@ Youth Encounter

In the fall of 2004 Youth Encounter will launch the first new senior high event model since the congress began in 1967. The Construction Zone is a senior high weekend designed to answer three major needs of the spiritual lives of senior high youth. It will offer concentrated time for praise and worship, for spiritual growth and the discernment of gifts and for a service opportunity. The Zones will have more Biblical and spiritual content and be more focused on helping senior high students grow in their knowledge of scripture and of God’s work in their lives. We will partner with LifeKeys and use Find Your Fit to help youth understand their spiritual gifts and direction. It will be an exciting process as the youth at the Construction Zones can begin to see the spiritual pathway in which God is leading them.
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2004 Alumni Service Award Recipient!
Carl Stecker Continues to Serve Worldwide
by Brett Koopman

Carl Stecker received Youth Encounter's 2004 Alumni Service Award at our annual Fellowship Dinner Event on May 16. Carl served on Youth Encounter's Cross Fire ministry teams to West Africa during 1975-76 and 1980-81. Both teams served in the countries of Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroun and the Central African Republic. While on team, Carl was inspired to study medicine. Carl shared, “As a result of being able to spend a week apart from the rest of the team (1975) where I shadowed a Norwegian missionary doctor and nurse, I decided to finish my undergrad degree at Luther College in something medical with a calling to return to French-speaking West Africa to be a medical missionary."
[CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY]

Kindred Reaches Out
A Joyful Easter
by Kindred

“Happy Easter! Although the Lenten season is not part of Bolivian church tradition, Holy Week and Easter Sunday are celebrated with vigor. Along with hundreds of holiday visitors (some who walked twelve hours to get there), we spent the weekend in a small country village of some 200 residents. The team stayed at a boarding school for high school age boys, and Deron and I shared a dorm room with three students (Isidrio, Sylvestor, and Julian). Beginning the first evening and by God's grace, I quickly built friendships with them and a dozen of their friends. Throughout the weekend I taught them some English, and they taught me some Quechua (a native language). We talked about our families, about our lives, and about music, laughing often with and at each other."
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Cross Fire's Journey
Amazing Days in Africa
by Cross Fire

“God has a way of refreshing us, and for me, my renewed spirit came by way of Pastor Sylvanus Willie. We arrived at Kuti with about twenty-five people and Pastor had us all march up the street, singing songs in Hausa, the local language. He has quoted Psalm 133 three times since we have met him. The opening verse says, ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers and sisters to dwell together in unity!’ And he strives for this to happen. We returned with a crowd numbering about 100, and by the time we finished, over 150 people were packed inside the tiny cement church with a faded and rusty tin roof. How amazing is that? We had a great time sharing songs and a drama sketch with them. The puppet show was especially fun for the children who screamed with delight every time a new puppet appeared. Pastor Sylvanus' enthusiasm was so inspiring. That man loves the Lord, and he makes others want to do it, including myself. It was another amazing day in Africa."
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Welcome Back, International Teams!
Five Teams Share Stories from Their Overseas Ministry
by Youth Encounter

Youth Encounter is excited to welcome back our International Teams to the United States from abroad! For the remaining three months of their tour, these teams will be returning to churches in the United States to share stories of their overseas ministry and celebrate what God is doing in the Global Church. To read about their experiences, simply click on the links below to find their online newsletters:

Cross Fire to West Africa [PDF]
Kindred to Ecuador & Peru [PDF]
New Dawn to Papua New Guinea & Australia [PDF]
Watermark to Denmark [PDF]
Watermark to the Czech Republic, Germany & Romania [PDF]

Captive Free South East
Life-Changing Experiences
by Captive Free South East

“Well! The Lord is certainly changing things up a bit in my life! I never thought that I could do half of the things that I have been doing this year so far. In the past, I have considered myself to be an introvert, and extraverted only around a close group of friends. I love to be around people if I feel like they value me, and I would much rather spend an evening with a handful of friends than by myself. However, when it comes to large crowds of people, including kids at Quakes, I become intimidated, and tend to change into an introvert. I'll usually let one of my more extraverted and energetic teammates do all of the talking that I don't have to do. If I was leading a sing-a-long with someone else, I figured that as long as one of us was really energetic, than our goal to teach the song would be accomplished. However, what I didn't realize was that I could keep being extraverted and energetic at the same time as my other teammates. In fact, that was probably preferable, rather than letting them do all of the extra work. God kept tugging on my heart, telling me to love the kids and to not be afraid to show that love onstage in front of hundreds of them."
[CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY]

Youth Create is Coming Soon!
Find Out How YOU Can Be a Part of It!
by Cathy Pino

There's still time to register for Youth Create 2004! The deadline for
registration is June 7--check out our website for forms, or e-mail us at youthcreate@youthencounter.org for more info.

In case you're new to the Youth Create scene, Youth Create is a seminar on worship leading and creativity for high school students. Individuals and groups come together for a week of workshops led by artists in residence. Youth Create provides the opportunity for young people to learn about using their talents to serve the Church and the world in worship and the arts. A typical day at Youth Create starts and ends with worship and includes sessions on topics like worship leading, songwriting, puppetry, improv comedy, song leading, and skits. And of course there's time for jamming, Bible study, and lots of other fun stuff! Who should come to Youth Create? Individuals, youth groups, members of youth bands, YOU! Visit our website for more info, or call Cathy at 1-800-65YOUTH (1-800-659-6884).

Community Youth Ministry
Strengthening the FaithWorld of Kids!
www.communityyouth.org
by Community Youth Ministry

Community Youth Ministry, sponsored by Youth Encounter, in partnership with Faith Inkubators, is committed to working with your community to strengthen the FaithWorld of youth! The core aspect of Community Youth Ministry is the Community Celebration. Once a month, youth, their families, their small group leaders, (and sometimes even their parents) gather for a party! This party is called a Community Celebration. Community celebrations feature Youth Encounter speakers and musicians as well as the gifts and talents of kids. The community celebration exists to proclaim the Gospel and is the heartbeat of this ministry. Monthly Community Celebrations bring kids together to experience a positive peer culture on a regular basis. Kids bring their friends and all youth groups grow. Youth leaders connect with one another monthly. Currently, Community Celebrations are hosted in six areas of the country: Northwest Chicago, Northern Illinois, Northwest Indiana, Champaign-Urbana, Lima, Ohio, and Walworth County, Wisconsin.

“Thank you for developing Community Youth Ministry in our area. It has given our group structure through inspirational and exciting monthly gatherings and weekly Bible studies. But even more importantly, our kids wanted to go. CYM is an essential part of our youth program. Thank you for all your effort to make CYM possible!"

Get Ready for Vacation Bible School!
Resource Ministries
by Ryan Veil

Greetings in Christ!

The Lord is risen and the snow is gone. That’s right, spring is upon us! That means life-giving rain, beautiful sunny days and Youth Encounter’s annual Spring sale. Now is the perfect time to pick up your favorite CD or T-shirt you’ve been wanting from Youth Encounter. All hats, T-shirts, and CDs are $10.00 or less! Call 800-659-6884 x249 to take advantage of this great offer.

Have a Vacation Bible School or group event coming up? Call 800-659-6884 x249 and ask how you can get group discounts!

Does your camp or church have a resource area that sells Christian products? Call and ask how you can become a distributor of Youth Encounter’s products and receive the lowest wholesale price possible!

Also, don’t forget to check out our online store at www.youthencounter.org and click on “Store.”

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