Youth Bible School 2009… what a blessing, what an opportunity!  661 young people gathered together listening to sound Biblical teaching for an entire week.

What did we learn?

From David Janzen’s messages on Studies in the doctrine of Faith we looked back through the annals of time and reviewed the lives of several men and women of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11. We explored the reason for their faith and how the same power that upheld them during times of extreme persecution and hardship can be ours, thousands of years later. Out of these sessions, David’s graphic description of Noah’s faithfulness in building the ark over a 120 year period, will remain etched in my memory for a long time.

Dean Taylor spoke on the familiar theme, What Would Jesus Do? Standing in front of the crowded auditorium, he grabbed a can of spray paint and wrote on a white cloth-covered stand, “What if Jesus really meant Every word that He Said?” This remained the theme for his messages during the rest of the week as he explored areas of Jesus’ teachings that are often overlooked by the broader evangelical church community.

John D. Martin’s sessions on Seeking God’s Kingdom, was for me a culmination of many of John D.’s previous messages on Kindom living. He told several familiar stories as well as some that I hadn’t heard to illustrate the vision that Jesus left us on how we are to live our lives as Kingdom citizens.

The evening revival services, conducted by Leonard Guenther, John Ray Nolt, and Mark Brubaker, were times of soul searching and repentance. Several young people turned over their lives to Jesus and found glorious victory over sin after these evening messages.

I am amazed each year at how Earl Fox, the chorus director, is able to get 600+ young people to sing together in four part harmony for Sunday evening’s Youth Choral Program. Added to that the controversial removal of one of the song selections midway through the week, and one can only attribute the strength, patience and wisdom of this man to God.

Prayer and Sharing was a highlight to me this year as nine of us young men shared our thoughts and poured out our hearts to our Savior and Lord. Youth Testimonies were similar as several young people shared about God’s work in their lives to a broader audience. Both of these times are so necessary in Bible School as they deal with areas in life “where the ruber meets the road” as it were.

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I took several photos this year which you can view at the password protected link below. Also included in this album are the group photos that were taken by Roger Weaver.

Link to Album
Username: guest
Password: (first word lower-case of first song in chorus book)

Posted on November 9th, 2009 by Josh Champagne
Filed under: Events, News and Current Events, Photos, Thinking Aloud