From the 9th to the 16th of March 2024 the Southampton Teens and Youth took up the challenge of leading the church through the annual Youth Week of Prayer meetings in person every evening from Sunday to Sabbath.
Each evening one of the youth led out in worship and shared a devotional from the readings set by the GC Youth Department on the theme, “Showing Up in the Cities.” A special musical item prepared the attendees for the season of prayer. In addition to praying for personal requests, time was dedicated to pray for God’s leading at the Global Youth Day outreach event to be held in the Southampton City Centre on the coming Sabbath afternoon. The youth were also challenged to spend each morning reviewing the devotional readings and praying for these prayer points. The prayer meeting closed with singing the theme song, “Faith on Fire!” Before reluctantly departing for their homes, the youth and adults spent some moments fellowshipping in the hall with light refreshments and a few obligatory rounds of table tennis - a new church tradition.
The Week of Prayer climaxed with a moving Youth-led Sabbath worship service. A newly-formed instrumental ensemble of young musicians from our church accompanied the congregational singing, provided reflective musical interludes during the worship service and accompanied the youth choir’s special item, “To God be the Glory.” Sister Len Reyes, the Southampton Youth Ministries Leader, in her sermon charged the youth to put God first as a prerequisite to being prepared for mission service.
This year’s Youth Week of Prayer has been the best-attended worship programme Southampton church has hosted in recent years outside of Sabbath services with the youth making up the majority of the attendees each evening. The success of the week was certainly the fruit of the weekly youth Bible study group which is now held every Friday evening. Our youth sacrificed their homework time and after-school obligations to set an example the church in obedience to the instruction of the Apostle Paul shared with the young Timothy in the early church. [1] We look forward in faith to seeing God work more wonders through these young people and their leaders.
[1] “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.” 1 Timothy 4: 12, 13, NIV
