Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY210068A
|
00:01 As you're well aware,
00:03 we're living in unprecedented times. 00:05 Join us now for Today special program. 00:13 I want to spend my life 00:18 Mending broken people 00:23 I want to spend my life 00:29 Removing pain 00:34 Lord, let my words 00:39 Heal a heart that hurts 00:44 I want to spend my life 00:50 Mending broken people 00:55 I want to spend my life 01:01 Mending broken people 01:15 Hello, friends, and welcome to another edition 01:17 of 3ABN Today. 01:19 We usually have all kinds of different Today programs. 01:21 Today we have Young Disciple Ministries 01:24 in the house with us today. 01:25 We're going to be talking about evangelism, 01:27 Sabbath School, how to reach young people 01:29 with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 01:31 And it's, we're excited. 01:32 We got Tony, we got Jessica, we have Loribeth with us. 01:36 How are you guys doing? 01:37 Good. All right. Praise the Lord. 01:38 I've had a little bit of time to chat with them 01:40 behind the scenes here 01:42 and looking forward to talking with them today 01:43 about this Young Disciple Ministries 01:45 and what they have to offer for all of our young people. 01:48 And so, get your family gathered around, 01:50 get your young people in the room, 01:52 all your enemies, all your friends, everyone, 01:54 and we're going to talk about this today. 01:56 It's going to be something important, 01:57 something you want to be involved in. 01:59 But before we get right into this interview 02:01 of how they can help you and you can help them 02:04 and how we can get the gospel out there, 02:06 we have a special musical number 02:07 that's going to be brought to us 02:09 by Hope Vasquez 02:10 and, of course, she's going to be singing for us, 02:12 How Deep the Father's Love For Us. 02:17 How deep the Father's love for us 02:23 How vast beyond all measure 02:29 That He should give His only Son 02:35 To make a wretch His treasure 02:42 How great the pain of searing loss 02:48 The Father turns His face away 02:54 As wounds which mar the Chosen One 03:00 Bring many sons to glory 03:09 Behold the man upon a cross 03:15 My sin upon His shoulders 03:21 Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice 03:27 Call out among the scoffers 03:33 It was my sin that held Him there 03:39 Until it was accomplished 03:45 His dying breath has brought me life 03:52 I know that it is finished 04:01 I will not boast in anything 04:07 No gift, no power, no wisdom 04:13 But I will boast in Jesus Christ 04:19 His death and resurrection 04:26 Why should I gain from His reward? 04:32 I cannot give an answer 04:41 But this I know 04:44 With all my heart 04:49 His wounds have paid my ransom 05:03 Amen. 05:05 Amen and amen. I love that. 05:06 That's a beautiful, it's one of my favorite songs. 05:07 So thank you so much, Hope, for bringing us that blessing. 05:11 All right, Young Disciple Ministries. 05:13 If you haven't heard of them, you're going to today 05:16 because we have them with us, 05:17 Tony, Tony Evert, you are the Director, 05:21 the Executive Director of Young Disciples Ministries. 05:23 It's always a blessing to have you here. 05:24 You've been here before. 05:25 This is your second time, third time, second time here? 05:27 Okay. 05:28 It's a blessing to have you and, Jessica, 05:30 I believe you've also been here before, right? 05:31 Jessica Pendleton, you're the Director of Finance 05:34 for Young Disciple Ministries. 05:36 And then you guys have brought a special guest here today. 05:38 We have Loribeth Salciccioli, 05:40 and you are a Sabbath School teacher 05:42 at your local church, right? 05:43 Right. Amen. 05:45 Praise the Lord. All right. 05:46 So we're going to come back to you 05:47 two ladies in just a moment. 05:49 But I got to come over here to the man with a plan, Tony. 05:51 Tony, there may be someone watching right now 05:54 that has never heard of Young Disciple Ministries. 05:56 And could you tell us a little bit about, 05:58 you know, its origins, its history, 06:00 how it got started, how you became involved 06:02 with Young Disciple Ministries? 06:04 Well, Young Disciples started when I was still a teenager. 06:08 And we were at a church plant in Southern California 06:12 and the young people there at the Sabbath School class, 06:16 we had a very energetic 06:17 and somewhat serious group of young people 06:19 who got their new quarterlies one week. 06:23 And this is kind of the spark 06:26 that started the Young Disciple. 06:29 And they were looking through it 06:30 and they were like, 06:32 you know, the lesson was on Joseph and Moses, 06:34 and they were like, we... 06:37 Some of the kids just graduated from lower division, 06:39 like we did this already. 06:41 And some of them were like, 06:42 "Yeah, we did those in kindergarten too." 06:43 And somebody asked, 06:45 "Is there anything else in the Bible?" 06:47 And I'm like, that's an amazing question 06:49 for a teacher, you know? 06:50 And the answer was, "Well, yes, of course there is." 06:52 And, we were like, "Would you like 06:56 to learn how to study the Bible, 06:58 how to find some of these exciting other truths? 07:01 And things that are in the Bible?" 07:02 And they were like, "Yes." 07:03 And so my mom at the time was a Sabbath School teacher, 07:07 and she started putting together something 07:09 on our little computer, printing it out, 07:11 photocopying it, 07:13 that was sort of the very beginning 07:14 of Young Disciple. 07:15 And God was being nice to us. 07:20 Because if He'd said, 07:21 "This is what you're going to do, 07:22 here's the whole plan, 07:24 you're going to have a full color publication, 07:26 you're going to have a whole Sabbath School program 07:28 with teachers materials, 07:30 and you're going to do camps, 07:31 and you're going to take kids overseas 07:33 and give them foreign missions experience," 07:34 we'd have been like, "Oh, no, you got the wrong people, God." 07:36 Right. 07:37 But that was God's plan for us. 07:40 And over time, He led and said, 07:42 "Look, I'd like you to do this in a more serious way." 07:45 He put the idea into our hearts 07:47 as people visited from other churches, 07:48 and we're like, "Well, can you send that to us too?" 07:51 And we're like, "Well, 07:53 this could get out of hand pretty quickly." 07:55 But God said, "No, I actually do want you to do that." 07:58 All right. 07:59 And so the core of Young Disciple 08:01 from the beginning was helping kids connect with Christ 08:04 through His Word, 08:06 learning how to open the Bible, how to study it. 08:09 And one of the comments 08:11 that we get from young people that really surprises me is, 08:16 that really encourages me is there like, 08:19 I didn't know 08:20 that studying the Bible could be interesting. 08:22 I didn't know that I could do this 08:25 and I'm really enjoying this, you know? 08:27 Sure. Absolutely. 08:28 So yeah, no, it's, you know, ministering to our young people 08:31 is so important. 08:32 And it seems like it can be a challenge 08:34 with the times progressing, 08:36 because, you know, we live in different times 08:38 than we did 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20 years ago. 08:41 And so the fact that you guys exist 08:43 for the purpose of bringing young people 08:44 to Christ is amazing. 