Global Youth Day: Impact on New York City
15 March 2019 | Global Youth Day is an event promoted by the denomination’s youth department. It is scheduled for tomorrow. The idea is that teens and young adults go out and do acts of kindness and community service after a brief worship on Sabbath morning that focuses on Christ’s many commands for such activity by His followers.
New York City is a good example of what is possible on Global Youth Day. A total of 38 projects are planned by the denomination’s Greater New York Conference which will involve more than a thousand volunteers across the metropolitan area.
The projects include distributing free lunches and basic necessities to day laborers looking for jobs in the parking lots at two Home Depot locations, handing out bottled water and hot chocolate at subway and train stations, a choir singing in the Times Square train station and distributing food and clothing in a low-income neighborhood. Also delivering care packages and fruit baskets to police, firefighters and emergency medical personnel, visiting senior citizens in nursing homes, handing out free detergent and quarters for the dryers at Laundromats and feeding the homeless.
Other planned projects include collecting grocery donations for a community food pantry, helping a Lutheran Family Services meals on wheels program deliver hot meals to senior citizens, working with children with disabilities at a Catholic recreation center and a Spring beautification project in a public park which includes cleaning out flower beds, raking leaves, etc.
A recent survey of unchurched Americans concluded that “kindness is the most effective evangelism,” which indicates the validity of this approach. In addition to being a powerful witness for the Adventist faith, it also meets the need of young church members for an active, practical expression of faith.
What is your church doing tomorrow for Global Youth Day? Or has it scheduled it for another weekend? Please share what you see happening by sending an email to www.atoday@atoday.org with “Global Youth Day” in the subject line.
