Citizens of God’s kingdom are convinced that all believers — of every age — are called to participate in Jesus’ mission to the world through the Body of Christ.
Equipping Youth for Ministry
In my region of Southern Africa, we are encouraging our congregations to hold local youth camps during the year, as a Love Avenue activity. The local camps are open to the neighbourhood youth, and they provide the local church an opportunity to engage with their neighbours.
In the Republic of South Africa (RSA), we hold an annual national camp in December. The national camp is only for youth who are members of our GCI fellowship. It is focused on equipping our youth for ministry. This year youth attended from congregations throughout RSA, including Polokwane, Maelula, Bloemfontein, Mohlakeng, Aruka, Johannesburg, Redhill, Mohlakeng. View more pictures here.
The highlight of the camp was the gala dinner at which we announced the Youth Ministries Awards. Awards were presented to winning congregations and runners-up in the following categories: Hope Avenue, Faith Avenue, Love Avenue. An Overall Youth Ministry award went to a congregation (and runner-up) that demonstrated a balanced youth program focusing on the three ministry Avenues of Hope, Faith, and Love. This is confirmed through youth participation in church activities (like worship, media, preaching, scripture readings, offerings, etc.), youth discipleship activities, and engagement with unchurched youth. Awards for Emerging Youth Leader were presented to two individuals who show leadership and initiative.
When we reviewed the entries for the awards, I was impressed by the amount of engagement our youth are having in their churches. Our hope is that some of the energy of the youth ministries will filter into the whole church. My prayer for this week is that 2025 may bring more exciting developments as we continue to grow into healthier churches that are living and sharing the gospel through the ministry Avenues of Faith, Hope, and Love. Amen
By Takalani Musekwa, Regional Director of Southern Africa
Pretoria, Gauteng, RSA
Gathering for Inspiration, Encouragement, and Fun
I am delighted to share an update with you from the Youth and Family Weekend held in January at a recreational camp in Queensland, Australia. We were blessed to have almost 50 young people, including parents and staff, as participants. The campers from Fiji and New Zealand added much enjoyment to the camp. It was rewarding to see the interactions and the developing friendships amongst the group.
The rock-climbing activity took place on Friday afternoon, followed by canoeing and paddle boarding on Saturday morning, basketball in the afternoon, and fun, interactive icebreakers and board games into the evenings. Whilst Sunday was pack-up time, we were able to stay till afternoon tea, giving us another day of activities. It was a blessing that we could avail ourselves of indoor activities such as basketball and volleyball due to the heavy rains that set in on Sunday. We enjoyed discussion time with Pastor Bharat Naker, who gave the two devotionals.
We all came away from camp with some unforgettable memories. I’m grateful for your prayers for the young people and all the preparations. By God’s grace, all went ahead safely and successfully.
By Daphne Sidney, Superintendent of Australasia
Logan, Queensland, Australia