08:46 And I'm sure that the Lord has taught you 08:48 many different tactics and methods over the years 08:51 on how to reach out to these young people 08:52 in such a powerful way. 08:54 But I have to just ask this question, 08:55 because, you know, our world hasn't been the same 08:57 in the past couple of years with the pandemic. 08:59 COVID-19 has changed everything. 09:01 I know, it has directly affected, 09:03 you know, ministries near and far, 09:06 good or bad in many cases. 09:07 So how in the world did you guys manage to, 09:11 you know, continue through your mission 09:13 to stay relevant and reach as many of these people 09:15 as possible through the pandemic? 09:17 That was an interesting challenge for us 09:19 'cause the Young Disciple is a physical thing. 09:23 It's a magazine, you know, we've got teacher's helps, 09:25 there's the Sabbath School programs. 09:27 There's quarterlies. 09:28 And what we found during the pandemic was, 09:30 Sabbath Schools were closing down. 09:32 They were like, the teachers were saying, 09:35 "I don't think we need these materials 09:36 because we, you know, we're not getting together." 09:39 And we realized that, well, first of all young people 09:44 still need Jesus during the pandemic, 09:46 maybe even more. 09:48 And so that really opened up, you know, our eyes to realize, 09:52 okay, we've got to adapt, we've got to figure out ways 09:56 to continue to reach young people, 09:58 and so we did a couple of things. 10:00 We took the printed Young Disciple magazines, 10:03 we made them available on our website 10:04 so that young people who were in churches, 10:06 who were not meeting, 10:07 who could not get their magazines could still 10:09 and in the Young Disciple magazine, 10:11 every magazine has the Bible studies 10:15 for that every day for that week. 10:17 So they were able to download that, 10:19 they were still able to keep up with their lessons, 10:21 still continue doing things. 10:22 And then we started online Sabbath School. 10:25 Okay. 10:27 We're not amazing video people like you guys. 10:30 We realized our limitations. 10:31 But we were able to kind of have a very small set 10:35 that we set up in my living room, 10:36 and we had some students from my family, 10:39 my brother's family. 10:40 So we were all kind of in the same cohort, 10:42 kind of past the COVID restrictions that way. 10:45 And we put together a Sabbath School and every week 10:47 we would go through and teach the program just like 10:50 they were used to be having done 10:52 in their churches. 10:53 That's amazing. 10:55 And I know if you want to add something more to that? 10:56 Were you a part of this? Yes. 10:57 Because we teach, I teach at my local church. 11:00 And so our original idea was, 11:02 well, let's just do something on Zoom, 11:04 well, I'll figure out how to use it, 11:05 and heard of Zoom, but we'll start using Zoom. 11:07 And then I do sales at Young Disciple. 11:10 So Sabbath School teachers started calling 11:11 and saying church is close, what do we do? 11:13 What do we do? 11:15 So we thought, well, let's take 11:16 our little thing that we're doing, 11:17 our little program, and open it up. 11:19 And we had quite a few young people 11:22 that were just lonely. 11:24 There, everything in their lives 11:25 had been uprooted. 11:27 And yet here we were able, 11:28 God opened the doors for us to provide a constant for them, 11:30 like they could still have Sabbath School, 11:31 they could still have that connection, 11:33 that spiritual something in their lives. 11:36 And so we taught for, I think, like three months, 11:39 we got up and tried to figure out the timing. 11:41 So that worked for East Coast and West Coast, 11:43 which made it a bit early for us. 11:45 But it was an amazing blessing 11:47 to be able to connect with young people 11:48 and even some of those young people then later, 11:51 we ran into them again, 11:52 their churches started subscribing or just... 11:55 You know, it's, there's got to be an understanding there, 11:58 especially through this whole COVID thing. 12:00 There's been challenges, 12:01 but it's just so sad to look around and see 12:03 how many churches are shut down and how, 12:06 you know, the gospel movement has almost ceased 12:08 for a lot of people. 12:09 But to see what you guys are doing, 12:10 to see that you didn't allow the pandemic 12:12 to shut down your missions, 12:14 you kept pressing forward, 12:15 adapting to what you needed to in order to reach 12:17 as many people as possible. 12:18 And, Loribeth, that's where you come in. 12:20 We're going to come to you now because I understand that you, 12:23 you're not necessarily directly 12:25 with the Young Disciples Ministry, 12:27 but you're still a part of the family. 12:28 That's right. 12:29 At least you've been adopted in at this point. 12:31 I got to say, just for the record, 12:32 your last name is incredible. 12:35 Salciccioli, right? 12:36 It's got to be Italian or something, right? 12:38 That's right. 12:39 I just, every time I say it, I just want to Salciccioli. 12:42 It just comes off the tongue that way. 12:45 Beautiful name and I just, 12:47 you are connected with them somehow. 12:50 So how did you find out about Young Disciple? 12:53 So it was through the pandemic that God brought us to know 12:57 this wonderful ministry. 12:58 All right. 12:59 I was part of the teaching team for our local church 13:02 and our junior Sabbath School Division. 13:05 And I was noticing, like Tony mentioned, 13:08 our children, the students were looking 13:11 to go a little deeper in studying God's Word. 13:14 So I asked a fellow church member 13:17 who had grandchildren around the same age, 13:19 and I knew they were serious about studying the Word, 13:22 what Sabbath School materials they used. 13:24 And she mentioned Young Disciple. 13:26 So I reached out and called the office 13:28 at Young Disciple to request a sample pack 13:32 for Sabbath School materials. 13:33 And I was, this was the first week 13:37 of March in 2020. 13:39 And, so as I looked over the sample, 13:42 I wanted a little clarity 13:44 of how the actual Sabbath School class 13:47 would run. 13:49 So I called the office 13:50 and it was Jessica on the other line. 13:52 And she walked me through the materials, 13:56 and we were just about to hang up and she said, 13:58 "You know, actually, we're running 14:00 an online Sabbath School right now." 14:02 And I said, "Oh, that would be perfect. 14:03 I'm a very visual learner, and I would love to see 14:06 the flow of how this all really works 14:08 in the room." 14:10 So, that's when I became familiar 14:12 with Young Disciple. 14:14 Okay. All right. 14:15 So, you know, so you incorporate this now 14:17 and it was at your church or in your home, 14:19 or how did that? 14:20 It started in our home 14:22 because this was the first part of March 14:25 and I was just presenting this to my other teammates 14:27 that run the Sabbath School class 14:29 in my local church. 14:30 So it was all still under review, 14:32 and I was ready to pull the trigger. 14:35 So we were, the church was shut down 14:38 at that point for Sabbath School. 14:39 So my family ordered the materials 14:41 and we started using them at home 14:44 and tuning in on Sabbath morning 14:46 to join them for Sabbath School. 14:47 And... 14:50 So you said you get the materials in? 14:52 Yeah. So how did it work? 14:53 What did you like about it? 14:55 It's a very well thought out curriculum 14:58 if I could call it curriculum. 15:00 All right. 