The first youth group of 2021 came and went during the last week of training for Boardwalk Chapel Staff. The group was from the midwest, with people coming from Wisconsin, and Illinois. Pastor Tony Domanik from Falls OPC in Menomonee Falls, along with his wife Colette brought the group of teenagers down to the chapel, and for many of them, it was their first time being able to come to the Chapel.
Hananiah (Hans) MacDonald, from Falls OPC, spent his first week ever at the Chapel benefitting from the depth that he found in the Christian faith. That week was Apologetics Training, conducted by Pastor Jim, and had north of 30 lectures, ranging from such varied topics such as the virgin birth to the reliability of Scripture. This in-depth study was intense and often difficult, but completely worth it.
Hans said, “My greatest takeaway from the last week at the Chapel was learning how to pray.” Before coming to the chapel, that was something that he had never considered in detail, or put into extended practice. Having long prayer meetings, close to one hour in length, helped to solidify the power and the practice of prayer in Hans’ life. In evangelism, he found that God strengthened him to relieve nerves and to share the word boldly. He recommends to the nervous evangelist, “Pray to God to take away your nerves!”
Another first-timer from Orland Park, Illinois, Malcolm Wright had a very similar experience at the Chapel. He noted that he had never had this good of a relationship with God, actually wanting to read His Word, and praying. The theme of prayer shows up very strongly in Malcolm’s testimony as well, as the long prayers ended up being his favorite part of the week! He really valued the opportunity to, “have longer conversations with God, and not just ask Him for stuff, but actually having a relationship.”
Apart from the prayer, Malcolm left the Boardwalk Chapel with a greater understanding of God’s goodness. As he was out witnessing on the Boardwalk with a friend, he saw the work of the Holy Spirit convicting a man of his sin and turning him towards Christ. “That really just struck me that God is good!” he said.
Pastor Tony saw similar things in all of the youth that spent the week at the Chapel. He described it as young men and young women growing in evangelistic confidence, recognition of sin, growth in maturity, and perseverance in prayer. His prayer for the youth is a worthy prayer for all of us, that God would, “make this year’s students thirst for his Word, for prayer, and for the lost. That the Lord would regenerate and sanctify and turn people into mature, capable adults who have a command of Scripture and have calloused knees.” He ended our interview recognizing the power of prayer and the importance of readying the youth for the baton which is about to be handed down to them!