We caught up with team leader Henry, to hear what’s been happening with Advance Youth in Manchester as our young people took to the streets and stepped out in boldness to share about Jesus.
‘Our teaching section for this month’s Advance Youth Gathering was focussed on how the Holy Spirit empowers us for evangelism and we chatted as a group about doing treasure-hunting for Jesus to lead us to people to share his love with. So we spent a bit of time praying and asking God to give us clues about who he wanted us to talk to through pictures, sounds, or words of knowledge from him, and then we went out to find the treasure!
‘Anya* was with her group walking around Piccadilly Gardens feeling like God was asking her to look for a lady in a green coat. One of the leaders spotted someone in a green coat and asked, ‘Is that them?’ ‘No’ Anya replied, pointed to a billboard with an unusual colour green and said, ‘That’s the colour we’re looking for.’
‘They searched Piccadilly Gardens but couldn’t find anyone wearing anything near that colour so they tried a different approached. The young people decided to stop and pray and then wait, asking God to lead them to where this person was. Getting a small sense of where God was leading, one of the other young people directed the group down a series of streets, stopping to ask God which way to go at every corner.
‘Then it happened. There she was: this lady in a green coat in exactly the same colour as the billboard. ‘There she is!’, exclaimed Anya. Rushing over to the lady, who was walking with two other people, Anya said, ‘Excuse me, sorry to bother you. We’re from one of the local churches and we’re out praying for people today. Would you mind if we prayed for you?’ The lady, surprised and amazed, laughed almost in disbelief then said, ‘Yes please! These two won’t like it (pointing towards the two people she was with), but I would love you to.’ The man and woman she was with rolled their eyes and walked away, shaking their heads as this lady got prayer.
‘The young people asked the lady if she was okay and she said, ‘Oh yes, I’ve just become a Christian two months ago and I keep telling them (her husband and her mum) that God is real but they think I’m crazy!’
‘The lady continued to tell us that she had fallen in love with Jesus but was struggling as her whole family mocked her for it. She also said that the three of them had travelled up to Manchester to see her daughter and she was planning on telling her about Jesus and how he’d changed her life but knew it wouldn’t go down well with her husband and mother.
‘Anya took this opportunity to encourage her and shared how God had given her a picture of the green coat she was wearing. Anya told her that this was a sign that God was with her, that he loved her, and that he was proud of her. The lady began to tear up and said, ‘This is exactly what I needed today. Thank you.’ The group took a moment to pray for the lady asking God to strengthen her and empower her to share the gospel with her daughter.
‘The team were amazed at how God had led them to this lady to encourage her in her new faith. It was a beautiful example of how the gift of the evangelist is not only for reaching people who don’t yet know Jesus, but also for equipping and encouraging God’s people as they go out and do the same.’
If your young people would love to grow in their evangelism and challenge themselves this summer, why not invite them along to Advance The Scattering – a week of mission happening in the North East and in London Summer 2024. Find out more at message.org.uk/thescattering