15:01 Of course it is, right, Sabbath School. 15:02 I'm a homeschool teacher, yes. 15:04 So everything, all the thinking and planning is done for you 15:08 as the Sabbath School teacher. 15:10 Not only are there Bible lessons 15:12 for you to teach in your class, 15:14 but they always accompany that with a special feature, 15:19 nature study, health study, 15:22 different things to round out the Sabbath School lessons. 15:27 And I just love, 15:28 there's more than you could ever use every week, 15:31 it gives you a lot of options. 15:34 And it was very thought-provoking 15:36 for our students 15:38 immediately as they started to use it. 15:39 You could just see them light up, 15:41 like it fed their desire 15:43 for what they were looking for in their time 15:45 studying God's Word, 15:47 brought out a lot of good questions 15:49 and good conversations. 15:51 Amen. Amen. 15:52 So you kind of somewhat answered this next question, 15:55 but there maybe someone at home right now saying, okay, 15:58 you've been implementing this now for a while, 16:01 kind of since then, until now, 16:03 what have been some of the positive outcomes 16:06 that has happened in your family 16:07 or at your church 16:09 or your Sabbath School study group, 16:10 since incorporating this curriculum 16:12 into your Sabbath School experience? 16:15 Oh, wow. 16:16 Well, in our home, 16:19 it's been very impactful in the way 16:22 that my children study their Bible. 16:25 Okay. 16:26 I see those Bible study plans, check mark, 16:29 sections of the Bible just being devoured. 16:31 It's really motivated them to study their lessons 16:35 and praise God for that. 16:37 So what are the ages of your children? 16:38 My children are 10 and 12. 16:40 Okay, all right. Yeah. 16:41 So about that age 16:43 when it could be a little difficult 16:44 to get kids involved, 16:45 you know, especially with all the distractions 16:47 in the world today, but that's amazing. 16:49 That's amazing to know 16:50 that you guys got something special here. 16:51 You guys got some special. 16:53 So I got to ask this question, though, because, 16:55 you know, we live in a world today 16:57 where it seems like 16:59 it's becoming more and more difficult 17:01 to get young people, 17:02 or at least from some people's perspective, 17:03 I'll say that, it's becoming more and more difficult 17:05 for some people to reach out to their grandchildren, 17:08 to reach out to their children, 17:09 to get them interested in Bible study in general. 17:12 So how does Young Disciple Ministry, 17:17 how do you guys reach a young person 17:19 that seems to not be very interested 17:21 in spiritual things or in Bible study? 17:23 I'd like to just start by saying, 17:25 you know, there are a number of different ideas, 17:28 philosophies of how to work with young people. 17:31 And as we looked at the Bible, 17:35 at some of the research done by places 17:37 like the Barna Institute, 17:39 and things like that, we felt like, 17:42 perhaps the best way to reach young people 17:44 would be to challenge them. 17:46 And a lot of people say, 17:48 reach people by entertaining them. 17:49 I'm not going to say anything bad about that. 17:50 But we felt like, maybe the best way 17:53 to be to really challenge them, say, 17:54 "You can do this. 17:56 You can actually open God's Word 17:58 and learn something from it." 17:59 And so that's kind of been sort of our philosophy is, 18:04 let's give them the tools so they can learn how to, 18:09 you know, a Bible is a big book, 18:10 how can I actually get a blessing 18:12 out of it for myself? 18:13 And so that's kind of been our philosophy. 18:15 And maybe you can talk about some of the details. 18:17 Yeah, so one of the things we do 18:19 when making a Sabbath School program 18:22 is we realize that a lot of 10, 11, 12 year olds, 18:25 they're not ready to just sit down 18:26 with their Bibles 18:27 and have a Bible study for the whole hour. 18:29 So we break it up. 18:30 And for their lesson review, it's a game. 18:32 So there's questions and you work together, 18:35 and it's a different game every quarter. 18:37 And it makes it, it's like it's an incentive to study. 18:40 Like the game is more fun 18:42 when you know the answers to the questions. 18:43 And so the kids love that. 18:45 They'll come to Sabbath School all studied up 18:47 because they want to know the answers for the game. 18:49 Another thing that we've done is, we split the program up. 18:53 So we have a program theme each quarter. 18:55 So we might do I think Loribeth mentioned that 18:57 a little bit already. 18:59 We do a nature thing where maybe we study shells, 19:02 and they each get a set of shells, 19:04 and we learn and then there's object lessons 19:06 that tie into the Sabbath School lesson. 19:08 So we have posters and decorations 19:10 and activities and things that reach them, 19:13 reach their hands, reach their minds, 19:14 reach more than just their spiritual development, 19:17 but also attract their interest 19:19 and really seeking to make Christianity attractive 19:23 and make the Sabbath School attractive, 19:26 isn't something they want to go to, 19:27 they look forward to. 19:29 And so we do incentives with them, 19:31 we encourage every quarter we have a different incentive. 19:34 So it might be a little booklet that you fill out, 19:36 or something somehow to, at the end of the quarter, 19:39 if they studied their lesson, 19:41 if they learned all the memory verses, 19:42 they'll get some little prize. 19:44 I'm a Sabbath School teacher 19:46 and so we'll take them ice skating, 19:47 or we'll take them, 19:49 we took them backpacking one time 19:50 at the end of the quarter... 19:51 I want to be in your Sabbath School class. 19:53 So just ways to encourage them 19:55 because sometimes when they're younger, 19:56 they need that external motivation. 19:58 Wow, there's rewards for this, 20:00 we'll get them involved 20:01 in some sort of project together 20:02 and just round out the whole thing 20:04 to really call to them. 20:06 The other thing is the Young Disciple magazine 20:08 is not just a Bible lesson. 20:10 There's also stories in there that catch their interest, 20:12 stories of young people going through things 20:14 that are either the same topic of the lesson, 20:17 or things that they can relate to, 20:19 like, wow, I've struggled with that, 20:20 this is just a good story that can interest them, 20:23 but also draw them higher. 20:25 Right. 20:26 You know, as you're speaking and saying 20:27 that I'm getting excited, 20:29 because I wished in my Sabbath School experience 20:32 or early on in, 20:33 which I haven't been, I wasn't, I was an adult 20:35 when I came into the Adventist Church. 20:37 But I wish my Sunday school back 20:38 then when I was a kid 20:40 would have been something like this, but it wasn't. 20:41 And as you're talking, I'm thinking of, 20:44 there's those individuals, 20:45 there may be someone watching right now who's just, 20:47 you know, they've got those very ultra conservative views. 20:49 It's like, well, I checked and made fun, 20:51 if it's fun, you're not, 20:52 you know, you're not doing anything, right? 20:53 You're not really teaching them. 20:55 And in the end, when you said, there's rewards, 20:57 I can imagine someone right now saying, 20:58 "Well, you know, we shouldn't be, 20:59 you know, given our kids rewards, 21:01 or making them think they're going to get rewarded 21:03 for studying their Bible." 