Bringing hope to the hurting

A few years ago Inter School Christian Fellowship (ISCF) began partnering with youth leaders with a passion for evangelism in a program called "School Tours". They would visit schools that either had an ISCF group, or was planning to start an ISCF group, and put on a program that included songs, drama, dance and testimonies. At the end of the program, the gospel would be shared, and the names of those who responded to the salvation call would be passed on to the ISCF clubs in the schools for follow up. I was never involved in these outreaches before, but this year I felt God nudging me in that direction. I thought I would help with praying for the students after the program, but God clearly had more in mind.

Dramatic presentation depicting Jesus taking
the burden of our sins

I was invited to attend a meeting on the Saturday before the School Tours began. We spent time in prayer for the outreach, then the rehearsals began. We used songs with lyrics that pointed to the new life that is available in Christ despite mistakes of the past. For each song, we did a skit to dramatize the message in the song. The skits covered topics such as alcoholism, drug abuse, incest, rape, homosexuality, abortion, suicide and searching for identity and acceptance. For each skit, we rotated the persons playing the different roles, because we were not guaranteed to have the same persons available for every school visit and wanted everyone to feel confident to jump in any role as needed.

Had to bring out my acting skills :)

This term we visited schools in the East, from St. Augustine to Sangre Grande, over a period of 5 weeks. Most weeks we visited one school in the morning and another one at lunchtime on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In some of the schools, we had the privilege of sharing with the entire school body during their morning assembly. In other schools, we were given the lunch period so we had to invite students to join us, and they did in their numbers. At a few schools, there were specific classes which were assigned to come to our presentations. We walked with our PA system and used whatever space was granted to us, from auditoriums to drama theatres to adjoining classrooms. Hundreds of students heard the gospel message through our presentations.

In some schools there was standing room only

It was amazing to me how the culture in each school was so different. In some students the students were eager to find out why we were there and what we came to do. In others, we had to work a bit harder to get the students interested. Some schools encouraged the students to stay back afterwards if they needed prayer or someone to talk to; others were very strict about when we had to finish and wrap up so the students could go to their classes. But in every single school we visited, God was at work in powerful ways.

Students responding to the invitation
to surrender their lives to Christ

After sharing the skits and our testimonies, students recognized that they could identify with many of the issues which were highlighted. They came up to us afterwards to talk, some of them breaking down in tears so all we could do was pray for them. Some students shared about struggles they were dealing with that they had never spoken about before with anyone. It was a beautiful to see how sharing our stories of how God transformed our lives impacted these young people, and gave us an opportunity to encourage them with the hope that is available in Christ. One student who was struggling with suicidal thoughts shared how they almost didn't come to school that day, but God ensured that they came so they could hear the message that God is a present help in any difficulty they may be experiencing.

Members of the team praying with
a student afterwards

One conversation that stood out to me was with a student who was experiencing some major challenges at home. She mentioned that she thought that things would get better if she gave her life to Christ. I shared with her that having a relationship with God doesn't guarantee that life would be problem free, but the difference is that we will have His help and strength to endure the challenges. We recognized that our young people are dealing with a lot of serious issues, and many of them don't have the necessary support systems available. We are trusting God that those who took that step of faith to open up would respond to the invitation to attend the ISCF meetings where they can get the spiritual support they need.

On one side of the bristol board we wrote what our life
was like before Christ; the other side detailed life with Christ

At one school we visited, there was no ISCF Club, because there was no teacher who had agreed to run the group. When we visited, one of the staffworkers asked the Principal if he could think of one Christian who might be willing to lead the group, and he suggested someone. The staffworker spoke to her, and she agreed to serve as the sponsor! At that same school, one student expressed her surprise at how many of her peers responded to the call to commit their lives to Christ. She thought that she was the only Christian in her school. We are grateful to God that they now know that they are not alone in their journey of living for Jesus.

There was no stage at this school, so students
stood on benches so they wouldn't miss any of the action

We thank God for the doors which were opened to allow us to minister to students in these schools, and we pray that for every student who made that commitment of faith, that they would be willing to take the next steps to grow in their relationship with Christ. Please continue to lift up our young people in prayer, especially those who are dealing with serious issues, that they would find strength in Christ to endure and overcome.