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“I read this much of Genesis last night!” a young boy, whose faith in Christ was only one day old, shared with Hailey Christian. The change in his attitude?a stark contrast to the one he had a few days earlier?occurred during the children’s and youth outreach of a weeklong revival.
“It’s great to know we made an impact [in the lives of] the youth,” said Christian, of Orange. She served as a children and youth leader this summer on an Engage Team, a group of college students serving in an SBTC summer revival ministry.
During the day the Engage Teams led Vacation Bible School for children, trained teenagers in evangelism and took them out in their communities to do door-to-door evangelism and outreach. In the evenings the team led a revival service for the entire church.
“We were really blessed by our team. They are quality young people who gave of themselves 100 percent,” Brad Bickham, pastor of First Baptist Church of Deweyville, said. “I’m thankful to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention for putting a program like Engage together.”
At Needham Baptist Church the average attendance has continued to climb. David Parish describes the Engage Team revival as a “catalyst” for the growth. “We have people who are coming now who were not coming before.”
Church membership growth
While Sandflat Baptist Church has experienced a number of transitions this year, what did not waver was the desire within the church to grow.
The number of young people at Sandflat Baptist Church had dwindled over the years, and with a newly constructed sanctuary, the timing of the Engage Team was once again a welcome addition to the church’s ministry.
“It was wonderful to have something that focused on the young people ? [the Engage team] had a positive impact on our church growth,” Jo Stanford, Sandflat Baptist Church member, said. “It’s so much more effective to have a younger person speak to them and hear, ‘this is what God has done in my life’ from them.”
Two adults and seven children made professions of faith that week; eight of the new believers will be baptized at the dedication service for the new sanctuary.
Across the state, 14 Engage Team students saw 80 people make professions of faith and three students register calls to ministry while ministering in about 25 churches, said Engage Team coordinator Garrett Wagoner.
Clark Stricklin is pastor of a rural cowboy church in East Texas. Before the recent woes of the economy the church had more than 100 attending. But due to many members relocating, numbers have dropped to 60.
The number of college and high school students had gradually decreased and Stricklin saw the potential of an Engage revival in his church.
We were “needing a shot of something that would rally that group back. This drew them all back, the team walked alongside them all week.” Stricklin said. “They [college and high school students] responded really well to the team. This got them back and involved in the church.”
One week after the Engage Team left, Stricklin baptized four as a result of the teaching and investment the team had in the students’ lives; two made a commitment to Christ, the other two realized they had never made a serious commitment to following Christ.
“They were taught evangelism and outreach and it has made them more evangelism and outreach oriented,” Stricklin said.
Nick Stricklin served this summer on an Engage Team. His participation in Engage and commitment to helping students grow in their walk with Christ has helped continue the momentum at the church.
“They’re more dedicated and they’re different. They’re trying to stay consistent and involved,” Nick Stricklin said.
Youth equipped to share their faith
Engage Teams train youth in how to share their testimony and the gospel using the “One-Verse Evangelism” technique. This training does not end in the classroom; after teaching and modeling how to share their faith, the trainees do outreach and door-to-door evangelism in their community.
Wagoner, the Engage Team coordinator, described how he shared the gospel at a Taco Bell with a man who told Wagoner he had never heard the gospel before. The man accepted the invitation to attend the revival service that evening and he made a profession of faith that same night.
Wagoner used that example to encourage the youth to share their faith.
“This is what happens when God uses you to share your faith,” Wagoner told the students.
Members of youth groups normally described as quiet by the end of the week were sharing their faith with excitement.
“One kid, who was quiet at the beginning, later was jumping out of the car wanting to talk to people,” Christian said.
Rather than “staying in [the church] and playing games, the youth are out talking to people and sharing the gospel,” Nick Stricklin said. “We want them to be motivated about their relationship with Jesus Christ and show the church that there are young people who want to serve God.”
Lives of church leadership changed
Dalton Estes served as a summer church intern at First Baptist Church of Deweyville. His responsibilities at the church varied, and he spent significant time with the Engage Team.
His experiences going door to door fueled his passion for evangelism and solidified his calling into ministry, he said.
“I think he was supposed to be here to meet the Engage Team and get direction from God on what do to next,” Bickham said. </s
