Greetings in Christ, Willowdale family! Recently, we had three events for the young people at our church. First, during the Family Day weekend, Feb. 15 to 16, Willowdale Warrior Pathfinders had a lock-in event at church. We gathered at church in the evening and had a sundown worship first. After that, we had dinner together and a cookie-baking contest. We played different board games, table tennis and volleyball. The Pathfinders chatted excitedly and stayed up late, having so much fun. Then the guys slept in the Upper Room, and the girls slept in the Youth Chapel. The following day, we had a morning devotional and ate breakfast together. It was cold and snowy outside, but we, Willowdale Pathfinders, had a great time and stayed safe in the warm church building. I was so grateful everyone made it home safely despite the inclement weather.
On the same night, Willowdale Young Adults had a social gathering as well. They visited a gaming facility in Scarborough and had their own exciting and meaningful time together. I was sad because I could not go there with our young adults, but I was happy to hear from them that they had a great time, too, while I was at the church with the Pathfinders.
Furthermore, last Saturday night, Feb. 22, the Willowdale youth had the Coldest Night Walk and Games event. The youth gathered in the church foyer and started walking at 6:00 p.m. We walked 5 km and came back to church and had pizza and snacks afterward. Then we played board games and table tennis. We did not have this event only for fun. The youth did fundraise to support a community food bank, with the goal of raising $1,000. The goal was overachieved by God’s grace and the generous donors of Willowdale. I want to express my gratitude to everyone who supported this event.
“The church is the community of believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.” (The church is not a building but a community of people.) One of the many reasons that God has called us out from the world and joint us together is for fellowship (Seventh-day Adventists Believe, 163). Every meeting of ours includes the purpose of “fellowship in faith and love” (Church Manual, 116). Particularly, social gatherings are to be more than “light and trifling amusement.” “Social gatherings for both young and old should be occasions for happy fellowship and improvement of the powers of mind and soul” (Church Manual, 152).
In the recent social gatherings of young people of our church, we did not teach our young people these important lessons of the church in a direct way. However, I believe they indeed learned them by experience. Besides, the church must be the safest place for everyone and a fun place as well, especially for young people. I appreciate all the ministry leaders and volunteers of their efforts to make our church such a place.
Adventist Youth Ministries (AYM)
I think it will be good to share some information about Adventist Youth Ministries (AYM) from the Church Manual, page 104. It will help you to get the right picture of our church youth ministries.
“The church works for and with its youth through the AYM. Under the AYM, youth are to work together, in cooperation with the wider church community, towards the development of a strong youth ministry that includes spiritual, mental, and physical development of each individual, Christian social interaction, and an active witnessing program that supports the general soul-winning plans of the church. The goal of AYM should be to involve all youth in activities that will lead them to active church membership and train them for Christian service.”
“The youth ministries program of the church comprises three broad categories, namely: Junior Youth (Adventurers: ages 6-9 and Pathfinders: ages 10-15), Senior Youth (Ambassadors: ages 16-21 and Young Adults: ages 22-30+), and Public Campus Students: ages 16-30+.”
Since joining the Willowdale pastoral team, I have always been grateful and privileged to serve as Willowdale’s youth pastor. It does not matter how old I am. As long as I work for the church youth ministries, I am called “youth pastor.” This makes me feel younger than my age, in my mid-40s. I am grateful that, along with well-organized children’s ministries, our church has good and active junior and senior youth ministries, as suggested by the Church Manual. This does not mean these ministries have no room to improve. Of course, we need to do more for youth ministries. I am so grateful for the ministry leaders and volunteers working to make this happen. But please, Willowdale family, do not let this be the work of just those leaders and young people alone.
They need more of your prayers, support, and encouragement.
Especially we have a group of young people who are studying the Bible and preparing for baptism now. And there are more youth who have shown their interest in studying the Bible. They also need your prayers. In addition, the Spring Youth Week of Prayer is coming. This is a regional youth event run by Metro North Central Youth and Young Adults from March 8 to 15 at First Filipino Canadian Adventist Church. Please pray for this spiritual event and encourage young people to attend this meeting.
Dear church family, aren’t you thankful for all this great news regarding the young people of our church? I believe you are! Let our prayers and support for our young people be uninterrupted. May the Lord bless you in an amazing way!
Pastor Dae-Eun Kim