21:04 You know, how would you respond to someone 21:06 who says something like that? 21:07 Absolutely. 21:09 And I have dealt with that question before. 21:10 It's not a bribe. 21:11 If you study your Bible, you get all these prizes. 21:15 We emphasize the benefits they're going to get. 21:18 The Young Disciple 21:20 Bible Lesson Teacher's Guide program helps 21:21 those go over keys for the teachers 21:23 to teach principles, 21:25 like the internal rewards of studying, 21:28 sometimes that little external thing is useful. 21:31 But that's not it, 21:32 we definitely don't emphasize that, 21:34 like the reason to study is to get this prize. 21:37 But we emphasize the internal rewards, 21:39 the benefits that you gain, 21:41 and then it's like a little, 21:42 we try to, when we do our events, 21:44 we try to make it a spiritual aspect too. 21:46 So when we take a camping trip, we'll review the memory verse, 21:49 and we'll talk about the quarter 21:50 and what we learned. 21:52 And I think that there is certainly a place 21:55 to make things fun and interesting. 21:57 Sure. Absolutely. 21:59 And not necessarily entertainment. 22:01 But if Christianity is always don't do this, 22:03 don't do that, don't do the other, 22:04 well, let's look for ways to say yes, 22:06 let's go out of our way to be intentional, 22:09 to make Christianity attractive to our young people. 22:11 That's right. I love that. I love that. 22:13 We've got to get out of this mindset, 22:14 that you know, some people have this idea 22:16 of reaching kids, 22:17 it's just a good old fashioned, 22:19 you know, sit down with your Bible and, 22:20 you know, open up 22:21 and let's read a chapter and verse. 22:23 Well, that may work for some kids, 22:25 but others that may not. 22:26 And so I like what you guys are doing, 22:27 you're making it attractive, you're making it fun. 22:29 But in the process, as the Scripture says, 22:32 "Faith comes by hearing and hearing 22:33 by the Word of God," 22:34 they're building their faith in the process, 22:36 because they're being, 22:37 you know, they're being introduced 22:39 to the truth of God's Word along the way. 22:40 And there is spiritual depth. 22:42 They're learning how to use Concordance. 22:43 They're learning how to do word by word studies. 22:46 They're learning how to study the Bible for themselves. 22:48 It's not just spoon-feeding. Wow. 22:50 Praise God, 22:52 And I'd just like to add, 22:53 because some people may find this intimidating. 22:56 And I have to confess that even though I'm the director, 22:58 I don't see every word that goes out. 23:02 You know, my primary focus is in technology, 23:06 and also in the graphic design department. 23:09 So the other week I was at church, 23:12 and for whatever reason, 23:13 the Sabbath School teacher wasn't there. 23:14 And I felt bad because there was a bunch of kids. 23:17 I said, "Well, I'll tell you what, 23:18 I'll teach the lesson." 23:20 And like, I didn't even know what the lesson was on, 23:22 literally, I didn't even know. 23:24 And so I walk in, I pick up the teacher's guide, 23:27 and I open it up to that week's lesson. 23:30 And I'm like, 23:31 reading through it and it worked. 23:34 Like the kids... Just picking it up. 23:36 Just picking it up right there. 23:37 No, I don't recommend that. 23:39 But it's that easy to teach. 23:40 Like, we went through the game, all the questions were there, 23:43 everything went great. 23:45 And the kids really didn't even notice that it was I mean, 23:48 they obviously knew that I wasn't the normal teacher, 23:50 but they didn't know that 23:51 I hadn't prepared all week to teach it. 23:53 And so I just want to encourage people that it really, 23:56 we've really worked hard to make it easy to teach 23:59 so that the young people 24:00 can get the greatest blessing possible. 24:02 Absolutely. 24:03 And so all the, you know, I could just imagine 24:04 your family and your kids 24:06 just lighten up with this stuff, right? 24:07 Yes. 24:08 When the Young Disciple box arrives 24:10 with all the materials, 24:11 it's like special delivery. 24:12 It's like Christmas already. Yes. 24:14 I love it. I love it. 24:15 So I'm curious what kind of materials, 24:17 what kind of topics, let's talk about the topics. 24:19 So what kind of topics do 24:21 that's included in this curriculum? 24:23 You know, someone may want to know, 24:25 what's my kid going to be learning? 24:26 Right. Yeah, that's a great question. 24:28 So we have a four year rotating cycle 24:30 of Bible lessons. 24:32 And we try to, we found that teaching to study the Bible, 24:35 it works best to do topical 24:37 rather than like Genesis to Revelation. 24:38 Right. 24:39 So we do, 24:41 we have a whole series on Steps to Christ, 24:42 just the basics of Steps to Christ. 24:44 We have a series, it's a quarter long, 24:46 it's on absolute surrender, 24:47 like what does it mean to make that full surrender to Jesus, 24:50 a 100% surrender? 24:51 We have a whole quarter on prayer. 24:53 We have a quarter all on the sanctuary. 24:55 We have... 24:56 We're just getting ready to start a Bible marking series 24:59 where it's two quarters long and it goes through all of our, 25:02 all of the things we believe. 25:03 Can our young people 25:04 explain the state of the dead from their Bibles? 25:06 Can they, do they understand the Sabbath? 25:08 Why do we go to church on Saturday? 25:10 That they can mark it, 25:12 they can share it, they know it. 25:13 And the game that quarter, 25:15 we've been doing it in our Sabbath School, 25:17 the game is actually a little mini court case. 25:19 So you get on the stand, you're the defendant 25:22 and then some of the kids are prosecuting attorneys, 25:24 some of the kids are defense attorneys. 25:26 And they get to know, they get to see 25:28 if they study their lesson that week. 25:30 So we really try to go over a broad spectrum, 25:33 we have Christ's Object lessons, 25:35 we do a whole series on the Book of Daniel, 25:37 we do some in Revelation, 25:39 so that they're getting our doctrines, our beliefs, 25:42 but we weave into everything. 25:43 It's not just these are all the right things 25:45 you need to do them, 25:46 but, here's Christ in all of this, 25:48 we have a whole series on that life of Christ 25:50 and the Mount of Blessings. 25:52 And just who is Jesus? And who is He to us? 25:56 So that we have a personal relationship 25:57 with Him. 25:59 Someone once told me God doesn't have grandchildren, 26:00 like you're not going to heaven 26:02 because your parents were a Christian. 26:03 Right. 26:04 So helping young people internalize their beliefs... 26:06 Absolutely. It's just super important. 26:08 You know, yeah, that's a big one 26:09 for young people today 26:10 is their identity in Christ. 26:12 Who are they? 26:13 I find that that's kind of the central issue 26:16 with almost all young people today 26:17 is trying in this big gigantic world 26:19 of nearly 8 billion people, who am I? 26:21 What's my purpose here? Why am I here? 26:23 And just hearing what you're talking about 26:25 as far as those individual topics 26:26 that helps bring the Bible alive 26:28 and help them realize 26:30 that they're not just some little speck to God, 26:32 you know, He died for them, right? 26:34 He's that that's He, they are a child of God. 26:36 That's amazing. Praise the Lord. 26:38 And it's amazing you talked about the different topics, 26:39 my wife right now is going, 26:41 she's the principal and teacher over here 26:43 at the Adventist Academy. 