Thou shalt have FUN! That was Youth Strike For Christ Rule
#9…and fun was what we had! Approximately 300 youth from United Methodist
churches across Iowa gathered at Veterans’ Auditorium in downtown Des Moines,
beginning in the evening of Friday, February 1st and wrapping up on
Sunday, February 3rd. West Des Moines United Methodist Church was
represented by 12 youth and 6 adults during the event. Throughout the weekend
we enjoyed uplifting music, fellowship, making new friends, small group
discussions, participation in a mission project and more!
This year’s Youth Strike for Christ theme was Thrive. Keynote speaker
was Rob Roozeboom shared about his life challenges after being diagnosed with
Muscular Dystrophy as a small boy and seeing his dreams of being a farmer and
an athlete shattered. Today, Rob is the founder and president of RISE
Ministries, an organization that teaches teens and adults how to overcome
adversity in their lives. Along the Thrive theme, Rob talked with us about
three primary concepts: 1) I will Thrive because of…, 2) I will Thrive
despite…, and 3) I will Thrive with… These ideas were also the themes for the
youth breakout sessions.
The Youth Strike for Christ mission project was packing food for Meals
From The Heartland. The WDMUMC youth spent an hour of their free time to pack
over 3,000 meals. In total, the Youth Strike for Christ bagged 61,344 meals!
Here are what some of the youth had to say about Youth Strike For
Christ:
·
Jackson – “Getting closer to God through Youth
Strike was fun. Throughout the weekend I felt very close to God. We had good
discussions in small groups on how to Thrive and why we Thrive. It made me
think about things I do and things I could do to get closer to God. I recommend
other youth come to Youth Strike next year to get closer to God and have a lot
of fun. I really enjoyed spending time with our youth group and also meeting
kids from other youth groups around Iowa.”
·
Joe – “Youth Strike was a lot of fun. The music
was good – much better than I even expected. The small groups were a lot of
fun, too; we had great discussions on things that I had not really thought of
before. It was great to get to know our youth group better through activities
liking swimming (which was great) and bagging meals, but it was fun to meet
other youth also. Bagging the meals for Meals From the Heartland was also a lot
of fun and felt good to help others around the world. I want to do Youth Strike
again and encourage other youth to come along next year.”
·
Bre – “Youth Strike for Christ was a great
event. One of my favorite parts was the small group discussions; being a
smaller group we really got to talk through the questions and hear what others
think about the topics. All day Saturday was just great, from the small groups
and music to the free time with our youth and the Meals from the Heartland
mission project. It was a great time!!”
·
Sara – “I felt I got a lot closer to God during
Youth Strike. I loved the chapel experience. Although our small group did not
follow the prepared plan, we really got to know each other and learn how we
each connect with God. I also loved the music and the messages within the music.
I feel that I got a lot closer to our youth group but I was also able to meet
others. Meals from the Heartland was so much fun and great that we packed over
2,000 meals! I definitely want to go to Youth Strike again; I have already told
a friend to reserve the weekend for next year’s Youth Strike. It was a great
experience that I will never forget.”
Youth Strike for Christ is sponsored by the Iowa Annual Conference of
the United Methodist Church. The annual event is coordinated by a group of over
20 volunteers. Due to the size and nature of this event, it takes nearly a year
of planning, so the 2014 planning is kicking off now. As stated above, youth
are already planning on attending next year, which will be the first weekend of
February.
Darin Woodward, WDMUMC member
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