Troy 2010

As the school year is starting up, I, like a normal teenager, find every possible way to delay all thoughts of text books and teachers. Instead I want to look back at how God has blessed these treasured months that we call Summer:

The highlight of my summer was something our youth group simply calls "Montana." Us highschoolers have the opportunity to go out in three teams to three small towns. This summer we went to Superior, Plains, and Troy. God called me to serve in Troy, a town we just started going to this year. We might have been new to the town, but it didn't take long for us to be welcomed in as family. God started working right away! As we canvassed the town God was already bringing us kids for VBS, teenagers for dance, basketball, and wrestling camps, adults ready to eat free food, and conversations about the gospel. We saw more and more people coming to the park each afternoon. The church we partnered with was eager to learn and their youth group almost tripled the Sunday after we left. The last night we were at the park we had five people baptized. We had even more commit their lives to Christ throughout the week.
My favorite part from our trip this year was bonding with all of the people from the town and from our own team. We got to build relationships that have lasting effects. One girl started coming to VBS and wouldn't let us point the camera at her at all. The last day that sweet girl was posing for us with her leaders! Monday at the park, a girl around my age was sitting at the bleachers alone. Rachel and I went up to talk to her and found out she really wasn't a "people person." By the end of the night we had a great conversation with her, she dedicated her life to Christ, and was baptized a couple days later.
If someone asked me if one person from our team really stood out to me as one on fire for Christ and eager to share the gospel, I would say no. Our whole team was on fire! Our whole team was out there in the park every afternoon talking to somebody about God and His love for us! Looking out, I could hardly ever find one of our students NOT talking to someone outside of our team.
Montana really made me think about my spiritual walk with God. During that week all attention was focused on God and His plan for us. We didn't have our cell phones, Facebook, or anything else like that to distract us from what we came to do. If we weren't talking to anyone at the park, within five minutes a leader would come up to us and point out someone sitting alone. In Troy we prayed for EVERYTHING, whether we were starting one of our camps, talking to someone about the gospel, or saw someone from our team talking about our bracelet. It isn't like that when we get back to Federal Way. We don't go to the cafeteria at school and have Rick or Steve come up to us and tell us to talk to the kid sitting at the next table. Montana really emphasizes accountability. A lot of us come back from Montana and say we "really lost the 'Montana feel' in the real world." I prayed about it and God provided me with a solution...
A couple weeks ago God led me to the computer and I typed out something called "The Fishing Project." This isn't anything new- it is a commandment thousands of years old first given by Jesus Christ himself. The key verses behind this project are Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 1:17, and 1 Peter 3:15. The basic idea behind The Fishing Project is that whatever our situation is, whether we are in school, work, or at the grocery store, we should always be searching opportunities to further advance God's Kingdom. Since I am a sophomore in high school, I am keeping a record- 180 entries for 180 days of school. Instead of keeping a diary or a journal of my teenage dramas, I am keeping a log of how I am able to use my situation to share God's love. This is how I am holding myself accountable to what God is calling me to do. I will use every day to share the gospel at my high school. I will do this with my conversations, my actions towards others, my focus in the classroom, and my dedication to everything I do. God didn't create me halfheartedly and I won't serve Him halfheartedly either.
You can follow my log on the new blog for Christ's Church youth group. I will post daily updates of how God is able to use my presence to lift His name higher. But this isn't just for me. You, too, can join The Fishing Project. The goal is simple: 1 Corinthians 10:31, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." Keep an account in a journal or on your computer of how God is working through you to reach His people. Never let your guard down, but always be ready and alert to share the good news that is the gospel. If you have any questions feel free to talk to me or find Shawna Anderson, who is heading up the youth group blog. Together we can hold ourselves accountable to following God's commands. Together we can become "fishers of men."

Written by: Amy R.