26:44 And she just recently came to me and said, 26:46 "You know, we're learning the sanctuary. 26:47 Do you know anything, 26:48 any materials about the sanctuary that I get?" 26:50 So now I know where to point at you, 26:52 Young Disciple. 26:53 Praise the Lord. Praise God. 26:55 So there may be a teacher right now 26:57 as excited as I am right now 26:58 wanting to get involved with this. 27:00 So what type of support 27:01 or materials do you guys have for teachers 27:03 who were actually teaching this material? 27:06 So we have a whole Sabbath School program, 27:08 we have teachers' guide, 27:09 we have program helps that basically, 27:11 they might need to buy some props 27:12 and things like that. 27:14 But it's all outlined exactly what you need each week, 27:16 your supply list. 27:17 So we have quarterlies, we have magazines, 27:18 we have games and incentives and activities. 27:21 And you can get all of that right from, 27:25 you can call the office or email us 27:28 and we can send out sample packets. 27:30 Sure. Absolutely. 27:31 We are happy to let people just look at it and try it out. 27:34 Absolutely. 27:35 So did you find, 27:36 when you first got this materials in as a teacher, 27:39 did it take you a while to adjust to it? 27:42 Or was it something 27:43 that you kind of just simply picked up and went with it? 27:46 Or did it take some time to adjust 27:48 to prepare to teach this material? 27:49 What was your experience with that? 27:51 It was pretty easy to adapt into the classroom. 27:54 It's, like I said, again, very well organized. 27:56 So you have your overall theme for the quarter 27:59 and then you have your breakdown 28:00 for each week. 28:02 And everything is laid out for materials you need, 28:05 even included, there will be a specific link, 28:08 if you need to purchase something 28:10 or a sound clip to add to your Sabbath School lesson, 28:13 they'll put it right in there where you can go 28:16 to access some of these additional materials. 28:18 In it really is for all sizes of church, 28:22 all sizes of budget, 28:23 that was what I really loved about it as well. 28:25 You can do something as simple as a digital download 28:29 of the teacher guide. 28:30 Or you can add in the special program 28:33 that they add to the lessons, 28:36 you can buy the game 28:37 and all of the other materials as well, 28:40 or you can find those items on your own 28:43 or what you may already have in your supply 28:45 in your Sabbath School room. 28:46 So it's very adaptable for all sizes of church. 28:49 So you said earlier, 28:51 you said something that might have sparked 28:52 someone else's attention on here. 28:54 You said purchasing things, there may be something. 28:56 So is it inexpensive, expensive? 28:59 Can it get expensive? 29:00 No, it's very reasonable. 29:02 What I was referring to there was a lesson 29:04 in the life of Christ 29:05 about the Storm on the Sea, 29:07 and it was just to add a clip 29:09 and the students were going to listen to it 29:11 and try to guess what the scene was. 29:14 And so it was a 99 cent download of an audio file. 29:18 But it was, you know, sometimes 29:20 you have CDs of different recordings 29:22 in your Sabbath School closet 29:23 but this just made it very simple to access 29:26 stuff to enhance the program. 29:27 And again, just make it very attractive 29:29 for the students and take... 29:32 So if you had an opportunity, 29:33 if there was another Sabbath School teacher 29:35 from some other church or whoever 29:37 who came to you 29:38 and what would you tell them about this 29:39 as far as encouraging them? 29:41 'Cause they may be wondering, okay, you've been doing this, 29:42 you know, what would you say 29:44 to another Sabbath School teacher 29:46 who is contemplating on purchasing 29:48 or becoming involved in Young Disciple Ministries 29:50 Sabbath School? 29:51 I would say for the age group, 29:53 I've used it for ages nine to 14, 29:57 I even have 16 year old in my class. 30:00 Get ready to see 30:01 what the Holy Spirit's going to do in your classroom 30:03 because it really motivates the students. 30:06 I've had students raise their hand in class 30:08 and says anyone reading the continued story 30:11 at the end of the magazine 30:12 is really great this quarter, 30:14 or, you know, students will say, 30:16 studying my Bible now is I'm having a lot of fun, 30:19 because the topics are very relevant to them, 30:23 it's written in a way that 30:25 they can connect as they're studying. 30:29 But for Sabbath School teachers, 30:31 it's a very easy program to implement. 30:34 And it definitely takes our young people 30:36 to the next level in digging into the Word of God. 30:39 Praise the Lord. 30:40 Wow. All right. 30:42 So, what if I'm not a Sabbath School teacher? 30:47 And that's, we need you like, 30:50 if you're not a Sabbath School teacher... 30:51 We need you to be one. 30:53 One of our problems is that there are a lot, 30:56 we get calls from people that are like, 30:58 "We just heard about this and this is exactly 31:01 what we've been looking for a long time. 31:03 And we need you to tell your friends, 31:09 tell the people at your church, 31:10 tell the Sabbath School leaders 31:13 or, you know, anybody that you know that 31:16 you think might be, 31:18 have young people that want to take this kind of a step. 31:23 It's a little bit frustrating for me what you know, I mean, 31:25 I'm like, "Yeah, you finally found us," 31:26 but at the same time I'm like, "We've been here for 30 years." 31:29 Right. Absolutely. 31:30 And, you know, we're often hearing stories, 31:36 young people write back and just say, you know, I... 31:40 You know, during 30 years, 31:41 there has been a whole generation 31:42 that has grown up. 31:44 Sure. 31:45 And as I look at some of those young people that 31:47 we were working with in the very beginning, 31:51 and seeing what they're doing now, 31:53 there's a lot of strong, godly, 31:57 young men and young women 31:58 who are out there working for Christ, 32:00 working in this country, working overseas, 32:03 working in different places. 32:04 And a lot of them, if you'll ask them, 32:06 you'll be like, 32:08 "Why are you so on fire for God?" 32:10 And they'll be like, "It's because I learned 32:12 to connect with Christ through His Word." 32:14 And the Young Disciple magazine really helped me to do that. 32:17 The Young Disciple Bible lessons 32:18 really encouraged me 32:19 to learn how to study the Word of God 32:21 and taught me and gave me that love for it. 32:23 And it's just really exciting, 32:25 you know, that God put this on our heart and said, 32:30 I want you to do this, I will help you do this. 32:32 And it's almost like 32:35 I'm along for the ride, you know. 32:36 Right. 32:38 Again, you know, when we started 32:39 that was very first magazines, 32:41 I was 16 years old. 32:43 Okay. 32:45 And I had, growing up, people would often ask me, 32:49 "Well, what do you want to do with your life 32:52 when you grow up?" 32:53 And at that point in my life, I was like, 32:55 "Well, I'd like to do something either with music 32:58 or with computers or something like that." 33:00 And when this came to us, I was like, "Well, clearly, 33:04 there's a need for computer. 33:05 You know in publishing, 33:07 you've got to understand the software, 33:08 you've got to be able to print things." 