Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190012A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:11 - Hello and welcome to another 3ABN Today 01:13 program. I'm Jason Bradley, and I am so 01:16 excited about what we're going to be talking about, 01:20 which is the Youth Rush literature programs. 01:23 Now, you're probably at home, wondering, 01:24 "Well, what is that?" You're going to find 01:28 out. We have a few videos to show you, 01:30 and it's just going to be a blessing. So, here 01:34 with me, I have David Paño, and he is the 01:37 Literature Ministries- he's with Literature 01:40 Ministries in Michigan Conference of Seventh-day 01:42 Adventists-and Bill Krick who is with Literature 01:46 Ministries of the Pacific Union Conference of 01:49 Seventh-day Adventists. - Glad to be here. - It's 01:51 great to have you. It's great to have both of 01:53 you here. Tell me a little bit about yourself and 01:57 your background, David. - Oh, yes. I was raised 02:00 Adventist. My grandpa used to be a pastor; 02:04 my dad used to be a pastor. So, though I 02:08 have Adventist background, I didn't know Jesus. I thought 02:14 I knew Jesus, and I was in my late 20s that, 02:18 actually, I met Jesus for the first time with 02:20 a group of young people that taught me about 02:23 Jesus in my own church. Ever since then, I decided 02:27 to serve God. When God sent me to serve Him, 02:30 it has been literature. So, that's where I'm 02:32 at now. - Nice, nice. And what about you, 02:35 Bill? - You know, I'm a fifth-generation 02:37 Seventh-day Adventist. My great-great-grandfather 02:40 had his door knocked on by a faithful worker 02:43 and he accepted Christ and Christ's messages 02:47 for him...but I had to make it my own like we 02:51 all do. I did that through Adventist 02:55 Christian schools. My mother sacrificed dearly 02:58 to send me to Christian school, and there, I 03:01 found mentors who guided me in the path to follow 03:04 Christ. That's really why I'm following Christ now 03:09 and why I'm looking for Him. - Nice. Well, before 03:11 we go into more about the literature evangelism 03:15 and all of those things and before we jump to 03:18 those videos, we have a song that 03:20 is very fitting for the topic; and the song is 03:25 brought to us by Alessandra Sorace 03:28 and it's entitled, "I Will Go." 03:59 Give me ears to hear Your Spirit 04:04 Give me feet to follow through 04:10 Give me hands to touch the hurting 04:16 And the faith to follow You 04:26 Give me grace to be a servant 04:32 Give me mercy for the lost 04:37 Give me passion for Your glory 04:43 Give me passion for the cross 04:50 And I will go where there are no easy roads 04:56 Leave the comfort that I know 05:02 I will go and let this journey be my home 05:08 I will go 05:13 I will go 05:30 I'll let go of my ambition 05:36 Cut the roots that run too deep 05:42 I will learn to give away 05:47 What I cannot really keep 05:53 What I cannot really keep 06:00 Help me see with eyes of faith 06:08 Give me strength to run this race 06:16 And I will go where there are no easy roads 06:22 Leave the comfort that I know 06:28 I will go and let this journey be my home 06:34 I will go... I will go! 06:40 I will go, Lord, where Your glory is unknown 06:47 I will live for You alone 06:53 I will go because my life is not my own 06:59 I will go... 07:03 I will go 07:06 I will go 07:30 - Wow. What a beautiful and fitting song for 07:33 what we're going to be talking about. So, you 07:36 know, we talked about the Youth Rush literature 07:38 programs being the topic of our discussion. What 07:42 is Youth Rush? Either one of you. - Alright. 07:45 It is part of the Literature Ministries, 07:48 and that usually takes place during the summer. 07:52 It's a 10-week program where young people will 07:57 go door-to-door, and they're going to be 07:59 sharing literature. They get donations 08:01 for the literature... But I can say that 08:04 this is a mission trip; but usually, mission 08:07 trips, you pay for... right? You pay your 08:09 ticket, you pay, also, the expenses over 08:11 there... But in this mission trip where 08:13 you're going to be reaching a lot of 08:14 people, you get paid. That's the blessing. 08:17 You also get financial help. People mainly 08:22 get it for school tuition. So, you're working for 08:26 the Lord, but you're also gaining financial 08:28 benefits out of that... but the main blessing 08:32 is the spiritual component where you can see God in 08:37 other work. I don't know if, Bill, you 08:39 want to add something. - Yeah. The enormous 08:42 benefits of participating in a Youth Rush program 08:46 for a young person- the ages are usually 08:48 between 16 and 25, Jason. When a young 08:53 person comes out of a summer like that, they 08:55 will have visited approximately 7,000 08:57 homes. - Wha- 7,000 homes!? - More or less. 09:00 - Wow! - And the opportunities to 09:03 interact with people and the learning that 09:06 goes on, the experiential education, as it were, 09:11 is so valuable for a young person. In fact, we have 09:13 a short testimony on video that gives a 09:16 testimony of somebody who's now a Christian 09:19 professional in the position of responsibility. He talks 09:23 briefly about his experience doing a summer like this. 09:26 - Nice. Well, I tell you what: let's go 09:28 to that video right now and check that out. 09:36 - My name's Andrew John. I'm the president and CEO 09:38 of Sonora Regional Medical Center in 09:40 Sonora, California- soon to be known as 09:43 Adventist Health Sonora. So, as a young professional, 09:48 or student in college, you have a lot of ways 09:51 you could spend your summer...but I recommend 09:55 dedicating at least one summer to literature 09:58 evangelism. You'll learn things both about yourself 10:01 and people that, otherwise, would take a lifetime of 10:06 experience to learn. The opportunity that 10:09 I had to go door-to-door and share not just my 10:12 faith but learn about other people's faith 10:14 absolutely set me up for success in the 10:19 professional world. [piano music] 10:25 - Wow. It sounds like there's a lot of benefits 10:28 to participating in this program- 10:30 spiritually, professionally, and equipping people with 10:35 the tools that they're going to use throughout 10:37 their life. - Oh, yes; definitely. I remember 10:42 having a student that at the end of the summer, 10:45 she called one of her elders in her local 10:48 church at the end of the summer. The elder, 10:51 after talking to this student, he called her 10:53 mom. He called the student's mom and the 10:57 elder said, "Your daughter has changed. She's more 11:02 articulated and more spiritual," and it 11:04 was just a 10-week period. That's amazing 11:06 how these programs can help a lot of young people. 