Soul in the City wrap up

Soul in the City News…

This marked the first ever AMiA youth ministry camp, and it was nothing short of amazing. We began every day with worship and devotions. From there we began to grow God’s kingdom throughout the city of Orlando.

The kids were divided into teams of various sizes depending on the location of travel, and began transforming the lives of others as well as their own. From seeing a 4 year old’s expression as they looked at the youth assisting their VBS, to an 87 year old man named Eddie, at the Salvation Army, who desperately wants to know Jesus, and had nearly a dozen youth read the bible to him (he cannot do this himself) and then pray with him. The youth were able to assist at the Harvest International warehouse in Sanford where thousands upon thousands of boxes were being sorted through and prepped for shipment to aid in international relief from Tsunamis, to Earthquakes and famine. A middle school in Parramore was in desperate need of paint and grounds care. They were only able to afford to paint 1 wall per classroom (21 in all) and were unable to give the kids in that community a school that was comfortable and fresh, due to finances. Well, there will be teachers and children coming to school in August with fresh paint, clean and landscaped grounds, and renewed spirits by the administration. Praise God!! On Thursday afternoon we sent each group out with $100 cash and they had to be creative with how to show God’s love. From buying gas, to helping someone push their car into a parking lot, pleading with the police to visiting an Oncology unit, the stories were incredible.

In the evening we returned to New Covenant for dinner, incredible worship led by Mike’s Chair, and several teachings from Matthew 13. We began with the parable of the hidden treasure and the understanding that God pursues you, relentlessly. From there we discussed the parable of the mustard seed. This kingdom we are establishing here on Earth starts small and explodes into a great multitude (See St Francis of Assisi). Then it was on to exploring the soil of your heart, and whether seeds are able to grow and be fruitful or is your heart hard! Wednesday evening we joined with 100+ youth also doing similar work and discussed the parable of the weeds. There is a spiritual battle that we are engaged in and there are two forces at work, one with full power, and one who cannot do anything about it! We closed the teachings on Thursday evening with the last parable found in Matthew 13. We commissioned the youth to “cast a wide net” have open eyes and open hearts and go fishing!! Do not worry about who you catch, but rather just go! God will sort out the lot in the end time, we just have to fish!

Wrapping up the week, we went to Daytona Beach and Mike’s Chair performed at an outdoor amphitheater, aka “the bandshell,” where several hundred people were able to hear inspiring music and a word from Mike Grayson himself. Even a flock of geese flying overhead lingered to hear the glorious sound of people worshiping the Lord.

So as you can see the kids were very busy showing God’s love and advancing his Kingdom, as well as growing in his word and understanding. Praise be to God for this week. I cannot wait for Soul in the City 2009 and where the youth ministry in the AMiA is heading.