For our second week of programs, we had a group fly into New Jersey all the way from the west. This group had youth coming from nine different congregations in three different states including Arizona, California, and Hawaii! This was their first time being at the Chapel, making it a very new and exciting experience for them! The staff had a great time getting to know the youth group throughout the week. One of the best things was seeing the group really engage with the evangelism and activities to the point that many of them really wanted to come back as staff in the future, praise God!
Simon Livingston was one of those potential staffers who really saw God working in his life through evangelism. In the School of Evangelism, our leaders stress the necessity of evangelism in sanctification, and to see that being played out in others lives is exhilarating. Simon noted that, “the world and I both need evangelism. God worked in me and through me.” This is a beautiful example of the whole goal of the Chapel. We take people and train them in evangelism, helping them discover passion and giftedness to use for the building up of Christ’s Kingdom.
One of the experiences that shaped Simon’s passion was when a group of 5 or 6 people who he had shared the Gospel with on his first night out, came back to see him, remembered his name, and talked about how impactful their conversation had been. The Wildwood Boardwalk is full of these unique opportunities to share the Gospel and to see its impact!
Evangelism also really impacted Danny Nannini, from Carson, CA. When asked to identify his favorite part about the week, he couldn’t name just one thing. Eventually he said, “Everything! From the opportunity to give a gospel message and to do street evangelism. I loved singing, acting, and serving with my brothers and sisters. I loved the whole Chapel experience.”
For Danny, the ability to use his own personal testimony in relationship building and evangelism was key.
God worked in this group in a mighty way, bringing them together as they became closer to God. The leader of the trip, Pastor Thibault, reminded us to pray for the youth that they would get back to the gospel, bathe everything in prayer, and use relationships to evangelize!