Seventh-day Adventist® Church

Honestly, there's so much to speak about! From the first Sabbath through both the online and in-person midweek services all the way to the final Sabbath, it was a blessing.

 

To walk you through the event, we'll start with the chosen theme: "Can the real Christians stand up?" Being part of Clapton's growing youth department means you're surrounded by people trying to further themselves in their spiritual journeys so they can be part of the real Christians, but believe me when I say that by the end of the service, the majority of us were standing!

 

The Sabbath marking the start was conveniently held on Mother's Day, and though it was a week with youth prioritized, we definitely couldn't forget the mothers. In fact, one of the surprises offered was a song. What made the song particularly special was the fact that every man was forced- sorry! Asked! —to perform it for the women.

 

It was incredibly entertaining and more importantly I know my mother and many others loved it too! To continue on with the shout-out, we handed out flowers to each mother in the church, definitely an emotional segment as it wasn't just for biological mothers but also a symbol of appreciation for all the strong older women in our lives. It was beautiful as many reactions to being appreciated were incredibly wholesome.

 

Moving onto the sermon, well to put it plainly, I and many other youths began to understand Jesus when He said "man cannot live on bread alone", the smell of the food in the back didn't even distract me from the Word given!

 

The sermon started with a prayer for the youths on both weeks, something that, believe it or not, is rare yet so necessary. Clarence's preaching style meant nobody was asleep or struggling to understand, the conviction was strong!

 

The focus in both weeks was on how to better your relationship with God, with many examples of people who did this well in the Bible. Honestly, his commentary, which perfectly conveyed the mindset of today's youth and our mannerisms, meant the sermon was something we could digest; it was relevant, which again is rare. I'm sure every young person walked away feeling as though they had been heard, and with that, I'll conclude the summary of our YWOP. It was a blessing for those who were there, and for those who couldn't attend, they want to make it a priority to be at the next one!


By Faith Ekwuribe