33:10 And I was like, this, I think, is something 33:13 that God may have prepared me to do. 33:15 And I'm so glad, 33:16 you know, that I stuck with it. 33:21 When I was, 33:22 when I just graduated from college, 33:25 I had a friend that worked for Adobe. 33:27 And he said, "Hey, 33:29 would you like to come work for Adobe?" 33:30 'Cause he realized I had some computer skills, 33:33 and was interested in programming 33:35 and all this stuff. 33:36 And he was like, 33:37 "Would you like to come work for us? 33:39 We'll start you out." 33:40 And he gave me a really generous salary offer. 33:41 And I'm so glad that God had put this on my heart. 33:46 Because looking back now and saying, okay, 33:48 there are now young people that are going to be in heaven, 33:50 and there's going to be a harvest for eternity. 33:53 Whereas if I had taken a secular job, 33:58 I couldn't say that right now. 33:59 Sure. 34:00 I might even be struggling right now to say, 34:02 what good has my life been, you know, all of these years? 34:05 Absolutely. Yeah. 34:06 So it's just been such a blessing 34:08 to get to be part of this. 34:09 Yeah, absolutely. 34:11 And you guys like, when we're talking about 34:12 the Sabbath School lessons, 34:13 but I understand you guys have multiple different, 34:18 multiple different materials 34:20 that you use as well or provide. 34:21 I'm thinking of I think you guys want to do 34:23 the Truth 4 Youth, right? 34:25 Do you know how many churches use that? 34:27 It's amazing, because I was an evangelist, 34:29 I still am an evangelist. 34:31 I still do evangelism. 34:32 But it's amazing 34:33 how I go from church to church to church. 34:35 And when we're doing an evangelism series, 34:37 and they've got a children's program, 34:39 it's like, oh, what program are you using? 34:41 Oh, Truth 4 Youth. 34:42 And so, there's so many different churches 34:44 that are using that. 34:45 So tell us, how did that come about the Truth 4 Youth? 34:48 It's like a mini evangelism series 34:50 for kids, right? 34:51 Okay. 34:53 It's kind of a long story, but to shorten it, 34:54 so we had the magazine started out 34:55 that we were sending magazines, 34:57 a lot of homeschoolers were getting it, 34:58 they were all over the country kind of dispersed. 35:00 And we started getting these letters back 35:02 from young people saying, 35:04 "My friends are not interested in studying the Bible." 35:06 Of course, they didn't have Young Disciple magazine. 35:09 You know, and I just feel like I'm the only young person 35:11 that's serious about spiritual things. 35:13 And we're like, "Well, you're not." 35:14 Because we got the same letter 35:16 from this kid over here, this kid over here. 35:17 And we're like, "Okay, 35:19 what if we got all these kids together?" 35:20 And that's really what sparked 35:22 the Young Disciple Youth Bible Camp, 35:24 bringing these young people together 35:26 and strengthening that idea 35:31 that I'm not the only person standing for God. 35:34 I mean, even prophets of old, 35:36 you know, dealt without feeling, 35:37 you know, I'm all alone. 35:39 And so bring them together, 35:41 give them opportunity to learn about different life skills 35:44 that they can use in service for Christ. 35:46 Sort of in-person reinforcing the Bible study skills, 35:50 having opportunities to fellowship together, 35:52 have wholesome recreation, and things like that. 35:54 So the Young Disciple Youth Bible Camp, 35:55 we started doing that every year. 35:57 And out of that grew, 35:59 so how could we take this to the next level? 36:01 And out of that grew the mission experience, 36:04 which is more than just a mission trip, 36:08 where they go and kind of support 36:09 some kind of evangelism that's going on. 36:13 We kind of turn that upside down 36:14 where we go and support them doing evangelism. 36:17 So young people are doing all the preaching, 36:19 they're doing meetings for kids, 36:20 they're going and doing Bible work, 36:22 and different things like that. 36:23 So we're trying to help them really taste 36:26 what it would be like to be a missionary 36:29 in a foreign country, 36:31 and have that evangelical experience. 36:32 So, anyway, we were going there and we're like, 36:34 okay, we're doing meetings for kids. 36:36 Often, the kids meetings outpaced the adult meetings, 36:39 like there might be 200 adults, and there might be 500 kids, 36:44 you know, or something like that. 36:45 Yeah. 36:46 And we were finding that it was very difficult 36:48 to put together kids program lots and lots of... 36:49 Well, what do we do tonight? 36:51 Well, what do we do tonight? 36:52 And we're like, "We need a program 36:55 like that's ready to go that we can use." 36:57 And so that's kind of how the Truth 4 Youth program 36:59 came into being. 37:00 So the very first people 37:02 who presented Truth 4 Youth were young people, 37:04 presenting them to other young people, 37:06 you know, so that the kids that go on the mission experience 37:08 are a little bit older, 37:09 like 15, 16, 17, 18, those kind of ages. 37:11 But again, really giving, and a lot of the young people 37:13 who've gone to the mission experience 37:15 have gone on to 37:16 go into foreign mission service for Christ. 37:19 So that's where the Truth 4 Youth program 37:22 came into being. 37:24 Yes, 'cause I had a note down here 37:26 about the Young Disciple's camp 37:27 and the mission experience here. 37:28 You said a little bit about that. 37:30 So but that's what you guys, 37:31 that's what you'd use 37:33 when you go on these mission experiences, 37:34 is use the Truth 4 Youth. 37:36 And the neat thing about Truth 4 Youth is, 37:39 it's a full evangelistic series. 37:40 Of course, it is. 37:42 So it's not just, let's tell you a Bible story, 37:43 as good as Bible stories are and crafts are, 37:45 it's the Bible story. 37:47 It's what is the state of the dead? 37:48 What's the Sabbath? 37:50 What are all these things? All these truths? 37:52 They're learning doctrine, 37:53 they're learning the things we believe, 37:54 and they're having their crafts and songs and fun activities. 37:58 And so we, every two years, we take a batch of kids, 38:02 we've been going to the Philippines, 38:04 and we teach them how to preach. 38:06 And in addition to being a mission trip for them, 38:10 we talk to them about the joy of service for others. 38:13 And we really believe that one of the greatest antidotes 38:17 for the pleasure of sin 38:19 is the joy of self-sacrificing service. 38:22 And to get young people to find the fun in service 38:25 and reaching out for other people 38:27 and to see the joy that comes, 38:29 it can just change their life in a way 38:31 that they go home with, 38:33 it can change the trajectory of their life, 38:36 their goals, their purposes, what they're living for, 38:39 instead of self and the things 38:41 that our society bombards young people with today. 38:44 Wow, there's a place for me in God service, 38:46 there's meaning and purpose and young people, 38:48 if they need anything, 38:49 it's a sense of like you said, identity of meaning. 38:51 What's my purpose? 38:53 Well, I'm here to serve 38:54 and find their connection to church 38:56 and to God and to each other 38:57 can be a powerful thing 38:59 to keep young people on the narrow way. 39:01 So I have to ask this, 39:03 because not to bring things to a negative note here, 39:06 but, you know, dealing with young people, 39:08 you're going to run into challenges. 