11:09 - Yes. Now, in the process of doing 11:12 these programs, are the young people 11:14 absorbing some of this literature, as well? 11:18 I mean, I know that they're having experiences when 11:20 they go to knock on the doors and all of that. 11:22 But are they studying the Word? What's going 11:25 on during this program, too, that helps to facilitate 11:29 that spiritual growth? - That's a good question. 11:32 I have actually, here, some testimonies that 11:35 have been sent to us by some young people 11:39 after the summer. Now, these are unsolicited 11:42 testimonies; they're not testimonies that 11:44 we went fishing for. - Uh-huh. - And we 11:46 saved some of them. I'd like to read just a few of 11:48 them to you in their own words. This is 11:51 from Erin. She says, "Last year," - she's 11:54 talking about the 10-week summer Youth Rush program. 11:56 "Last year was an amazing experience that really 11:59 changed my life-specifically, my walk with God. I want 12:02 people to know the God who loves them more than 12:05 they can even imagine." So, here's this young 12:08 woman, and her life was turned around when she 12:11 could see that, in reaching out to other 12:13 people, she sensed that God was reaching out to 12:16 her. This is from Josh: "Before last summer," 12:20 he writes, "I never read my Bible. But 12:23 now, I always get up and read it." So those 12:26 habits of spending time with God and with the 12:28 Word in the morning originates often in the 12:31 summer when they feel their need of God. Here's 12:34 another girl-Jodi: "Last year's canvassing," - 12:37 that's the Youth Rush program - "affected 12:39 me spiritually. I learned to feed myself spiritually." 12:42 Isn't that a nice testimony? - Yeah. 12:44 Yeah, it is. - If young people can learn to 12:46 feed themselves spiritually, then they don't always have 12:50 to be under direct supervision and mentorship. They can get 12:54 it straight from the Lord. - Yeah. Mhm. And you know 12:57 what - just to touch on that just a little bit - 12:59 what I've heard from both of you guys in the 13:01 beginning was that you had to come to know the 13:05 Lord for yourselves. - That's right. And 13:09 that's how the structure of the programs are like. They 13:13 have chores, they have time for... We give them 13:17 time for them to have their own devotions. 13:18 They usually stay in, and we can be, sometimes, at 13:22 churches or schools, and they have leaders 13:26 that we entrust them. They feed them, also, 13:29 spiritually, because they have worships 13:31 together, they sing together, they work 13:34 together, they have training to go to the 13:37 doors, then the leaders, also, with them through 13:42 the day, as well. So, that's how, kind of, 13:45 the structure works, and that runs for 10 13:48 weeks. Let me tell you this: for young people 13:52 or a young person, you will find your best friends 13:57 while you do God's work, because those are the 14:02 friends that you're going to be able to call later 14:04 on and say, "Hey, I'm struggling. Can you 14:06 pray for me?" - Yeah. - Those are the friends 14:07 that, when things get harder, you can contact 14:11 them. That's a great benefit. - Maybe even 14:13 meet a spouse there; watch out. [laughter] 14:16 - That's happened to many. - That's happened 14:18 to many people? Oh, yes...yes. - You know, 14:21 David just mentioned, Jason, the leaders, 14:23 the Youth Rush leaders, and I think that's a 14:25 really important point. There are well-trained 14:28 experienced young adult leaders who not only 14:32 supervise but train and inspire and encourage 14:35 and pray with the young people and help them, 14:38 and they're with them and rotate all the time 14:40 with them. That encourages safety and efficiency and 14:44 success, and that's a key part of that Youth 14:46 Rush- the Youth Rush experience is the young 14:48 adult leaders. - Yes. And, you know, the 14:51 beautiful thing is, like, they're watching all of 14:54 that that's taking place and internalizing that, 14:57 and then that's going to come out later as 15:00 they become leaders... you know? Great leaders 15:02 basically create other great leaders. - Yeah, 15:05 and that is right. Even for me, I'm a pastor, 15:12 helping so much, because when I was a leader, you 15:15 have to take care of these young ones. You 15:17 see their personalities and you have to work, 15:20 and they're helping a lot in the church 15:21 environment. But the main thing is, many young people 15:26 are hurt sometimes that they say, "I don't see 15:29 God that's real, because I haven't experienced the 15:35 actions of God if He's doing something in this 15:39 world." It's because they don't go to the 15:42 field. You need to go to the field to see God 15:45 in action. This is- I mean, you see Joshua 15:47 singing, "Jesus," with his sword out-you know?- 15:51 ready to fight; but where you're going 15:53 to see Jesus actually fighting is in the field. 