This month’s youth focus was held at 6:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Lodge on Saturday, September 12. It was a time of fellowship and faith and was a great start to the new school year. The evening began with prayer and afterward, a delicious dinner of Dave’s Hot Chicken was served. Ice cream sandwiches followed as dessert. Then, it was time for the all-group activity: the cup game, where young people face off to “snatch” plastic cups, was brought back.

The devotional portion of the evening began after the game ended. Asaya siblings led the group in singing songs including “10,000 Reasons” and “Revelation Song.” Once the last song had finished, prayer requests were taken, and Mylo Ivany led the group in a prayer to prepare their minds and hearts for the Word of God.

Erik Calhoun opened his message by reading Ephesians 5:16, which says, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” He then provided the young people with a series of facts about time. For example, people spend about one third of their lives sleeping, an accumulative four-and-a-half years eating, and around eight years watching television or looking at their phones. Brother Erik said, “The Bible encourages us to use the time that we have to glorify God,” and he urged the young people to focus on being all they can be for the Lord. He made the point that instead of spending so much time online, young people should be seeking the Lord and focusing on what He has for their lives. Brother Erik went on to say that prioritizing the Lord takes time and effort, but it is most certainly worth it. Even things that are important to us, like school or work, sometimes need to be reprioritized to keep the focus on the Lord. When young people are truly seeking God, He will help take care of the other important tasks too. However, at the end of the day, all that will matter is what was done for the Lord. Brother Erik reminded everyone that the length of time on earth is nothing compared to eternity and ended his message with a call to share the Gospel. The evening closed with a prayer service.