WEA Youth Commission News – November 2006

Warmest Greetings in Christ to you as Youth Commission leaders!

It won’t be long until we are together in Orlando ! The meetings will be very important as we discuss how to improve our organization and increase our outreach. The Mission Forum will be very stimulating as well. Please be praying. In the meantime, much is happening for youth throughout the Youth Commission.

Africa : KidsGames Networks Churches to Reach Kids

Last month the Presbyterian Church in Nairobi organized KidsGames for children of ages 5-12. It was an inter-parish competition for the 10 parishes in the area. A total of 600 children participated with their 70 Sunday school teachers. The most encouraging thing is that the children who were saved have the benefit of having weekly Bible teaching by those teachers. Please pray for their spiritual growth.

Latin America : National Churches Focus on Youth

In October Jorge traveled to for an Ibero American congress. The topic of the three day conference was Adolescence and Church. In December Jorge will attend the Ibero American Evangelical Dialogue Forum (FIDE), in . Jorge will be meeting with the presidents of the Evangelical Alliance for Latin America . Jorge requests prayer for the formation of national networks of youth leadership in the Latin American nations.

India : Growth at the Grassroots and at the Top

Shavez Williams, the Evangelical Fellowship of India Youth Commission Coordinator, reports that several successful youth leader gatherings were hosted in October. For instance, youth leaders from the state of Nagaland convened and appointed a Youth Commission State Coordinator to lead training and networking efforts there.

The Steering Committee for ’s Youth Commission will be meeting in Hyderabad November 14 and 15. During their time together, they intend to develop a three-year plan for strengthening youth ministry in and prepare for a proposed National Youth Leaders Forum in February. The India Youth Commission is working on two fronts. They want to stimulate effective youth ministry at the local, grassroots level while developing unity and communication among national youth ministry leaders.

United States : Growth

See You at the Pole was held for the 17^th year. It is ’s National Student Day of Prayer, coordinated by the National Network of Youth Ministries. Millions were involved representing every state and the majority of schools. Here’s a couple examples:

• Barrow, Alaska is the farthest point north in the . Despite a 25-mph-wind and a temperature of -7 degrees, 50 students prayed around flagpoles from three schools.

• A girl from Virginia prayed during the year for her friends to find the Lord, especially her best friend. At this year’s SYATP she reported: “When we began our last song, I watched my best friend begin to cry. She looked at me and said ‘I need Jesus in my life.’ As we prayed together, I watched 6 other friends walk toward us. They all accepted Christ!”

Youth Transition Network. Two significant meetings were held in Chicago to creatively address the need to reach out to those youth who lose connection with Christ and the church in the transition between high school and college/career. The first was a small meeting of diverse leaders to discuss what possible changes must be made in high school ministry—very stimulating ideas! Second was the historic formation of a college ministry network of major college ministries and denominations that can coordinate campus ministries in a manner more accessible to youth.

Updated Website

The international website has been updated. Please check the National Coordinators for your region of the world to see if all the information is correct. Just go to www.globalyouthworkers.net.

January Youth Commission Meetings and Caribbean Consultation

God is providing funds for youth leaders to come from throughout the Caribbean . We anticipate 8-10 countries to be represented at the consultation in order to begin new Youth Commissions there. The dates below are repeated. You should be making your plans to come to Orlando now. So far only 2 have indicated any need of financial assistance. That is good, since we have hardly any funds beyond what is available for the Caribbean youth workers! If you have a conflict or are not able to stay the entire time, please confirm that with us right away. We are very excited about what God intends to do through us and to us during these days together in January 2007.

Saturday, 13 January, 2007 Arrive in Orlando , FL
Sunday-Mon, 14-15 January Youth Commission Meeting
Monday-Wed, 15-17 January Youth Missions Forum
Wednesday, 17 January Travel to Kingston ,

Thanks for what you are doing for the Kingdom by reaching youth. Don’t forget to pray for each of us throughout the coming month. Thank you so much!

Paul Fleischmann and Daryl Nuss

WEA Youth Commission