Disciples Youth Get Dirty for Jesus in "HOTlanta"
ATLANTA -- More than 850 Disciples
youth and youth workers from all over the United States and Canada made
a dream a reality in the 2003 International Christian Youth Fellowship
event in Atlanta, Ga.
July 9 to13 youth and their sponsors met
at the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta for worship, fellowship and
leadership development billed as "Another Brick, Another Dream." Each
day, work teams from the gathering fanned out across the Atlanta area to
renovate Disciples church buildings and grounds. Sites included Shiloh
Christian Church, Iglesia El Aposento Alto, and Chattahoochee Christian
Church, as well as First Christian Church in Decatur, Ga.
Members of the insulation crew at Shiloh
said, "We had to put insulation on the walls, and we got so itchy! And
we kept installing it, and we kept getting itchy, and we started to
break out and it was SO WORTH IT, because we did it all for God."
Work groups built ramps, replaced siding,
painted and cleared grounds of weeds and trash, put up new sheet rock,
painted murals and much more. In each location, the group painted the
logo of the event as a reminder of their service to each of the faith
communities. The youth raised nearly $30,000 to fund these projects,
including purchase of scaffolding which Volunteers In Mission will use
for years to come.
"We helped people we didn't know, but
when all was said and done, their faces of happiness meant the world to
us," said Shay Miska, a Texas youth.
Leader Development Tracks and Vitality
Groups offered participants workshops in over 30 areas from the fun of
balloon animals to the weight of anti-racism and peacemaking. More than
30 youth and sponsors spent time exploring call to ministry.
Evenings included a fabulous variety of
concerts ranging from the ICYF House Band, headlined by Josh Elson, Los
Angeles, Calif., and Andra Moran, Nashville, Tenn., to rap by Pastor
Joseph Johnson, Indianapolis, Ind., a Disciple who grew up in Ohio youth
events. There was an African storytelling concert by The Healing Force
from North Carolina and "urban folk gospel" by Atlanta duo, Joyce and
Jacque. William Chaney, pastor of The Rock Christian Church, Stone
Mountain, Ga., lead the ICYF Choir. (Elson, Moran, and Chaney will also
provide music leadership for the youth activities at the Charlotte
General Assembly.)
ICYF preachers were Stacey Spencer,
pastor of New Directions Christian Church, Memphis, Tenn.; Richard Hamm,
Disciples General Minister and President, Indianapolis, Ind.; Sandra
Barnhill, executive director of Aid to Children of Imprisoned Mothers,
Atlanta, Ga.; Rodger Nishioka, associate professor of Christian
Education at Columbia Theological Seminary, Atlanta, Ga.; and Randy Kuss,
director of youth ministries, Disciples Home Missions, Indianapolis,
Ind.
Attendees represented churches from 25
different Disciples regions and also marked a new level of diversity for
the every-four-years youth gathering. "We really celebrate the fact that
more than 100 of the attendees were from Disciples racial-ethnic groups
that have not participated in this event in large numbers before now,"
said Randy Kuss. "As DHM strives to resource the church for the ministry
to which God calls us all, the youth are once more leading the way in
helping us live into the diversity of the whole church."
ICYF was planned by the General Youth
Council; Volunteers in Mission; Vision Builders! Construction; and
Disciples Home Missions. Special event sponsors included Week of
Compassion; New Church Ministries; and Church Extension, all located in
Indianapolis, Ind.; Lynchburg (Va.) College and Transylvania (Ky.)
University.
Find more ICYF stories and pictures
at
http://www.disciplesyouth.org. Disciples
Home Missions, DHM, is the general unit within the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ), that is committed to equipping Disciples for
Christ and connecting people to the life changing love of God. |