15:56 So go there and go with God, and you will see 15:59 Him in action. That's the main thing. - Which, 16:02 that's beautiful, because when you look at Christ's 16:04 life, what was He- He was healing people, He 16:07 was meeting people's needs, He was ministering 16:09 to the people wherever He went. But, like Christ's 16:12 method. What were you going to say, Bill? - Just 16:15 one more testimony from Philip. "Canvassing this 16:17 year was probably the best decision I made for 16:20 my spiritual well-being, being out on the front 16:22 lines of God's army, and actually doing the action 16:25 part of my faith was very rewarding." Again, 16:28 these are in his words. This is the pattern 16:30 we see, where young people, when they go 16:34 out and put into practice their faith and they get 16:36 into action, they sense their need of God, they 16:39 see God working, they watch miracles, they 16:41 experience their part of a miracle happening, they 16:43 come back and their eyes are opened and they say, 16:45 "Wow, God is real." Their faith strengthens. - And 16:48 that's how everything happens, especially 16:51 with me; because one time, I was in my church 16:54 in the pews, and I was listening to these people 16:57 sharing testimonies. I kind of got upset 17:02 with myself and with God and I said, "Lord, 17:05 I want my own testimonies. Why do I have to always 17:10 just listen?" - Uh-huh. - Right? I want to 17:12 experience, myself, as well! - Yes. - And God 17:15 sent me to canvass, and I got 'em. - Nice. - It's 17:18 amazing. - Share some of those with us. - You 17:21 know, one of the things that comes to my mind 17:24 right now is in Texas. I was knocking on doors, 17:26 and one of the... Usually, we expect 17:29 people to open the door and we can give them the 17:31 books so they can have it in their hands. This 17:34 lady didn't open the door. She pulled the 17:38 curtain from the window that was right next to 17:40 the door, and she's like, "What do you want?" 17:42 I was like, "Oh, man." So, "Hey, ma'am, my 17:46 name is David," I showed her a book, Peace Above 17:48 the Storm (that's also Steps to Christ), and 17:51 showed it to her. "This is what we have," 17:52 and she opened the door, grabbed the book out of 17:55 my hand, and she hugged it and she said, "I need 17:57 this book." - Wow. - And I was like, "Whoa, whoa, 18:00 whoa." - She wasn't even going to open the 18:01 door. - No, she was not going to. But when 18:03 she saw the book, she grabbed it, and she's 18:06 like, "I want this book." I'm like, "Yeah, you can 18:07 have it. It's just on donation basis." 18:09 Then, she told me, "No, you don't understand." 18:11 That's what she said. "This is from God." 18:14 And I was like, "Well, tell me what happened." 18:17 She told me her story that four days before, 18:20 her husband left her. He went with another 18:25 woman. She begged him. She told him, "I'm going 18:28 to forgive you. Just stay. We have a 18:30 daughter together." He said, "No. I don't 18:33 love you anymore. I'm going to go with this 18:34 woman." So, you can imagine for this woman, 18:38 her whole life fell apart. - Yeah. - She said that 18:42 ever since then, she has been crying in her 18:43 room. Crying, sleeping, maybe eating something, 18:48 but crying, sleeping, all four days straight. 18:51 She said when she went to the bottom of everything, 18:56 she knelt for the first time. She said, "Lord, 18:59 if you care for me, please send someone 19:01 to help me, because I need peace." - Yeah. 19:04 - And when she said, "Amen," we rang the 19:06 bell. - Wow. Talk about an on-time God. - That's 19:11 what we call divine appointments. - Yes. 19:13 - You're going to hear a lot of them. - Absolutely. 19:15 Man! That's powerful. Well, you definitely 19:19 ended up with the testimony that you 19:21 were praying for, for sure. Bill, what stories 19:24 or testimonies do you have? - You know, I 19:26 could tell you a bunch of them, but I'll just share 19:28 a short one that happened to me 10 days ago. 10 days 19:31 ago from when I'm sitting in this chair, I was in a 19:33 large city in California, and I had with me a 19:36 very young man. We were meeting people, and we 19:41 gave a piece of literature to this man. He said, "What 19:46 is this?" I said, "It's something encouraging 19:49 from the Bible; Bible- based literature." 19:51 He said, "Oh!" I said, "We're from this 19:54 Seventh-day Adventist Christian Church right 19:57 over here by the railroad tracks." He said to me, 20:00 "Oh." He says, "I used to be Seventh-day 20:03 Adventist." And I said, "Oh." I said, "Well, 20:06 you oughta come back. It's a really friendly 20:08 church!" And he said to me, "I've been 20:11 meaning to do that," and he began to look 20:14 regretful and sorrowful, but still hopeful. And I 20:19 said, "You know, we have some young adults 20:20 who are in this city, and they're looking 20:22 for people to study the Bible with." And he says, 20:24 "Well, I live right over here on this 20:25 street. I'd be happy to give you my phone 20:27 number." So, he did. That night, the young 20:29 adults texted him, and they set up a Bible 20:31 study. Turns out that the place where he lives 20:33 was right across the street from where our 20:35 young adult Bible workers were living. And the very 20:38 next day, they held a Bible study with him, 20:39 and he says, "I want to come to church this 20:41 Sabbath." So, this is not something that I 20:46 cooked up. - Yeah. Yeah. - This is us 20:47 showing up and God making something 20:50 special happen. - Wow. - And that's what happens 20:52 for young people all the time. You know, 20:54 the young man who was with me was like, "Whoa, 20:56 what's going on here?" - Mhm, mhm. Man! 20:59 - It's amazing for a young person to know... 21:04 Usually, you see powerful stories, 21:06 crazy things happen; but usually, you hear 21:09 from those preachers, pastors, evangelists 21:12 telling all these amazing stories...but young people 21:15 are also having them. - Yes. - So, the realizations that 21:19 are like, wow - God can also use me to do great 21:22 things for him, and that's like an eye- 21:25 opening experience for many young people, 21:27 because God does want to use them. - Yes, 21:30 absolutely. We have another video we'd 21:33 like to share, and this video summarizes the 21:35 whole experience of Youth Rush from the perspective 21:38 of a young person - of a student. - Nice. 21:41 Well, let's go ahead and take a look at 21:43 that right now. 21:46 - Well, there are a lot of emotions as a 21:48 canvasser. So, when you first come, you're like, 21:51 scared out of your mind. "What in the 21:53 world did I get myself into? There are all 21:55 these people that I don't know, and I'm 21:57 going to talk to strangers tomorrow and knock on 21:59 their door!?" I can say that Youth Rush 22:03 students are some of the most courageous 22:04 people I know. They go out there and 22:07 they face their fears - there is some fear that 22:09 goes into it when you're first going out and knocking 22:11 on doors - but it's incredible. You have 22:14 this feeling before you're going to go 22:16 out to the field of nervousness and fear 22:19 and all of this stuff, and then you go throughout 22:21 your day and you have these incredible experiences 22:24 that just pump you up like no other. Canvassers 22:26 can all relate to what I'm talking about. 