39:09 And you guys are in young people ministry, 39:11 obviously. 39:13 So what are some of the challenges 39:15 that you might have faced along the way? 39:16 And how did you meet those challenges 39:18 in dealing with young people ministering 39:20 to young people? 39:22 Because like I said earlier, 39:23 you know, trying to witness to a young person 20 years ago, 39:27 and trying to witness to a young person today, 39:29 while there are some similarities, 39:31 there are some vast differences. 39:33 And so in your, you guys' personal experience, 39:36 and I'm going to even throw it in here to you, 39:37 Loribeth, as a mother 39:39 who's trying to get your young kids 39:41 interested in spiritual things. 39:43 And yes, these Bible studies are incredible, 39:45 but, you know, you could sometimes 39:47 you can make it just amazing. 39:49 And is there still those challenges there 39:50 of getting young people? 39:52 So what are some of those challenges 39:53 that you might have faced 39:55 and how did you meet those challenges 39:56 or how has God brought you through them? 39:59 I would agree with your statement, 40:02 it takes a special approach to be able to sometimes 40:06 just get the attention of the young people. 40:09 But I will say, 40:12 from my experience, 40:16 when the students start doing the lessons 40:19 and digging in, 40:21 they find the reward in the time 40:24 they spend studying. 40:26 Of course. 40:28 And I think the varying topics, as Jessica mentioned, 40:32 keeps it interesting of we already know, 40:35 the last few weeks 40:37 what we're going to study next quarter, 40:38 and they start getting excited, 40:40 it changes up just enough each quarter. 40:43 I'm blown away 40:44 at the creativity at the ministry. 40:46 I was asking them earlier, there's in the Bible lessons, 40:51 there's a puzzle in each day's lesson. 40:54 And it is geared for kids aged, 40:58 you know, nine through 14ish. 41:01 So they're not easy puzzles. 41:03 And I found that interesting 41:06 that the kids would look forward 41:07 to getting to the end of their lesson 41:10 and working that puzzle 41:12 that tied in with the day's lesson. 41:17 The lessons are actually designed in a way 41:20 that it's called core concept 41:22 where the students are looking up, 41:25 I would say, 41:26 between five and seven verses 41:31 on that day's topic. 41:33 And then there's another portion, 41:36 study for yourself, 41:38 that has the students look up a verse 41:42 and expand a little further on what they're learning. 41:47 And then if you have students 41:50 that are looking to go even more, 41:52 they have a section, 41:53 that's called digging deeper. 41:55 And that's really where it gets in to you 41:57 and using their Concordance 41:59 and looking deeper in reflecting 42:02 on what they're learning along with the puzzle each day. 42:05 But it's built so that if you have a student 42:11 that's just getting introduced to the Word of God, 42:14 it's fitting for them. 42:16 But if you have students who are looking to go deep, 42:19 there's definitely enough there that they can... 42:21 That's amazing. 42:23 Do you want to say something, Jessica? 42:24 Yeah, I was also thinking about 42:26 just listening to Loribeth talk about 42:28 the needs of young people and reaching them 42:31 and thinking about working in the camp 42:33 and the changes that 42:34 even I have seen over the last 8-10 years. 42:36 And I would say one of the big challenges 42:38 I've seen is technology. 42:40 Before, you could guard your children, 42:42 maybe they'd see something on TV and their friends. 42:45 But now you give a kid a device 42:46 and they can watch the filthiest films out there. 42:50 And we have these kids coming in that are 12, 13 years old, 42:53 that are saying, "Help, I'm watching this 42:54 and I want to stop it. 42:55 I don't know how." 42:57 And if I could say anything to parents, 42:59 it would be really guard those things. 43:02 And just you, I mean, children are like 43:05 I don't even know how to tell my parents, 43:06 I'm really struggling and worldliness and it's just, 43:09 it's right there so accessible, and to really help them 43:13 before they get off addicted to the things 43:16 that they can find right on their device, 43:17 help them find a love for Christ, 43:19 that will keep them in the Bible, 43:22 instead of checking Facebook first thing in the morning, 43:24 but opening their Bible and studying 43:26 and it's young people are really struggling 43:28 between what the world has to offer in Christ. 43:32 And if we can be intentional about trying to reach them, 43:35 I feel like it means something to them. 43:37 Like we're putting effort and time and energy 43:40 in telling them they're important 43:41 and calling them higher. 43:43 And this is so important. 43:45 You know, what you're saying 43:46 is just really resonated with me. 43:47 I did a sermon a couple years ago 43:50 called Youthanasia, 43:52 Y-O-U-T-H. 43:54 And I did some research on the statistics of, 43:56 you know, the mass exodus of young people, 43:59 even in the Adventist Church. 44:01 And it's astounding that 44:03 out of every 10 people went into the, 44:05 when in the Adventist Church, four people are leaving, 44:07 and the vast majority of those four that are leaving, 44:10 90% or more are young people. 44:13 And it's just, it's heartbreaking. 44:14 And as you're speaking, you said something, 44:16 we have to be intentional 44:18 about reaching our young people. 44:19 Oftentimes, and I'm not saying that we necessarily, 44:23 you know, verbalize this or we think this eternally. 44:26 But I think that oftentimes we see our young people go, 44:29 oh, they're young, you know, they're kids, 44:31 you know, and we focus our efforts 44:33 moreover on the adult ministry, 44:36 when in reality, 44:37 we have to realize our young people, 44:38 they're the next generation. 44:40 They're the future church, 44:42 and not just a far distant future, 44:45 this is tomorrow, right? 44:47 With each passing day. 44:48 And so just to see what you guys are doing, 44:50 it's amazing to see that the ministry 44:51 that you guys got going on. 44:53 I have to ask, you know, just in general 44:54 because all these topics, 44:56 they're all exciting topic, especially to me as a minister. 44:59 But are there certain topics 45:01 that the children kind of relate to or really prefer, 45:04 like when you're studying it? 45:06 Have you seen maybe a spark 45:07 and excitement a little bit more 45:09 for one topic over another? 45:10 What's been your experience with that 45:12 as far as the study material? 45:15 Yeah, we had, the thing that pops in my mind 45:17 is one of the quarters is on Christ's Object Lessons. 45:19 Okay. 45:20 And so our nature series for that quarter 45:24 is like science experiments. 45:27 So it's a different science experiment 45:28 every week with an object lesson. 45:30 And that ties right into the Sabbath School lesson. 45:32 And I really feel like the kids resonate with that. 45:36 They love the science experiments. 45:37 They love Christ's Object Lessons. 45:39 And also I would say the Steps to Christ 45:41 is another really powerful topic of like, 45:45 how do I have a relationship with not just go to church, 45:48 but have a relationship with Christ for myself? 45:50 How do I know I'm forgiven? 45:51 How do I know I'm good enough? 