However, my eldest daughter, Lynn, had the time of her life as she attended TEAM ONE 2014, a national youth leadership seminar held by Elevate, the youth ministry that my two daughters attend every Saturday.
Here’s the recap video of what transpired on that magical 4 days of fun and learning. The participants were those who currently are leaders of Elevate or those who are being groomed to be such. Lynn was very flattered when she was endorsed by her D-group leader (D-group = short for Discipleship group) and was strongly encouraged to join (she's also being challenged to lead a D-group of her own). How can I, her dad, refuse such an endorsement? So she was among the 800 teenagers who joined TEAM ONE 2014.
Watch the recap video:
I asked her to say a few words about how the event affected her, and so here it is. May it encourage you if you are a parent of teenagers, and may it convince you to consider putting them into youth organizations like Elevate…this country would be a better place if more kids joined this kinda stuff, in my opinion.
Lynn's TEAM ONE 2014 Testimony:
My expectations for Team One were high, and I could tell you that my experience, without a doubt, surpassed my expectations.Team One is an Elevate leader's conference, and looking back at my experience, I couldn't help but feel grateful for the time spent there. I believe I've grown an even more intimate relationship with God, and it opened doors in my heart which I didn't even know were there.
I was truly blessed by the people I met and spent time with there. All of them, with their hands raised up for God, and their hearts set on God, and God alone. I believe every session in this conference has touched everyone's hearts, and I could honestly tell you that I've cried quite a lot of times. I could feel God's goodness and hand upon each and every one of us there, and I couldn't help but have my eyes overflow with happiness from being COMPLETE in God.
During one of the sessions, my favorite session to be exact, our topic was being a Servant Leader. This was the time I realized how hard it is to be a leader. I can honestly say that me being a Dgroup leader, I was proud of myself, and it was only during this conference that I realized that I had this pride. "Leaders should be selfless and sacrificial servants." I, myself often need to be reminded of this, because this doesn't just apply to people who have a Dgroup, but to our everyday lives. In order to be a leader, I must be willing to sacrifice a lot.
The CDO group...well, most of them
I have made a decision that when people look at me, I want them to see God in me, and I know that the only way for me to accomplish that is for me to be a Godly example to the people around me, especially to the people I am leading. I know that as a teenager, I may not be so flexible when it comes to time, but I will try my very best to be there for the people who need me, just as God has always been there for me.
Dr. Peter Tan-Chi
When watching the recap videos, I couldn't help but be amazed. I couldn't help but feel so grateful for being part of This Movement. I always think to myself that "You were one of those people raising their hands out to God. You were one of those people giving their lives to God." I thank God for this opportunity, and I also thank Him for the new relationships made during this conference, and I can proudly say, that I am COMPLETE in Jesus.As you can see, she was incredibly blessed by what happened. She wouldn’t stop talking about it for days (that is, when she wasn’t sleeping off her exhaustion), and her friends were also doing the same.
Elevate has done wonders for my daughter. She's always been confident, but now much more so. She's also built relationships with people from all walks of life, which is great because I'd like her to be flexible when it comes to friends. She also gets to serve, to be needed, to be counted: that's a very deep need that many teenagers have, and it gets filled here (mostly via her musical gifts). Best of all, it is here where she grows in Godliness. Yes, it is our responsibility as parents to be the biggest influence of our children's faith, but isn't it great to have a partner who inspires them, allows them to be themselves, and speaks their language? That's what Elevate does.
Save the date. UNITE is always, always epic!
This Saturday, Elevate will have a huge event--this time for all teens, not just leaders--called UNITE. It's too bad that my girls (my middle child, Mesoo just started joining recently, right after graduating from Grade 6) can't join because we're on vacation, but I would like to still use this blog entry to invite you to bring your teen to Elevate and have them be part of an awesome movement.If there is a CCF church, then there is an Elevate movement. We go to CCF Cagayan de Oro, and therefore my girls go to Elevate CDO. Have your teens join Elevate every Saturday for high school students, or Friday for college students.. They will have a wonderful time.
Before I close, here are some more pics taken of TEAM ONE 2014, taken from Lynn's phone and a few other cameras/smartphones.
Lynn with the boys
With Erica, one of her besties
Levels of Leadership
One HUGE highlight of her trip was to see one of the world's most sought-after speakers, Ravi Zacharias live.
I soooo understand you, bro. Truly, I do.
Passionate praise and worship
The party continues, even on the bus
Um, Godly SWAG?
This hilariously explains why I don't do Elevate camps or conferences or anything out of town...
...unless I have my own room that I can lock during night time and nap time.
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