22:28 You leave to the field, and you're scared, 22:31 but then you come back just rejoicing and so filled 22:34 with joy that, really, a lot of other experiences 22:37 in life really can't relate to. It's just 22:39 this joy of seeing someone that was like, "I was just 22:42 praying for you to come!" Or seeing God at work 22:44 right in front of you. I mean, I don't even know 22:47 how to describe the joy that's there, 22:48 but it's literally addicting. That's why people continue 22:51 day after day even though it is so hard, 22:54 but they continue to do it because it's really 22:56 the most highly rewarding things that you can do- 22:59 not just canvassing, but evangelism in 23:01 general. When you get over that fear and you 23:03 go for it, you actually do it, and see God at work. 23:06 You can't get enough of it. - Hi! We're at Tiffany's 23:09 house. Us canvassers are just taking a break 23:12 on our Friday and enjoying kicking back here at Tiffany's 23:15 house. Here, we're about to go swimming, eating, 23:17 having fun with each other, start the whole entire week... 23:20 We're out there in the hot sun, knocking on doors 23:23 for 8 hours. Yeah, let's take a look over here. 23:31 Yeah, so, right here, we actually have the 23:34 rest of our canvassing group. Say hi, guys. 23:36 [Hi!] We're just enjoying our Friday, just chilling 23:39 back with one another, eating our chips and 23:41 everything, enjoying each other's company. 23:43 And here, we have one of our knocked out canvassers, 23:46 because it's a hard week of...working, 23:51 knocking on doors... Yeah. One night, I 23:54 asked God to give me a divine appointment at 23:56 one of the doors. I knock on Sadie's door 23:59 and she opens up, and we get to talking, and 24:02 I show her a Christ's Object Lessons and a 24:05 Steps to Christ. Her face lights up and says, 24:07 "Oh, I actually bought these books two years 24:09 ago. And since then, I've been taking them 24:12 everywhere with me, and I've been giving 24:14 people Bible studies on them and showing 24:16 them how God actually loves them and wants 24:18 to be with them." And then- so after that, 24:21 I wanted to give her a Great Controversy 24:25 and DVD on Bible prophecy, and she was able to sign 24:30 up for personal Bible studies, as well. 24:33 - You know, I never thought that I would 24:35 do 10 summers in a row of Youth Rush; but when 24:40 I think about why, I keep coming back and 24:42 coming into the leadership now. I think of the lives 24:46 of the students that are changed. 24:48 It's really incredible, because growing up 24:51 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church here in the NAD, 24:54 I've realized that more and more young people 24:57 are leaving the church, and we know that. But 25:00 it's awesome to be a part of something where 25:02 for two-and-a-half months during the summer every 25:06 single year, we gather together, this group 25:08 of young people that come from all kinds of 25:11 spiritual backgrounds, spiritual experiences, 25:14 but they come together. And as they're going 25:17 door-to-door doing evangelism, they start 25:20 having a renewed experience with God. We start seeing 25:23 young people who, maybe before, were just kind of 25:26 coming to church just because, or weren't really into it and 25:29 didn't know why they trusted the Bible or 25:31 why they were even Adventist, but they 25:33 come; and as the summer goes on and as they feed 25:36 on the Word, as they pray, as they knock 25:39 on doors, as they talk to people and see God 25:41 at work right in front of their faces, all of 25:43 a sudden, they kind of tap into, like, why they're 25:46 Seventh-day Adventist- the reason in the mission 25:48 of the church-and they start to adopt it as their 25:52 own. It's so amazing, because Youth Rush 25:55 gives me hope as a young person that Jesus can 25:57 actually come in my lifetime. It gives me hope, because 26:00 I see young people that are so excited. And after 26:04 they're done with Youth Rush, they leave to their 26:07 homes and they get their churches on fire. They want 26:10 to be GLOW leaders. They want to go on 26:11 GLOW mission trips. They want to have their friends 26:14 come and do Youth Rush the next summer; and it 26:16 just continues. Through this program, I have 26:19 devoted my life to it, and I encourage other 26:22 people to devote their lives to it, because 26:24 I believe that it's through young people like this that 26:27 God is going to use to finish His work. It gives 26:30 me a lot of hope as a young person that 26:32 Jesus can come in my lifetime. 26:42 - Wow. Now, you know, one of the interesting 26:44 things is as I was watching the video, 26:47 I was just thinking about the fact that- 26:49 like-there's no healthier friendship, no healthier 26:52 bond that could be formed other than doing something 26:56 for the Lord together and how they're coming 26:59 together, and they're also studying the Word 27:02 together, and all of those things. Renella 27:06 spoke to... The fact that there's a sense 27:09 of urgency and that there's a hope that Jesus can come 27:13 back during our lifetime, which is amazing. Amazing. 27:19 - We're happy to see young people catching 27:23 on fire for the Lord, and they realize that 27:26 they can take part in this time, you know? 27:31 The work in this time. It's amazing to see them 27:34 in action and how the... Like she mentioned, 27:38 like a young person that's changed. 27:41 You can see one person that... We have a student 27:44 that was struggling with certain things, and you 27:47 can see at the end of the summer, going back 27:49 to the school as a preacher now. 27:52 - Wow. - So, those are the 27:53 type of things that are so rewarding. 27:55 - Yes. And, you know, the Bible says, "By 27:58 beholding, we become changed. So, all those 28:00 that they're beholding changed them. 28:03 - And my best friends in my life and spiritual 28:05 life, actually, they came because I was 28:08 doing work on- working for God with them. 