A total of 60 young people have recently given two weeks of their summer holidays in mission service around Australia and New Zealand. They were part of Youth Rush, a student literature evangelism program that provides young people with an opportunity during summer and winter school holidays to receive free training and to get involved in local mission.
“This is a transforming experience where they can make new friends, develop life skills and grow in their discipleship journey,” said Adventist Media literature ministry coordinator Brenton Lowe.
This summer, the program was run by four conferences—South Queensland (SQC), Western Australia (WAC), South Australia (SAC) and North New Zealand (NNZC)—with three of them—SAC, WAC and NNZC— running their first Youth Rush event supported by the Literature Ministry Committee Innovation fund.
“I really loved Youth Rush. It helped me to be less shy and more confident in life. It has also opened my eyes more about how I can serve people needing help,” said 15-year-old Bethany from New Zealand.
Going from door to door, the young evangelists met new people and their needs, sharing a total of 375 prayers and 6590 books. From the visitations, two people were brought to a church meeting and 47 gave their contacts for follow-up.
Participating in the Youth Rush program run by NNZC in Palmerston North, Jedidiah Jennings said he experienced many “divine encounters” throughout the program, but a highlight was when he met Ken, who had been keeping the Sabbath for eight years, but never with someone else.
“He chose five books and shared how he had been looking at his table thinking ‘I wish I had some to fellowship with’, so we invited him to church. On Sabbath morning, even though we told him to come at 9:30am, he jumped on his mobility scooter and was there at 8:30am. We had a beautiful day and he comes every week to study the Bible,” Mr Jennings said.
For first-timer, Zoraida Vytu Chho, the highlight was connecting with other young people and the people she met door-knocking. “Canvassing just gave me that reminder that when you have God in your heart, you aren’t afraid of rejection, and although some interactions may seem insignificant, that small conversation could change someone greatly,” said Ms Vytu Chho.
Youth Rush is run by Australia and NZ conferences and Avondale University in partnership with Adventist Media Literature Ministry. You can learn more or register at literature.adventistchurch.com/youth-rush.
