Peigthons podcast for Jesus
Peighton har deltaget i fem TeenStreet-begivenheder, begyndende da hun var 11 år gammel. Den allerførste begivenhed havde indflydelse på hendes liv, som er fortsat. Hun voksede op i kirken, hendes mor var i ungdomstjenesten og Peighton havde stolet på Jesus, men i et stærkt øjeblik under gudstjenesten på TeenStreet ændrede noget sig. Hun siger: "I det øjeblik blev mit forhold til Herren mit eget, og det blev virkeligt for mig."
Hun fortæller, at hun først følte sig usikker på, hvad folk ville tænke om hende, men at deltage i TeenStreet hjalp hende med at komme forbi det. At se andre teenagere og voksne bede, tilbede og være sårbare, fik hende til at ønske, hvad de havde. Tiden tilbragt i en lille gruppe ved det store arrangement var vigtig, da hun og de andre var i stand til at diskutere emner, dele, hvad de lærte og så også have privat tid alene med Herren.
Now, Peighton is bold about her faith and talks to anyone God puts in her path. People have told her she’s a light as she walks in such freedom and talks of her relationship with God. She also began a podcast that she says is “all about Jesus.” She says, “It was pretty scary, but I knew people need to hear about Jesus, and this is a sweet story of what Jesus has done in me.” Listeners have thanked her for sharing the message, saying it was exactly what they needed. Peighton says that now she faces every situation asking “Jesus, what do you want me to do?” She says, “I’m always talking about Him.” She has been involved in mission trips outside her country and is excited about further involvement in international missions.
Vicki fandt Jesus 12 år efter TeenStreet
Første gang jeg mødte Helligånden var i Teenstreet Tyskland, da jeg var 15 år gammel! Jeg var så overvældet af hans kærlighed til mig! Jeg følte fred, som jeg aldrig havde følt det før! Al angst og bekymring forlod min krop! Jeg ville stadig nogle gange føle den fred, men havde svært ved at forbinde mig med Herren i mange år, indtil jeg vendte tilbage til Teenstreet 12 år senere, i Australien denne gang! Her stødte jeg på hans søde tilstedeværelse igen, men denne gang var der ingen måde, jeg slap det! Jeg ønskede at blive i hans nærvær hver dag! Siden den dag har jeg levet ude af hans nærvær og kan mærke ham så tæt på hver dag! Hans håndgribelige tilstedeværelse! Jeg vil aldrig glemme den massive indflydelse, Teenstreet havde på mit liv og stadig gør i dagMalaysiske teenagere starter en TeenStreet i Cambodja
Aaron fra Malaysia gik på TeenStreet som teenager og derefter som ung voksen sammen med venner fra hans lokale fællesskab. Nu 31 år gammel bruger han stadig ting, han lærte der, til at påvirke en anden generation af unge mennesker i sit eget land og i Cambodja. "TeenStreet tændte og tændte ilden i os for at elske Gud og adlyde ham. De lektier, vi lærte, hjalp os i vores vandring med Jesus, og vi ønskede at se det samme hos andre teenagere – for at de kunne brænde og udleve evangeliet."
When Aaron’s church organized a trip to Cambodia to run a youth camp, he modeled it after TeenStreet, using what he had learned. Nearly 100 teens from 10 villages attended, and Aaron and his team taught the Bible using the creative methods they had experienced. The church has returned to Cambodia in the following years to continue the youth camp. The theme always mirrors the heartbeat of TeenStreet: loving God and loving people. They have taught the teens components from TeenStreet, such as how to spend time alone with the Lord, small group discipleship where a more mature Christian mentors groups of teens, and how to support one another and discuss what they’re learning from Scripture.
Lejren har ikke kun påvirket unge menneskers liv i Cambodja, men Aaron og hans team fortsætter med at bruge de samme TeenStreet-komponenter med unge mennesker derhjemme, og hjælper dem med at vokse som tilhængere af Jesus.
Lachlan & Tiffany’s from Australia to Albania
Lachlan og Tiffany fra Australien har tjent som fuldtidsansatte i OM i Albanien i to år, men det hele begyndte med TeenStreet.
Tiffany grew up in the church and went to several TeenStreet events in Australia. She says, “One of the years I went, we talked about how your parents’ faith is not your own. That was something that hit my heart really hard.” It led to her deciding, “Yes, Christianity is what I want, God is what I want.” She began to think of life in relation to God rather than thinking only of what she would like to do.
Meanwhile, Lachlan hadn’t grown up in a Christian home, but Tiffany’s brother invited him to TeenStreet. He says, “That was the first time I’d heard anything spiritual … It was so clear to me in that week that this was the real thing, this was the truth. TeenStreet played a big role in my being open to having Jesus in my life and eventually accepting Him as God and Savior.”
Tiffany and Lachlan met at TeenStreet. She says, “Each year that we’ve gone, there’s been either something on our hearts or a decision we needed to pray through. It’s really been a help spending a week with Jesus and not having distractions and having people who are there to help. For us, that was a huge part of deciding to date, deciding to get married, and also to open up space to go on a mission trip. We went to Nepal for two weeks while we were dating, and it really affected how we thought of missions.”
Lachlan says, “TeenStreet played a big role from coming to a real, living faith to providing a space where, in the midst of the year, we could put our entire focus on who Jesus is and what He wants from our lives, what He’s saying to us now. And it has really grown us every time as we try to live this out day to day.” TeenStreet was also key in the couple moving into missions. “It played a big role in our hearing from God and also by giving us opportunity to hear from missionaries and go on a short-term mission trip,” Lachlan says.
Hvordan en netgruppe ændrede sig efter TeenStreet
Will og Jess og deres børn flyttede fra USA til Montenegro i 2019 for at tjene hos OM. I dette lille land ved Adriaterhavet nordvest for Albanien identificerer færre end én procent af befolkningen sig som evangeliske Jesus-tilhængere.
All of the teens from the local church attended the TeenStreet Balkans event, so Will and Jess went along to get to know these young people they would be working with. They saw significant changes in the teens after the event, so they built on what the teens learned and experienced at TeenStreet. Will and Jess are excited to see them grow from being focused on themselves to thinking of others and taking the first steps of reaching out to people around them with the message of God’s love.
Teenagerne havde ingen erfaring med interaktive bibelstudier og diskussioner. Men TeenStreet hjalp dem med at lære at engagere sig i Bibelen, diskutere, hvad de læser og lærer, og aktivt søge at vokse i deres forståelse og tro. Will og Jess siger: "Da vi har inkorporeret ting fra TeenStreet i vores lille gruppe, ser vi, at de bliver mere åbne ... de er bedre rustet til at opmuntre hinanden."
Gennem aktiviteter påbegyndt på TeenStreet besluttede de fleste af teenagerne i kirkegruppen, at de havde brug for mentorer til at hjælpe med væksten. Fordi teenagerne tog initiativ til dette, var Will og Jess i stand til at lancere et mentorprogram for at gøre disse unge mennesker disciple og hjælpe med at ruste dem til at blive voksne tilhængere af Jesus.
Et vigtigt skridt for teenagerne var at lære at tænke på andre og indse behovet for, at andre skulle kende Jesus. Gruppen har begyndt små former for opsøgende arbejde i deres lokalsamfund, og Will og Jess håber, at dette vil vokse. TeenStreet startede en livsændrende proces for disse teenagere, og hjalp dem med at gøre deres tro og vandre med Gud virkelig, mens de omsætter det, de lærer, til handling.