'Cause 28:11 we struggled together, we've fought together, 28:13 and they're like buddies for life. We pass out 28:17 Christian literature, we share Steps to Christ, 28:22 Great Controversies, and all of these books, 28:25 and people might wonder, you know, if this is actually- 28:28 if people are actually getting it, you know? 28:31 Literature, books, etc. Books are still relevant. 28:36 - That's right. Books are still relevant, 28:38 people do still read. In fact, Americans 28:42 have spent more money on books year after year 28:45 for several years. It's amazing! People do read. 28:49 I think of a story: I was sitting on the 28:52 platform at a church; I was about to preach, 28:55 and I looked out into the audience and there 28:57 was a young man, a young adult, there with his wife, 28:59 and he was kind of not paying attention. He was 29:03 reading his Bible, and that caught my eye. 29:05 He was a young adult in church and he's 29:08 reading his Bible? And so I thought, "I want 29:10 to get to know who this guy is." So, I chatted 29:12 with him after the service, and he told me this story. 29:16 He said that some young man came to his door 29:19 (he was a Youth Rush student), and he got 29:21 the book Great Controversy. He also got a Great Controversy 29:24 from his friend at work. He got two Great Controversies, 29:27 and he thought, "Wow, I better read this book." 29:29 To make a long story short, he read the book, 29:31 and he was baptized... and so was his wife, 29:33 and they're active members of their 29:35 local church. So, you know, God uses inspired 29:39 writers. He uses literature in a big way. But, you know, 29:43 it goes beyond that though, too, Jason, 29:45 because we see in Youth Rush programs, 29:47 we see God using personal contact as well as the 29:52 literature itself. We live in a very 29:54 impersonal society. We live in a society 29:57 that's wired and teched with phones and devices 30:01 and all those things, and people really... 30:04 they really appreciate when there's a smiling 30:07 young face that's courteous and polite 30:09 at their door that cares about them. And I mean, 30:12 I have story after story that illustrates that. 30:14 I think of a story that just happened recently. 30:16 There was a young man who's a student at 30:19 La Sierra University right now. He went 30:22 to the door, and the man looked at him and 30:24 said, "I'm not interested." The man is in the process 30:28 of closing the door when Nathan sees 30:31 inside, he sees a piano. He says, "Oh, that's 30:33 a nice piano! I play the piano!" And the 30:35 man stopped, and inside the house, there was 30:38 a little five-year-old boy. The five-year-old 30:40 boy said, "Daddy... Daddy, this man plays the piano. 30:44 Can he come in and play?" And Nathan says, "Yeah, 30:46 I love playing the piano." And the man said, "Okay, 30:49 but make it quick." So, Nathan goes in, 30:52 plays a beautiful song on the piano. 30:54 The five-year-old loves it. He plays another song, 30:56 and the little boy says, "Daddy, can he come 30:59 over and teach me the piano this week?" 31:01 The man says, "Yeah, he can do that." So, 31:04 the next day, Nathan came and gave a very 31:06 short piano lesson to the boy. And the next day, 31:09 he did the same thing. And several days went 31:11 by of piano lessons until they finally shared 31:14 a meal together. The man turned and looked 31:17 at Nathan and said, "Weren't you going 31:18 to tell me something about God?" He then 31:22 showed him his books, he got a bunch of books 31:23 from Nathan, they started Bible studies, and the man 31:27 was baptized. - That is amazing. 31:29 That's Christ's method! There was the need, 31:32 he met the need, he developed that relationship, 31:36 and then led in evangelism. - That's right. And this man 31:40 is attending church faithfully, he's the Adventurer leader 31:43 in his church, working with the children. You know, 31:47 God uses Youth Rush to reach out to people. 31:52 - Yes. Wow! That's amazing. - There are a lot of people 31:57 out there...a lot of people just waiting 31:59 to be gathered. They don't even know that 32:01 their church is close by. How they know is when 32:05 we go to them. That is the key that has been 32:09 happening, yeah. - So, in other words, 32:11 you're saying that it doesn't do any good 32:13 to just hold onto this good news for ourselves 32:17 just to hold onto it, but we need to share 32:19 it with the world. That's what you're 32:20 telling me? - That is correct. 32:22 - Absolutely. - The students, they have 32:25 Bible studies when they're outbase. 32:28 The leaders give them Bible studies (as their 32:31 request). I have many students even getting 32:34 baptized during the summer, and that has 32:37 happened. They're so excited for God, and they 32:40 go out and they share it to people; yes, mhm. 32:43 - So, what is the typical approach? Right- so, 32:50 literature evangelist goes and they knock 32:51 on the door... I mean, what does the spiel 32:55 sound like? What do they say? I mean, how does that go? 33:01 - It varies, depending on the part of the 33:03 country that you're working in. But generally, 33:06 the student is courteous and says, "I'm a student 33:09 working for my schooling," and then they show them 33:12 some books. So, we train students to make friends 33:16 at doors, and that's the key thing: to let 33:19 people know that you're a real person and that 33:21 you care about them and that you show them the 33:24 books and try to meet their needs and ask 33:25 about their family and get to know them. 33:28 And so, that's the main thing. We try 33:31 to train students to know the pathway to 33:33 reach people's hearts. That's the main thing. 33:35 I'm thinking about another story that happened, Jason. 33:38 There was a girl named Christen, and Christen 33:41 was going door-to-door, met a family, they bought 33:45 some books, they signed up for Bible studies... And 33:48 Christin's a very loving girl. She cared about 33:50 these people, and she had to go back to school 33:53 like our students do, but a local person 33:57 followed up, and the husband and the wife 34:00 and one of the children (was old enough) was 34:02 baptized. But Christen got to show up at that 34:07 baptism, which happened several months after the 34:10 summer. And so, here she is, watching the 34:13 people whose door she knocked on get baptized. 