45:53 All the things young people just struggle with, 45:56 doubt, or fear or worry, 45:58 or just finding peace for those things. 46:01 Yeah. Now go ahead, Brother. 46:02 And, you know, talking about Steps to Christ, 46:04 one of the insights, 46:05 that that has been really a blessing in that is, 46:10 is those, the 13 chapters in that book, 46:11 Steps to Christ, 46:13 really are not just 13 random steps, 46:15 here, here and here. 46:17 But if you think about those steps in order, 46:19 you know, realizing God's love for us, 46:22 realizing our need, 46:25 and then and continuing on 46:27 through those steps of repentance, 46:29 confession, faith, consecration, 46:33 that it really doesn't make sense to say, 46:38 I'm sorry, before I repent, for example. 46:39 Right. 46:41 Because if I'm hitting you over the head 46:42 with a two by four and say, I'm sorry, 46:44 that you're like, you're not sorry, 46:46 you're still hitting me. 46:47 But if I stop and say, 46:49 you know, I don't want to do this anymore. 46:50 And then I say, I'm sorry, there's some meaning to that. 46:51 And so a lot of these things, 46:53 they're just little simple practical things, 46:54 but the young people can see that, 46:56 and they understand that 46:58 and as they take through the steps 46:59 and to later steps of prayer, 47:01 and enjoying the Lord and things like that, 47:03 and really experiencing that for themselves. 47:07 And I don't know, are there any stories 47:10 of how young people have been blessed 47:14 in your Sabbath School class that you could share, 47:16 like a particular testimony 47:17 or anything that you can think of? 47:19 Well, I know a lot of them 47:21 have been blessed by the materials. 47:24 And I think the biggest thing that I've seen, 47:26 it's almost like a light has turned on within them. 47:29 When they come to class, 47:31 it's not like dragging their feet, 47:33 pull out their chair and plop down, 47:35 they come together. 47:36 And I feel like 47:38 even working together on the games 47:39 at the end of the Bible lesson is their review, 47:42 it gets them working together, 47:44 based on the Word of God. 47:45 They're trying to remember scripture, 47:47 they're helping each other out with points of doctrine 47:50 that they've learned throughout the week, 47:52 recalling names of Bible characters. 47:55 And so I've really seen our class grow stronger, 47:59 even together, they all go to different schools, 48:02 and Sabbath School is the place 48:04 where they come together at their local church. 48:06 And I have really seen, in different ways, 48:10 the materials have impacted them individually. 48:12 And that's what I think is really neat about it 48:15 is tear for some of them, 48:16 it's reading inspiring stories 48:18 that are encouraging them. 48:20 Sure. 48:21 Some of them, it's Bible memorization. 48:26 In some of the lessons or some of the quarters, 48:29 you're actually memorizing chapters 48:31 of Scripture over the 13 weeks. 48:33 And for some of these students, they've never done that before. 48:36 And to build week after week, they're amazed that by week 13, 48:42 they're pretty solid 48:43 on what they've been building on 48:45 over the quarter. 48:46 So... Praise God. 48:48 Yes. That's amazing. 48:49 That's amazing. 48:51 So there's probably someone asking right now, 48:52 okay, I want to get my church involved 48:54 and I want to get the message out to other churches. 48:55 So how would you encourage of getting the message 48:58 out to other churches to get involved in this? 49:00 Well, definitely one way is, 49:04 let your Sabbath School teacher know, 49:05 your junior early teens Sabbath school teacher know. 49:07 Call the office, write in to us, 49:10 let us know and we will get you a sample packet 49:13 so that you can see the materials 49:14 and see what they're like. 49:16 Also, I don't know if we mentioned this, 49:17 but we sell the magazine as a standalone product, 49:21 a yearly subscription. 49:22 So if you have grandchildren, 49:23 if you have young people that you care about, 49:26 send them the magazine, 49:27 they may not be ready to study the Bible, 49:29 but they might be able to read stories, 49:31 interesting stories that catch their attention, 49:33 that can attract them and lead them to, 49:37 "Hey, I wonder what this Bible study 49:38 is all about." 49:39 And find God, we have lots of grandparents that say, 49:42 "You know, my children have left the church, 49:44 but I'm concerned for my grandchildren. 49:46 Can you send them a subscription?" 49:48 And we are happy to put those materials 49:50 in the homes 49:52 so that young people have something worthwhile 49:54 to do with their time. 49:56 Right. Wow. 49:57 So I have to ask, 49:59 how do you come up with the material? 50:00 Like who makes the studies 50:01 and, you know, writes the articles 50:03 and all these things? 50:04 Where does that come from? 50:05 Well, ultimately, it comes from God, right? 50:07 Well, right. 50:08 So, and really that is, that is key. 50:11 Sure. 50:12 You know, we have, there's a program here, 50:15 there's materials, there's games, 50:16 but ultimately, without the Holy Spirit, 50:19 it's not going to be effective, 50:21 and prayer, and seeking God. 50:24 And so again, that has been one of the... 50:28 Where we always start is, "Lord, 50:29 we've got another quarter, what do You want us to share? 50:31 What do You want us to talk about?" 50:33 And He leads us, He brings, 50:37 sometimes we'll have people that will contribute articles, 50:40 sometimes we will find old stories 50:42 that have been lost sight of, 50:44 you know, from years ago, 50:46 we'll update the language and things like that. 50:49 So it's easy and fun to read to modern, 50:51 young people will illustrate it and things like that. 50:55 So my mom, who is the editor is primarily responsible 50:58 for all of that, 51:00 and it's a large job. 51:03 And if you could pray for her, 51:05 because, you know, it's a, there's a lot of young people 51:09 that are being blessed by this. 51:10 But yeah, it's just such a blessing 51:13 to be a part of this again. 51:15 And there may be someone who, we got about 30 seconds here, 51:16 there may be someone who wants to just donate 51:18 to your ministry, 51:19 how can they do that if they were interested in 51:21 just saying, "You know what, I'm encouraged to give." 51:23 Yeah. 51:24 And to be honest, that is a real need. 51:27 And you can just go to the website, 51:28 youngdisciple.org 51:29 or give us a call and talk to us, 51:31 we'll be happy to explain more. 51:32 All right. 51:33 Well, my friends, hey, we know that you've been blessed. 51:36 I've been blessed. 51:37 We're going to have a couple of minutes 51:38 on the other side of this address role. 51:40 But we want to go to address role right now 51:41 so that you can see how you can stay in contact. 51:43 Maybe you want to gather these materials, 51:45 maybe you want to use them in your church, 51:46 or you want to donate to support this ministry. 51:49 This is how you do it. 51:51 If you would like to contact 51:53 or know more about Young Disciple Ministry, 51:55 you can do so in the following ways. 51:57 You can write to them at PO Box 400, 52:00 Inchelium, Washington 99138. 52:04 You can call them at 509-722-4300. 52:10 That's 509-722-4300. 52:15 You can visit their website at youngdisciple.org 52:19 That's youngdisciple.org 52:23 You can also send them an email at sales@youngdisciple.org |
Revised 2022-02-21