For 400 Seventh-day Adventist youth and young adults from around the world, evangelism is personal. This group will be in the streets of St. Louis, Missouri, June 29 through July 9, sharing the gospel with others at the same time that the Adventist world church will hold the General Conference Session 2005.

The evangelism event, "Impact St. Louis," is an intense, two-week training and practicum using traditional and non-traditional methods of outreach, such as hosting a Christian café, learning sign language or using puppets. The event is geared for Adventists ages 16 to 35. While the event takes place in North America, the youth delegation will be like the GC Session delegates—international.

James L. Black Sr., youth ministries director for the North American Division, says each of the Adventist church’s 13 divisions has a set number of delegates. "Anytime you expose youth and young adults to the world church there is going to be a phenomenal blessing," Black says. "Many have only been exposed to their local church. Here they will see that the church is much bigger [than their local communities]." This will be the third such "Impact" session, whose origin goes back to the 1995 GC Session in Utrecht, Netherlands. Another was held in Toronto, Canada in 2000; there, 209 youth and young adults came from 30 countries to participate. "It is my job to teach these young people that they have an important part to play in the life of the church, " says Black, referring to both St. Louis and his everyday work.

Impact St. Louis is "very important for the Adventist world church because we are preparing young people to get involved in the mission of the church through service projects, community oriented projects," adds Baraka Muganda, Adventist world church youth ministries director. "In every church we’ve got to develop a permanent lifestyle of serving." It will also be an opportunity for students to equate evangelism with fun, says Cloveth Smith, who works with Black as his assistant and as ministries coordinator for NAD Youth Ministries. "Ministry is not only for old people and it doesn’t have to be boring," she notes. It helps that those teaching the classes have been using these unique evangelism methods in their own local church communities, says Smith.

"The greatest impact will be what we leave with people there [in St. Louis]," says Smith, who was in Toronto five years ago. At the Christian Café in Toronto, Smith says she met people who were homeless, people who lived in hostels, and people who were just curious about the Adventist Church. Along with sharing God with thousands on the streets of Toronto, the group packed food to serve 6,000 meals.

"This is not something we are doing for the community. It is something we are doing with the community," Black stresses, explaining that the group will work with local churches. These churches will follow up with those who show interest in learning more about God this summer. [Editor: Taashi Rowe for APD]