34:16 She was so thrilled! And I'll never forget- 34:18 we were in the fellowship hall afterwards, and the 34:20 lady who was baptized had wet hair. She was 34:23 giving Christen a hug; and she said, "I don't 34:27 know what I would've done if you hadn't 34:29 knocked on my door." - Wow. That's powerful. 34:31 - That's what she said to Christen! With the 34:33 big hug and wet hair. - Yeah... Yeah. That 34:36 is powerful. So, you know, it's like they 34:39 get to see God at work. Wow. Well, I know you 34:44 have some more stories, too. Both of you guys 34:47 are full of stories with literature evangelism. 34:51 - We enjoy- I mean, we get to see that we work 34:55 in the field with them; and when we hear those 34:58 stories... These are real experiences, like 35:01 remember one- because you don't know what 35:03 happens with those books! Because you will leave 35:06 those books, and you don't know what happens- 35:08 and heaven will tell. But sometimes, many 35:12 times, God gives you the story, though. 35:14 I remember last summer, one of our students, 35:17 she was knocking on doors. A lady opens the door, 35:21 and she shows her the book-again, you know- 35:23 Steps to Christ... Peace Above the Storm. And 35:25 she says, "This is the book!" and she goes 35:28 and tells her the story: "Last year, I got this 35:32 book from another colporteur, like, 35:34 another Youth Rush student." And she says, 35:37 "I got this book two months before I was 35:40 diagnosed with cancer." She grabbed the book 35:44 and she said, "This book helped me to 35:46 get through all of this. I wouldn't know what 35:49 to do without this book." She didn't just say that; 35:53 she's like, "Do you have more?" And she got way 35:55 more books! And you can say, "Wow, I don't 35:59 know if that canvasser knows the story," but 36:02 she knew that God is actually using young 36:06 people, working with them and they're touching people's 36:09 lives; yes. - Yeah. You said, 36:11 David, that often, the young person may not 36:13 know the effects of what they've done. 36:16 That's usual. We often receive experiences 36:19 and testimonies that we find out four or 36:21 five, six, years later. One of the- there was 36:24 a Sabbath school teacher in one of the largest 36:26 churches where I live, and he says, "Oh, yeah- 36:28 five years ago, this girl knocked on my door. 36:30 I got a DVD from her, I watched it, and 36:33 I started weeping and it changed my life," 36:35 and he was baptized. I have no idea who the 36:38 girl was. It had to be one of the 10 girls on 36:41 that team... We'll never know which one. So, we 36:45 often don't know. I will say that it's encouraging 36:47 when we receive testimonies from customers, from people 36:52 who have gotten books. I have one here: there was 36:57 a man who was an atheist, and a young woman named 37:02 Nancy spoke to him, and he was amazed. 37:06 This is in his words, the words of the atheist: 37:08 he said, "She spoke with such love and kindness. 37:11 She told me she wanted to share the love of Jesus 37:14 to everyone. I am a non-Christian. I don't 37:17 like it when people pray for me, but I let her pray, 37:20 and it was beautiful." Isn't that nice? Yeah. 37:23 So, we want to have young people who are 37:25 courteous and who share the love of Christ. - Yeah. 37:29 And I think that approach that's so needed is the 37:32 loving approach, because that's the approach that 37:34 Christ takes. - And we're talking about young people 37:38 that are sincere. Young people are one of the 37:42 most sincere people. They're not playing 37:45 around. If they're mean, they are going to be mean; 37:49 but if they're gentle and they want to be 37:52 kind, they are...and that is touching people's lives. 37:55 - Yes, it is. - God is doing so much, and 37:59 it's incredible that, for instance, the story about 38:02 Jemima. She went to knock at the door, and the lady 38:06 bought a Peace Above the Storm. She asked, "Hey, 38:09 do you want the receipt?" And the lady said, "Yeah! 38:13 Give me the receipt;" and she said, "What's 38:14 your name again?" She said, "My name is Jemima," and 38:18 the lady started crying. She just started crying, 38:21 and Jemima was our student. She's like, "What did I do 38:24 wrong? Did I mess up something?" and she 38:27 kept trying to comfort her. She said, "No, no, 38:30 no," and she told her the story that, not 38:32 too long ago, her grandma passed away, and she said 38:38 that her name was Jemima, as well. She was looking in 38:41 her grandma's stuff, and she realized that she was 38:44 a Christian. And that morning, she was praying 38:48 that God will send her someone that will bring 38:52 her peace in her life... and here was Peace 38:54 Above the Storm. Young people can be an answer 38:58 to prayer, you know? And that is the neat 39:00 part of the ministry. - Yeah, absolutely. 39:03 Absolutely. Bill, what are some things that 39:06 you've experienced personally as you've 39:09 gone out? - Good question. When I was a young man 39:12 and working- meeting people...meeting lots 39:18 of people. I was young; I didn't know what I was 39:21 doing, but I wanted to work for the Lord. I met 39:23 a young man who said, "Look, I can't talk to 39:26 you now; can we talk later?" I said, "Sure." 39:28 So, I went to his house later, and he bought... 39:31 He got 16 books from me. He got everything. 39:33 This is amazing! And he wanted to know the 39:36 Bible. He wanted to learn the Bible. I had to go back 39:39 to school, so I took off and went back to 39:40 school. But one of the church members there, 39:43 faithful church members, studied with this man, 39:45 and he was baptized. I felt very pleased 39:49 about that, because I was a young person. 