The Unlimited Data Plan: One less thing to worry about

Spending a bit of time with the youth of Eden French SDA was a total blast. A lot of fun. I’ve learned plenty about how teens respond to traditional church messaging. I got to push my skills to the limits.

It was an honor and privilege to be invited by Pastor Elie Pierre and working with the youth leader to make this event possible. With the support of Pastor LeGros, Bunie Desire, and others, we had a wonderful two weeks of fellowship.

Big shout out to the teens to who took time to design their own flyer for this program. They all submitted some impressive samples. It was hard to pick one to be the outright winner.

A brief recap

For those who missed out on the two weeks of conversations (formally known as a crusade or evangelic outreach) let’s just supply a quick overview of what was discussed and what was planned.

The initial plan called for a conversation around salvation. Why is there a need for salvation and what does that have to do with anything in the lives of teens.

When rubber hit the road, it turned out that this was not what the teens were looking for. When I met them, church was a chore and they had no choice but to be there and listen to yet another speaker/preacher tell them about their lives.

I had to quickly pivot and redo my entire approach. “What would Jesus do?” was the guiding principle for me. How does one convey God’s unlimited love for teens in a way that their tech-savvy minds will appreciate. I took their flyers as inspiration.

The Unlimited Data Plan: One less thing to worry about Now that’s an angle they can understand and appreciate. Using tech to talk about Christ. How in Jesus, our lives can get a firmware update, a software upgrade, and unlimited data power plan… because there is an app for that.

The Plan of Salvation for the human family

The topics covered how sin came into the world and how we are cut off from God’s grace. He sent his son, Jesus, to redeem us so we’re reconnected to him. His gift of salvation is a free gift to be accepted by faith. Baptism is both a public expression of our commitment to him as well as a symbolic death to sin and rebirth to life in Christ.

In the mix, there were many smaller topics touched. The blog post “Unlimited Data Plan” covers one practical aspect of what we discussed. Communication is key. Both in the family and with friends. But more importantly, with God. Prayer is the lifeline that allows us to communicate openly or privately with God through Jesus.

The whole point of this whole speaking series was to convey the importance of building a relationship with Jesus. He has the unlimited data plan. He has the answers. He has the hope. He has the solutions. He wants to know us and let us feel his love for us. He wants unlimited access and wants to do more than 10x your life for the better.

Speaking of 10x

I’ve attached a few other posts to help the youth further the discussion that we couldn’t complete during the two weeks we had. They asked great questions. How does one get better at life? Do we have to be perfect to get to know Jesus? Will life get boring once we become Christians.

The question of pressure came up several times. Peer pressure, family pressure, church family pressure, and self pressure. Topics that will warrant another visit to better discuss. The post (A Higher Calling) and (Stepping Up Your Game) will briefly touch how to improve one’s life.

Conclusions

While this blog has not yet started a feature to address the needs of teens yet, this experience impresses the need to do so a lot sooner than later. They ask a lot of amazing questions and want and expect good answers.

Their choice to follow Jesus is their choice. That will not be broadcast here or on social media. They can share that with their friends and family in a manner they feel is best.

When one is able to have their vision sorted out and have a solid spiritual compass, a lot of problems in life will appear to shrink in size and scope to what they should have been all along. Humans in all their complexities have needs in the tangible physical emotional intellectual world. They have higher order needs that cross the mental to the spiritual. These two weeks only touched one part, the spiritual emotional, and hopefully has opened the dialogue for more growth to come.

The parents were very supportive and came out to learn as well. Without the CEOs of the homes present, this effort would not have had much chance at surviving. The youth need to know their parents are supportive of their journey towards adulthood. It’s a team effort. It’s a community effort. The church family of Eden got a chance to improve their relationships.

May God continue to bless and uphold you in all the decisions that has to be made. Always trust God through faith to lead you unto righteousness.