STARTER KIT 

20092009 

YEAR OF YEAR OF SHINING SHINING  

 

IDEAS AND SUGGESTIONS for youth leaders

Produced by theGeneral Conference of Seventh-day Adventist

Youth Ministries Department

A Chinese pastor was known for always

instructing new converts to begin witnessing

as soon as possible. One day, upon meeting a

newly baptized member of the church, the

pastor asked, “Brother, how long have you

been a Christian?”

“About three months,” the man answered.

“And how many souls have you won to

Christ?”

“Oh,” the new convert said shyly, “I’m only

a learner.”

Shaking his head disapprovingly, the

pastor responded, “Young man, the

Lord doesn’t expect you to be a full-

fledged preacher, but He does

expect you to be a faithful witness.

Tell me,

when does a candle

begin to shine —when

it’s already half

burned up?”

“Certainly not,” the convert stated. “It offers light as soon as it’s lit!”

“That’s right,” the pastor said with a smile.

“So, let your light shine right away.”

In the dark of night, even one

candle can be seen from a great

distance. When that same candle

shares its flame with other candles,

very soon whole areas can be

lighted. We’re called to be “light

bearers” to the world; to first shine,

and then share our light with others

in the dark places of sin.

Christ’s parable about the candle

hidden under a bushel has a lot to

say about what God expects of us.

When we’ve been given the light

of truth, we’re supposed to shine!

What He has placed in our hearts

was never intended to be kept a

secret; to remain hidden.

“Let your light so shine before

men,” God commands, “that they

may see your good works, and”—

here’s the part that many fail to

grasp — “glorify your father which

is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

The light that is in us is meant

to glorify God, not us. It’s His

goodness that shines; His

compassion, His tender regard

for fallen humanity that our

light illuminates.

This year our goal is to

challenge youth to shine

and share the light God

has placed in their

hearts. The dark world is

waiting for the light of

God’s love.

HIS WITNESSInvite members of your group to find or create a series of skits depicting the various methods Christ used to touch the lives of those around Him.

Perform these skits for your church family, explaining why you're studying this particular aspect of Christ's life and how you plan to use those methods to reach the community.

GETAWAYSpend a weekend by the shores of a local lake, examining the stories of Christ's life centered in Galilee.

Place those happenings in today's world, using modern words and examples and determine how the group can evangelize the community using those ancient ways of witnessing.

HOUSEBOUNDInvite each in your group to choose one member of their family as their "witness target." Their assignment is to show that person (the witness target) one thing about God this week. Have them report back to the group the results of their action (if any) and share what they learned from the experiment.

LITTLE THINGSPrepare a Sabbath service highlighting the “little witnesses” that Christians can share in the home—no grand schemes, no multi-city meetings, just one-on-one witnessing in the home.Use skits, music, and readings showing church members how they can share God's love anywhere.

LOUD SILENCESpend a session discussing ways of generating a "silent witness" at school or work. This might include displaying spiritually uplifting artwork in your office, your choice of music and literature, and the ways you react to life situations.

Have each person in the group choose one and apply it.

FRIENDSHIPOrganize a weekend of activities to

which your members can invite their

friends. On Sabbath, hold health and

relationship seminars. On Sunday, schedule games and

other outdoor activities. Each day let your visitors know

that you're trying to make their lives

better and more meaningful.

THANKSGIVINGMaintain a large bulletin board at your church with a supply of note cards and invite members to write short notes of thanks to God for their blessings. Include some artwork and decorations in and around the board. Refresh the board every month with new decorations, artwork, and notes.

THIS IS MEWith your pastor's blessing, create a complete Sabbath service where each member in your group shares what God has done for them in the past. Some may witness in song, others through the spoken word or skits. Make sure each member glorifies God, not themselves.

Quotes

"God has given us the gift of

speech that we may recite to

others His dealing with us, that

His love and compassion may

touch other hearts, and that

praise may arise from other souls

also to Him who has called them

out of darkness into His marvelous

light" (Counsels to Parents,

Teachers, Students, p. 243).

"The silent witness of a true,

unselfish, godly life carries an

almost irresistible influence. By

revealing in our own life the

character of Christ we co-operate

with Him in the work of saving

souls" (Christ's Object Lessons,

p. 340).

"I can of mine own self do

nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my

judgment is just; because I seek

not mine own will, but the will of

the Father which hath sent me. If I

bear witness of myself, my

witness is not true" (Words of

Christ, as quoted in John 5:30,

31).

"The spirit of the Lord GOD is

upon me; because the LORD hath

anointed me to preach good

tidings unto the meek; he hath

sent me to bind up the

brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty

to the captives, and the opening

of the prison to them that are

bound" (Isaiah 61:1).