39:50 I had to go to school. But during the time when 39:54 I wasn't in school, during break, I used 39:56 it to serve God, and that's what's rewarding 40:00 to me as a young person. We have one more video 40:03 to share. David, tell us about that video. - Yes. 40:06 One of the greatest things that you can have in this 40:08 program is He's going to affirm your faith. You 40:12 are going to be standing on the solid rock, and 40:15 that's what you're going to see in the 40:17 video. - Nice. Well, let's take a look at 40:19 that right now. 40:23 - I was very energetic. I was so happy to 40:25 canvass on this particular day, but books were not 40:28 [selling]. I did all that I could do- my training 40:30 well. I did my best, but there were no books 40:34 going out the whole day, and Satan was trying to 40:37 put me down and discourage me. 40:39 I was like, exhausted. But finally, the last 40:42 drop of the day, I met this lady. Her name is 40:45 Sister Leah. She has four children; she was 40:48 very much not a receptive person. She said, "Please 40:51 go away; it's time to sleep. We have nothing 40:54 to do with any of you. Please go away." She was trying 40:56 to send me away. I tried to canvass, tried to ask 40:59 her questions...nothing worked. And finally, 41:02 I just stopped canvassing there, instead, talking 41:04 to her as a normal friend. She was interested in my 41:07 testimony, that I'm going to be a pastor 41:10 in India and a missionary wherever the Lord sends 41:12 me. She decided to ask me questions, and she 41:16 said, "What books do you have?" I showed her a 41:19 kid's set of books that we had, Jesus from the 41:22 New Testament, and Old Testament books, as well, 41:25 and she was so interested in the kid's set. I also gave 41:28 her devotional sets like Steps to Christ, Christ's 41:32 Object Lesson, and Desire of Ages. She was interested 41:35 in that book, and she was interested in the 41:37 prophecy sets like The Great Controversy and 41:40 Daniel Chronicles. She was interested in all my books 41:43 and my DVDs. She was so impressed by all these DVDs 41:47 and the books, and she ended up getting all the books that 41:50 I had in my bag. She said, "At this time, 41:54 I have $150 in my pocket in cash. 41:57 Will that be enough?" And I said, "It's enough- 42:00 to pay $150." She said, "This is my only salary 42:04 for this week. I'm just a babysitter. I don't 42:07 have any other money apart from this, but I 42:10 would rather give it for a good cause than 42:12 to spend for myself. I don't know what I'm 42:14 going to do next week, but I know the Lord is 42:16 going to take care of me." That really encouraged me 42:19 so much by her lifestyle and by her testimony. 42:23 She said, "Take it all and serve Jesus," 42:26 and I promised her that I will serve Jesus as long 42:30 as I live. We cried, and we really prayed 42:33 together. I was so impressed and remembered a Bible 42:38 verse which Paul said: "For me to live is Christ 42:42 and to die is a gain. Just as Mrs. Leah 42:46 gave $150, not knowing what her future is for 42:50 the next week, that reminded me that I 42:52 should give myself to Jesus completely and 42:55 serve Him entirely as long as I live." 43:12 - That is a powerful, powerful video. There 43:17 are so many stories that go along with this line 43:22 of work. What are some other stories where lives 43:25 have been transformed or lives have been turned 43:29 around? - I think I just remembered a couple 43:33 stories, but I remember a student coming, and 43:38 he was quiet. We, as leaders, we decided 43:42 we're going to put more effort into him because 43:45 he was not that social. We invested a lot. We 43:49 loved him. And in the seventh week, he talked 43:54 to me. We already talked. We hung out, we have 43:58 fun together, we struggle together, as well; we did 44:01 all of that. But in the seventh week, he said, 44:03 "I want to talk to you." He said, "When I came 44:05 here, I just... I've been trying to commit 44:07 suicide for the last year. So, I gave it 44:10 a try, and I was angry against all of you 44:13 because you were all happy. I was angry, 44:17 because I was thinking, 'They don't know what 44:19 life is.'" Because he was kicked out from 44:22 home when he was 11; he lived on the streets. 44:25 And something that we did is share our testimonies, 44:28 as well, because we're not holy people. We're 44:31 not like sinless people at all. We're sinners, 44:34 we need the same grace, and God can forgive us 44:39 from all our sins. When he listened to those, 44:42 he said, "Wow. These people, they also have 44:45 struggles, but they're still happy!" And then 44:47 he said, "I want that happiness." And he 44:50 said, "You know, the fourth week of this 44:51 summer, I gave my life to God." He said, "For 44:54 the first time in my life, I can smile and 44:57 be happy at the same time." So, it was amazing, 45:00 because at that time, he decided, "I'm going 45:02 to serve God." He decided to be a missionary that 45:05 summer. - That is awesome. Bill? I know you're full of 45:10 stories, Bill. - Yeah, that's part of the fun 45:13 of my job is I get to hear these...I get to 45:16 see the hand of God at work. It can be simple, 45:19 and some stories can be more complicated. 45:22 I think of one of the simplest stories. 45:24 We try to leave a Bible study interest card on 45:27 doors where no one is home. Somebody came 45:30 home, filled out the card, sent it in, and 45:32 the husband and wife are baptized. That can 45:35 be that simple...or it can be more complicated. 45:37 I remember the story- this actually happened 45:40 recently. There was one of our young women who 45:43 was going door-to-door, and she met a young woman 45:46 named Erica. Erica was so interested in the 45:50 Bible, interested in her literature, and 45:54 she said, "I want to study the Bible with 45:55 you." And so the young woman said, "Sure." 45:57 So, they had a Bible study, and she said, 46:00 "But I want you to come over before my husband 46:03 gets home, because my husband is from a different 46:07 denomination, and he's going to be upset if he 46:09 finds out that we're studying the Bible. 