Brooklyn Youth Conference 2007—August 26 - September 2

Theme: Mission Possible—Youth Spreading the Gospel

The 2007 Brooklyn Youth Conference opened on Sunday, August 26, with a powerful message by Elvis Ortiz from our church in the Bronx, New York. He spoke about “Decisions We Must Make in Our Lives,” using Joshua 24:14-15 as his text. He admonished us that the ultimate choice we make in life, more important than what school we attend or which career we pursue, will be the choice between salvation and damnation. He shared with us that he accepted the Lord at twelve years of age, because he knew he did not want to make any choices without God. Likewise, he admonished us to allow God to be in the middle of each of our decisions.

That evening, our hearts were stirred to repentance as Godson Tetteh, from Brooklyn, delivered a message of conviction. He told us that this mission is possible, but we need to first be restored from our condition of dry bones. Young people met to the altar, crying out to the Lord, and truly He met us in an unprecedented way.

The blessings of the Lord continued as we gathered at the church on Monday evening for a moving sermon by Jerry Smith, from our church in Linden, New Jersey. He spoke about knowing who we are in Christ, using the example of Elijah in 2 Kings 1:9-15. Elijah knew who he was—a man of God—and because of that assurance, he was able to speak without hesitancy or fear, knowing that his words would be backed up by God's power. Sometimes we are plagued by feelings of powerlessness, helplessness, and hopelessness, and those around us tend to think about us the same way we think about ourselves. He preached, “If we only knew that the power Elijah had still exists today!” Then he asked, “Is it that we do not know, or that we do not act as if the power still exists?” He concluded by challenging us to believe God, noting that “God can only go as far as we believe.”

Gwendolyn Douglas, from our branch church in Richmond, Virginia, preached the next evening with a message entitled, “With God,” taken from Matthew 19:16-26. She told us that in order for youth to spread the Gospel, “it must be in you and it must be contagious.” She then proceeded to teach us how to become contagious: by coming in direct contact with the Blood of Jesus. Then she spoke about how to avoid contamination from the world: by learning from Biblical examples, like Joshua and Samuel. She also told us that we need to get regular check-ups so that we can avoid going into battle like Samson, who realized too late that he no longer had the power he once had. “Be sure that the Gospel is in you and you will be contagious,” she said.

From Wednesday evening until the last Sunday of the conference, sermons were delivered by our guest speaker, Heyward Segres from Kingstree, South Carolina. During his first sermon, he spoke about some of the important things in life: a job, a mate, taking care of our bodies, and so on. He said the most important thing in life, however, is making sure our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

We returned the following Thursday evening to hear Heyward Segres speak about being “Caught in a Storm.” He plainly spoke to the youth in the congregation, telling the young ladies to not let the young men disrespect their personal boundaries, and also telling the young men to get rid of pornographic magazines. “These things will put you in a storm,” he said. Using Revelation 13:15-18 as a text, he told us that a storm is coming, but we do not have to be caught in it.

On Friday evening we were treated to our annual mini-concert. It was presented by the Junior Choir, which is made up of children thirteen years old and younger, and the Youth With a Praise Choir, which consists of young people over thirteen years of age. A special treat this year was the addition of selections performed by young people from our churches in Hempstead, Long Island, and Richmond. Heyward Segres followed these praise selections with a message from Galatians 6:9 and Romans 8:38-39. He told us that although starting out is good, the prize in this Christian race only goes to those who endure until the end. He encouraged us to hold on to God. He said, “God will be everything you need if you just hold on,” he said.

Saturday evening, the youth choir was a highlight of our annual concert. In addition to selections from the Brooklyn church, the concert also featured solos, instrumental numbers, and selections from a combined choir made up of visitors from our churches throughout the Southern and East Coast regions of the country, as well as a conference visitor from Tacoma, Washington.

Sunday morning the conference closed with an admonishment from Heyward Segres that we should live holy. Wherever we go, whatever we do, we should take a stand for Jesus. He spoke from Deuteronomy 2:1-3 on the topic, “We've Gone Around this Mountain Long Enough.” He told us that mountains are sometimes placed in our paths so that God can show us where we stand with Him. The mountain can be sickness, debt, or even bad grades in school. Recounting the words of a popular choir song, Heyward Segres said that we can tell the mountain to move. “We can say, like Caleb to Joshua, give me this mountain this day.”

This year's youth conference also featured daily teachings on topics as diverse as preparing for the Rapture, the blessings and curses of God, and the internet. Truly, the Lord ministered to our hearts and minds during both the morning and evening hours. He also allowed us to be fed with delicious food for our physical bodies each day! Although Conference 2007 is now but a memory, we can definitely say we were able to “taste and see” His goodness to us once again.

If you would like to hear any of these sermons in their entirety, please visit our website at www.afcbrooklyn.org.

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