agree with every point you stated above...the lack of the youth ministry focus in COGOP is a large part of what keeps me away from it.

Dawgs10 said:
Agreeing with mr danger!!!!! What is the world coming to? I was thinking the same thing. why don’t we have youth ministers ministering at the youth service. what a novel idea.


In this setting of a bi-annual International Meeting:
How would you have done it different?
Do you have specifics or suggestions as to how to "preach to kids at the IA"?

What was the purpose of the Teen/Youth Assembly? Who was the speaker? Who did their P&W? I could not find any info on this online.
As a parent how could they encourage there youth to go to this not knowing what was going on.


_____________________________________________
Personal observation.

When I saw the sermon topic for Bro Bill on Saturday Night earlier in the week I wondered what direction he would go with topic. Awake being the general theme but Awake to the Young Harvest being the sermon topic. I thought I will want to listen to that one.
But Sat night I got sidetracked and started listening to the Obama/McCain/ Warren forum. I figured I would catch on the download replay..

But during the last 10/15 mins of the forum I got a text message from a pastor friend who was there in the auditorium. It said Are You Watching?
I said nope, CNN. He replied Bill Vines WOW..

So a few min after the forum was over I came into my office and tuned into the live broadcast and begin listening to Bro Bill. WOW was right.

Somebody at International offices had been reading the post on Jude2 about ministering to youth. Finally they had woke and was smelling the super duper Starbucks. That message needed to be preached in this time and place.

We have so many churches/pastors that still do not see the importance of ministering to the Young Harvest. Thats why they have 45 in attendance and most of the have grey hair. That’s why at one of the previous GA's it was stated we have more ministers over the age of 75?? than under the age of 30. I had mentioned this before of reading about a minister that made the following observation in most churches that were declining. When the youth want to go on a weekend trip they are told "Sure thing go ahead and have some carwashes and sell donuts" raise the money. But when the Seniors want to take that trip up to the mountain its a different story. "Sure thing plan on coming with us and we will even pay for your meal that day"

We have to invest not only money and resources but also time into our youth. We have to put the flannel graphs, coloring books and sing along cassettes tape and replace with multi media presentations to get the youth involved. Kids now are high tech kids. My 6 year old grandsons sit at the computers and play games from Disney, Nick and Cartoon Channel. My 1 year old was standing in my office and I decided to take his picture with my digital camera. As soon as I took the picture he ran over to me and wanted to see the back of the camera display.. at 1 year old.

But with statistics like Bro Bill displayed Sat night how can we not invest money, resources and time into our youth.

Yes that sermon needed to be preached at this time and place.

Our organizations has been going thru some huge changes in the last 18 + years. As Bro. Varlack said back in the 96 GA. This is not a single engine plane but a 747 and we needed a lot of slow banking turn to be able to turn to the harvest. We have come thru some very difficult decision making times. Hopefully the worst is over and we can get on with the harvest. But what harvest.

Awake to the YOUNG HARVEST.

I hope and pray that the statement "from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." I hope what we heard this past week was from IO's heart.


____________________________________________

Someone mentioned that quite a few of the young people started exiting shortly after Bro Bill started preaching. Not sure that will ever stop regardless of who the preacher is. (Is there any speaker in or out of our organization that would keep them in the service?) I remember attending State conventions and General Assembly being told. You can hang out until the sermon starts but when the sermon starts you better be in the auditorium. Some parents did not / do not require that .

Lets face it. Hanging out with our Sate/National friends in the halls of the assembly is kewl. I did it. Most who have grown up in our org have if they admit it.

____________________________

Okay enough rambling. I went back and listened to the beginning of Bro Bills sermon to make sure I got every word. This is one sermon I am going to pass along.

[EagerBeaver]

I will be the first to agree with you that this message needed to be preached at this time and place (being the Assembly in general) but I think it could have been preached on any other given night. It was definitely an anointed message but I would have liked to have seen something that involved the youth on a day devoted to them, that's all.

I will rephrase the comment you quoted me on...yes the lack of ministry focus on youth is what keeps me away from COGOP but I feel in time it will get much better. The only thing is, there isn't much time and I hope many sense the urgency.

[Billy n NC]

.... but I would have liked to have seen something that involved the youth on a day devoted to them, that's all.

Such as? and by whom?

[EagerBeaver]

.... but I would have liked to have seen something that involved the youth on a day devoted to them, that's all.

Such as? and by whom?

I would have liked to have seen the new youth leader for the COGOP set the tone for their tenure in GHQ by outlining some fresh ideas for youth ministry across the board in COGOP, for one.

More on this later, I promise.

[MrDanger]

Billy, if you go back and read my post that you quoted you will find all my answers to your questions. No need wasting my, yours, or anyone else's time by retyping them. They are there.

[Billy n NC]

Billy, if you go back and read my post that you quoted you will find all my answers to your questions. No need wasting my, yours, or anyone else's time by retyping them. They are there.

I did read your post and I did go back and reread it. Your post does cover the first part of my questions. But I do not see anything concerning why Teen/Youth Assembly was not enough to meet the request ("Preach to the Kids in the IA"). That was of more interest to me in my post of this subject.

They were provided there on Venue. Was it not enough.
I was not there. I could not find any info on Teen/Youth Assembly.
Frankly I was surprised with the way our youth are so internet savvy that it was not streamed on the internet. Was it even videoed for posting on the internet later?

One thing I do agree on. The new youth director should have been introduced on Sat night with using lights, and smoke and loud music and have him fly in from the back of the auditorium like the dude in the torch lightiing the flame. I heard his name menitoned in the General Appointmenst and I could not tell you his name if you asked me now. It is in a thread here on J2 somewhere. I will look it up and google him/her.

