Youth Ministry

We are very encouraged by what the Lord has been doing in the youth of our church. Last night 16 young people were baptized at our church-I believe at least 4 of those young people came to know Christ as their Savior last month through youth camp. One of them is now my new violin student. Several came to know the Lord through home groups. God is at work. We were very encouraged to hear their different testimonies and now commitment to serve Him with their lives.

Several years ago, I became certified to teach Creating Positive Relationships, a Christian Abstinence-based course. I have had the opportunity to teach it several times since, and this last month in a series of workshops, I gave the course to the youth of our church. At the end of the course, we passed out blank pieces of paper and asked everyone who had received the course to write down what they had learned. I'd like to share just several of many:

 *Yo aprendi mucho, pude aclarar muchas dudas. Me gusto mucho el primer taller como afecta lo que nosotros hagamos en lo fisico, mental, emocional, y social. Y en el segundo fue la diferencia entre amor y enamoramiento-es algo que yo no tenia claro, pero ahora si. Y el ultimo aprendi que soy alguien importante para Dios y me comprometo mas con Dios hoy. Muchas gracias por darme un nuevo conocimiento. Dios les bendiga.

 *Aprendi a esperar y abstenerme con respecto a la sexualidad, a valorarme y quererme y aceptarme tal y como soy. Yo soy una persona que paso con muchos deseos sexuales y varias veces he estado atormentado en eso y he estado bien tentado en esa area. Tengo problemas porque me cuesta, no es facil porque la carne es debil y quiero ser fuerte en esa area de mi vida para no destruirme.

*Aprendi que Dios nos mando perfectamente disenados en todos nuestros ambitos de nuestra vida, que el hombre es quien echa a perder la perfecta creacion de Dios al escuchar la voz del enemigo y dejarse llevar por sus deseos carnales. Aprendi que Dios nos protege atraves de un plan de vida donde nosotros damos a el nuestra obediencia y el nos libra de caer en situaciones como enfermedades o desepciones. Entendi que no importa si ya hemos echado a perder ese regalo maravilloso de Dios, hay que levantarse y hoy personalmente tomo la desicion de mantenerme en abstinencia.

 *Aprendi que es muy importante trazar un limite en un noviasgo porque eso evita que caigamos en la tentacion de tener relacion sexual.

 Please be praying for the youth of our church. Pray that they would grow and that God would strengthen them even in the face of extreme pressure and temptation, that He would be victorious through them in their struggles. These months the focus will be on evangelism and reaching out to a lost world around us. Please pray that the Lord will continue to extend His kingdom through our church.