Olivet Teen Mission International celebrated its Fourth Anniversary with a service on April 17, calling on congregants to ask God’s help to revive and shepherd teens in the church.
OTM International Representative Pastor Amanda Garcia delivered a sermon at Immanuel Chapel in Dover, NY. Her message covered passages from Matthew 5:14, Luke 7:11-17 and Matthew 9:36. OTM hoped congregants could meditate on the meaning of the ministry for the Olivet church community and also look back on the past year.
While we may have a bright vision for teens reflected in OTM’s ministry verse from Matthew 5:14 describing Jesus’ disciples as “the light of the world,” young people face a lot of brokenness, she said. Luke 7 shows what the church ought to do for the youth.
“This passage is talking about what can really happen to the church, what we are seeing happening today,” she said. “Those that are young, the youth, they are dying, not physically, but spiritually. This is so sorrowful. The youth are the future of the church, the ones who ought to inherit the faith, the history of God, all the sacrifices.”
Like the Lord who sees the heart of the crying widow in the passage and wants to comforts her, Pastor Garcia said the church must also cry out, get the God’s attention and start the work of reviving the youth. She encouraged congregants to have a heart to shepherd the youth in the church who are longing for God’s Word and God’s love. Through this they can be transformed to bring a bright light to the dark world, she said.
The service included a presentation of last year’s activities and teens’ testimonies from around the world. Many who attended testified they could see the importance of the ministry and its ministers for leading the youth in the church.