As I am typing this I am listening to Bro Randys report on Tues AM. At 1 hour and 10 min in he states that he will be casting the (Reaching the Young Harvest ) vision on Sunday Am. What session on Sunday AM was this done? Have not listened to all of it yet.

[fezzik]

Someone mentioned that quite a few of the young people started exiting shortly after Bro Bill started preaching. Not sure that will ever stop regardless of who the preacher is. (Is there any speaker in or out of our organization that would keep them in the service?) I remember attending State conventions and General Assembly being told. You can hang out until the sermon starts but when the sermon starts you better be in the auditorium. Some parents did not / do not require that .

Lets face it. Hanging out with our Sate/National friends in the halls of the assembly is kewl. I did it. Most who have grown up in our org have if they admit it.

Have any of you ever been to a COG Winterfest? How about Jentezen Franklin's Forward Conferences? You see kids walking in the halls, but the vast majority of them are inside worshiping and listening to the sermons. Some of that is a product of leadership and parents enforcing rules, but a lot of it comes from the approach to those events and how they capture and keep the attention of the kids.

[scooter]

I will be the first to agree with you that this message needed to be preached at this time and place (being the Assembly in general) but I think it could have been preached on any other given night. It was definitely an anointed message but I would have liked to have seen something that involved the youth on a day devoted to them, that's all.
.

Response: You're just full of buts.

It's almost like you were not there, but still know how it was and should have been.

Wasn't the P/W youth oriented the same night? Isn't Sat. night the best night?

You give some people the world and they want the moon and the sun.

[DaJudge]

Billy, I fully agree with you. I had the same reaction as you. Bro. Vines message was so powerful. My wife said to me, I hope every pastor and youth leader in the COGOP is watching. His was a message that all needed to hear.

[MrDanger]

Okay Billy and Scooter, maybe this will be a little more blunt and help you understand.

Teen Assembly was held while kids are in school. Saturday night, there is no school (unless your homeschooled and your parents are abusive ). The majority of the youth were there when there wasn't a Teen Assembly available.

The scheduling of the Assembly dates couldn't be helped by the current administration. It was handed down to them.

So Scooter, are you saying, "We are "turning to the youth harvest" but isn't a youth oriented p/w enough for you guys. We've turned to you, but now let us hurry up and focus the sermon on the adults."

[KBevangelist]

Teen Assembly was held while kids are in school. Saturday night, there is no school (unless your homeschooled and your parents are abusive ). The majority of the youth were there when there wasn't a Teen Assembly available.

The scheduling of the Assembly dates couldn't be helped by the current administration. It was handed down to them.

BINGO!!!!!!!!!

Though Teen Assembly was good, are we still in the same mode of delegating them to the "back" of the church and having them come out ever now and then?

Fezzik mentioned Forward and Winterfest, I have scoped both of these out. Both of these ministries are powerful let alone money makers where they can do more. It takes vision, planning and MONEY to pull that off.
Young people are going to walk halls regardless. At the two events mentioned, not all parents are there, it is YOUTH PASTORS/Directors are there. If you got good and attractive bait the fish will bite. These two events know how to attract and keep them inside.

I loved Bro. Vines message. Again it was great for ministry. I still believe though we missed an opportunity for the entire assembly to minister to their youth.

KB

[DaJudge]

I reject the characterization of the Teen Assembly and the Children's Assembly as "the back". What Vines was saying when he was referring to "the back" of the church, was our too often practice of shoving the children into a dank little room somewhere in the church and babysitting them while the grownups had church. I was able to observe the children's assemblies and teen assembly and buddy, it wasn't "the back".

The organizers did a bang up job of programming those assemblies and the kids and youth had an awesome time. Awesome music, awesome decorations, lighting, sound, computer graphics, the works.

Maybe you are right that a youth pastor should have ministered on Saturday night, but can we agree that Vines message also needed to be heard? When would you propose that should have happened, if not on Saturday night?

[Paully_44]

Young people are going to walk halls regardless.

Young and old alike. whenever i took my son to the restroom, the halls were never empty of adults.

I loved the P&W on saturday. My boys couldnt wait to get down and jump and sing since that band played at Childrens Church. My youngest told me "Daddy I HAVE to go down there".... so we did.

[KBevangelist]

I reject the characterization of the Teen Assembly and the Children's Assembly as "the back". What Vines was saying when he was referring to "the back" of the church, was our too often practice of shoving the children into a dank little room somewhere in the church and babysitting them while the grownups had church. I was able to observe the children's assemblies and teen assembly and buddy, it wasn't "the back".

The organizers did a bang up job of programming those assemblies and the kids and youth had an awesome time. Awesome music, awesome decorations, lighting, sound, computer graphics, the works.

Maybe you are right that a youth pastor should have ministered on Saturday night, but can we agree that Vines message also needed to be heard? When would you propose that should have happened, if not on Saturday night?

You misunderstood my "back" comment you old goat

I will try to explain but first let me say this. I in know way doubt the children's and teen assemblies were great. They always are Kathy and her team, Palma and her team always do great (Remember I have been on them before). And I never said anything about that or against that.

Now back to my "back" statement: My problem is for years, they have been talking about ministering to young people, yet when it is "prime time" they preach to adults about how and why we need to do ministry. To me spend it ministering to them. Pray over them, anoint them. I know Bill had them come up if they wanted to minister and be anointed for them to do ministry. That was GREAT, believe in it. However my gut, youth pastoring mind, thinks that we should have prayed over them for more than just them to be in ministry. They have real problems, real needs and this was prime opportunity to minister to them.

I think he is messgae could have been preached at another time.

And yes as I have stated before Bill's message was great. I even stood up a couple of times, you would be proud.

Now go back to work

KB

[DaJudge]

Now go back to work

KB