46:11 He doesn't want us to study the Bible. I'm 46:13 sure he wouldn't." So she said, "Okay, that's 46:15 fine." So, she went over to Erica's house at the 46:18 time and they were having a Bible study, and the 46:21 husband walks in right in the middle of their 46:23 Bible study. He says, "What are you doing 46:26 here? Why are you study- you shouldn't be studying 46:28 the Bible unless I'm here," and he was angry. So, 46:31 our young woman said, "It's nice to meet you," 46:33 and she left; and instead, she came 46:34 back and had a time where they can cook 46:37 together...'cause it's not a Bible study. So, 46:39 they were cooking together, and she 46:41 prayed that God would open the heart of this 46:43 husband. He finally agreed to let them 46:45 study the Bible together. So make a long story 46:46 short, Erica accepted the Lord and was 46:50 baptized, and Erica's brother was baptized 46:54 because of Erica's influence...and Erica's 46:56 son and Erica's sister, and Erica's sister's 46:58 husband, and Erica's sister's husband's 47:01 mother, and Erica's parents, and Erica's 47:04 neighbor were baptized all because of one door 47:07 knock and because God worked through the 47:10 difficulties that were happening. There's 47:11 obstacles, all because a young person was 47:14 willing to knock on one door. - Wow. Wow! 47:17 And so it was like the residual effects! 47:20 - That's right! Waves of blessing. - Man! 47:22 Yeah, that is amazing. You know, you never 47:25 know who's going to be touched as a result of 47:30 what you share with them and the Holy Spirit working 47:33 on their hearts. Like- you know-they studied 47:35 with Erica, and then all of these other 47:37 people came to the Lord. It also speaks to the power 47:40 of influence, as well. You could either influence 47:44 people for good or for bad. But praise the Lord 47:48 that she shared Christ. - Amen. God is using... 47:57 I want to emphasize- God wants to work with 47:59 young people. God wants to tell them that they 48:04 can do great things, as well, and they can 48:06 experience Jesus. All that the youth need to do 48:10 is give Him a chance. You can go to YouTube 48:15 and you can put "Youth Rush," and you're going 48:17 to find a lot of videos. There's one, a story 48:20 from Andrew and how his life was changed in one 48:24 summer. He said the very same thing: "I just needed 48:30 to give him a chance." There might be young 48:34 people that are ready for signup to canvass- 48:37 "Let's go!-but there might be young people 48:41 that will be doubting. "Should I; should I 48:43 not?" I'll say, just give Him a chance. 48:46 Just give him 10 weeks of your life. Just give 48:49 Him a chance and do your best. And then, 48:53 after that, if it doesn't work, you 48:55 can walk out and say, "I gave my best and 48:57 it didn't work out..." But I can tell you 48:59 it's not going to happen. - Yeah. - Because God is 49:01 real. - Yes, He is! - God is real, and He's 49:03 going to reveal Himself to you. That's our goal. 49:08 That's ministry. Yes, you get financial 49:10 blessings; yes, you get a lot of friends... 49:13 but having the assurance that God is real, that's 49:16 going to help you to stand in times of trouble. 49:20 - Absolutely. Absolutely. I was going to ask you 49:23 what your needs were, too, and you pretty much 49:26 covered it in that. So, let's just recap over 49:30 that. What do you need? You need people? - Yes, 49:34 I think mostly, that's right, because young 49:37 people have a lot of options today. The 49:39 economy is strong. There are millions of open jobs... 49:44 but what young person is going to be willing to 49:47 say, "I'm going to put aside what I could've 49:50 done and I could've done well at, and I'm 49:53 going to do something for the Lord," that is 49:55 somewhat uncomfortable. It's difficult ministry, 49:58 but it is tremendously rewarding. So, we're 50:01 looking for young people who are going to be 50:03 willing to do that. At YouthRush.org, there 50:08 are a variety of places that young people can 50:11 sign up for Youth Rush. They can sign up for 50:13 all 12 of them if they want to, but each one 50:16 has their separate location there. And 50:19 that's the first step is for a young person 50:20 to go to that website and apply. - So, 50:23 YouthRush.org. - YouthRush.org. - Nice. And then they can select 50:27 the region that they're in. - That's right, or 50:30 that they're closest to. Uh-huh! That's right. 50:32 - Nice. So, you know, I hope that as a result 50:36 of watching this program that people want to get 50:39 involved, because these are powerful testimonies. 50:42 And, you know, I believe that time is short. You 50:45 guys believe that time is short, that we're 50:47 living in the last days? - Amen! Yeah. And that's 50:49 definitely what's happening right now. God wants to 50:53 train young people, and that's what this work is 50:56 designed for. You want to experience Jesus, 50:59 have the assurance that He exists, and you can 51:01 share Jesus. You can do those two things 51:04 in canvassing. - That's right. To emerge from a 51:07 summer with the confidence to be able to share your 51:09 faith wherever you go and whatever you do. 51:12 I got an email from a former student. She 51:15 works at a healthcare facility, and she said, 51:17 "Bill, just the other day..." No, she said, 51:20 "Just yesterday, I prayed with a patient." And she 51:23 says, "Without having done Youth Rush those 51:26 summers, I wouldn't have had the courage 51:28 to do that! I wouldn't have known what to do!" 51:30 - Wow. - And here she is, as a healthcare 51:32 worker...and that's what we want! We want to see 51:34 young people who are professionals, Christian 51:37 professionals, who are not afraid to share their 51:39 faith." - And so, again, this equips them with 51:45 the tools necessary to do that. It makes them 51:48 comfortable and confident in doing so. Man! I can't 51:52 believe our time is just about up. I mean, 51:55 we went through so many great stories, so many 51:57 great videos, and our time is almost up. 52:00 You know, I really like the idea of the written 52:07 word. There's something about being able to turn 52:10 the pages in a Bible as opposed to going to my 52:15 cell phone and just scrolling and doing 52:18 all of that. I really liked the written word, 52:21 and I can see why literature evangelism is so great, 52:28 coupled with people that care about other people 52:32 genuinely, and also people that are spreading 52:35 the gospel of Jesus Christ- the Holy Spirit pushing 52:39 those efforts. We're going to take a short 52:42 break, and we will be right back. |
Revised 2019-05-14