SEND! magazine Fourth Quarter 2007: Strengthening the Youth of Asia

Strengthening the Youth of Asia

Prasela was a Christian, but her life prior to attending the Gospel for Asia youth camp did not always reflect a heart devoted to Christ. Through the camp's skits, songs and messages, the Lord showed her ways she had brought her parents grief. Prasela sensed the Lord calling her to repentance and to do His work. "The Lord told me, 'If you serve Me, and if you serve My people, you will bring peace to your family,' " Prasela recalls. Living with an alcoholic father, Prasela knew what a life without peace was like.

When Prasela returned home, her parents saw a change in her. She told them she was praying for them. She also began telling all her friends what she had learned. Prasela was not the only person from her GFA-related church to attend the youth camp. Encouraged by Pastor Mihum, more than 15 others also took part. But their attendance was not an accident.

Parents in Mihum's church and the surrounding community had approached him, desperate for his help. Many of their young people were showing little interest in the things of the Lord, and parents were having problems relating to their teenage children.

What Is a GFA Youth Camp?
* Two days
* Ages 13-18
* Average attendance at each camp: 75-150
* Goals:
1. Share the Gospel with nonbelievers
2. Challenge Christian youth in spiritual growth and full-time ministry

Along with Pastor Mihum, other GFA missionaries, pastors and congregations prayed earnestly for several months before the camp started. They set up a continuous prayer chain during the actual event.

Today's generation of Asian young people is searching for authenticity in an ever-expanding and changing world. Gospel for Asia's youth camps, held throughout the Subcontinent, offer Jesus Christ as their source of true reality amid competing voices of self-centeredness and materialism.

As a result, thousands of young Asian men and women are being radically changed. Some are being renewed in their faith and are beginning to actively participate in the church and read God's Word. And many others are trusting in Him for salvation for the first time.

Mihum sees how the youth camp has made a positive impact on his congregation. Filled with a special burden to reach children, Prasela has expressed a desire to attend Bible college someday.

"Our youths were telling me, 'Pastor, this camp is very good. When will we have this again?' " Pastor Mihum remembers. "If young people are coming to know the Lord and being trained up, our church will be strengthened."

Learn more about GFA's ministry to young people like Prasela.