Pentecostal Students Challenged to be More than Sunday Christians

By Audrey Barrick|Christian Post Reporter

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Thousands of students from the Assemblies of God are in Charlotte, N.C., this week for a major youth convention, hoping to be "led by fire" and to go back to their homes without extinguishing that flame.

"This week we're on fire for God ... God's doing incredible things. Last month or the month before we were at youth camp. God impacted our lives ... but what about in between? Were you still led by fire or were you led back to sin?" Steve Pulis, national student outreach director for the Assemblies of God, posed to students Monday night.

"When the tough times come, too often it's hard for us to live out the commitment of being led by fire."

Over 10,000 students have gathered for Charlotte08 which is comprised of a Fine Arts Festival, Ambassadors in Mission outreach and other activities. Under the theme of "Led by Fire," students are encouraged to use their gifts to glorify God and to also join with other churches in the are to minister to the city of Charlotte.

"God wants more than just a Sunday morning in youth service commitment," Pulis told the young crowd. "There's more to the commitment of following Jesus than just asking for forgiveness.

"Making the commitment to follow him, well that's easy. But living the commitment? That's where the work comes in."

"God wants you to be led by fire all of your life," he stressed.

Organizers of Charlotte08 want this to be about more than an event. They want to see the younger generation discover their gifts and deploy those talents.

"God is raising up a generation of underdogs to be champions for Christ and this is our opportunity to be a part of His plan for each of their lives. This is our chance to challenge students and leaders to be led by fire," National Youth Director Jay Mooney told staff, according to the Assemblies of God News Service.

As for reaching out to Charlotte, Ambassadors in Mission is partnering with MEGA Sports Camp to use sports as an evangelism and discipleship tool to reach out to the city.

"Traditional church outreaches are not always the most effective in today’s youth culture," said Jim Wellborn, national AIM liaison. "The training and curriculum provided by Mega Sports will greatly benefit the city of Charlotte while also giving our students the experience and confidence to bring similar, relevant outreaches back home to their local communities."

Last year, in Indianapolis, the Assemblies of God launched a major campus evangelism initiative, called Dreaming 2015, with the vision of reaching 1 million American teens and grafting them into a local church by 2015. Over 5,200 students were commissioned as missionaries to their campus.

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Neal Herring »

Mon Sep 21, 2009 11:37 pm Agree: 0 Disagree: 0

Mediocrity promoted again. Why not give them the commands of Christ to leave all behind and follow Him?
artm »

Sat Mar 28, 2009 8:22 am Agree: 0 Disagree: 0

There are many Christians who have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, who are struggling to serve God. And our young People are struggling to be more than Sunday Christians, Not because there is a lack of the Holy Spirit, But because there is little or no Gospel of Christ being preached in the church today.

The Church must once again look to, and preach, " Christ and Him Crucified."

It must be preached under the Anointing of the Holy Ghost.
MandyMaria »

Wed Mar 18, 2009 8:58 am Agree: 1 Disagree: 0

There are too many stimuli in today's youth culture. . . internet, movies, stores, cliques, fads etc. . . its tought to keep up with. I think that all efforts to reach out to teens are good! However, following any of the above will only produce minimal results. The parents pastors and local leaders who have FAITH need to be living it or else teens will see their duplicity and walk away.

mandymaria.blogspot.com
Tom »

Sat Aug 09, 2008 11:35 am Agree: 1 Disagree: 0

Star very well put. I could not have gone as far as I have in this walk with Christ, putting down the sin that so easly ensnares me without the guidance,conviction and the comfort that the Holy Spirit gives that was made possible by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is He that hs poured God's love into me and given me the ability to with stand some of the attack that have happen. Well put brother. Gods Blessing In Christ Tom
star2 »

Fri Aug 08, 2008 8:04 am Agree: 3 Disagree: 1

msnchris70 - a believer receives the Holy Ghost when they become born-again by the spirit of God. They become filled (bpatized) in the Holy Ghost when they ask for it in prayer.

A believer can be set on fire for God if he/she surrenders to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and walks in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. Being Baptized in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, however, will add an additional dimension to the believer's walk with God. Not only will he be able to pray in the spirit but he will have a propencity to believe for the supernatural.

I have been to Baptist churches that don't believe in the baptism of the Holy Ghost and I have been to pentecostal churches that do. The difference between the two is the belief in the supernatural. The Baptists don't have a mindset for the gifts of the spirit (healing, casting out of demons [deliverance], prophecies, tongues and interpretation of tongues) but the pentecostals do. Each group of people have members that love God but one group (the pentecostals) experiences more supernatural healings and etc than the other.
wrhalver »

Thu Aug 07, 2008 5:16 am Agree: 0 Disagree: 0

By no means is this message just for students.
Any believer should desire to be more than just a Sunday Christian.

But more than we are willing to admit, much of the time our Spirituality is driven by emotions, not the Holy Spirit.

Based upon what this article is saying, nothing has changed since I was involved in youth fellowship some 25 years ago.

But God's work is a continual work. He is always faithful. We must remain faithful.
star2 »

Wed Aug 06, 2008 9:52 pm Agree: 0 Disagree: 0

To receive the fullness of God a believer must be baptized in the name of the Father (totally surrendered to the will of God), be baptized in the name of the Son (water baptism/believer's baptism), and be baptized in the name of the Holy Ghost (filled with the spirit; something Jesus does when you ask for it in prayer). [Receiving the Holy Ghost when you believe and receive Jesus as Savior is different than being filled with the Holy Ghost.]
msnchris70 »

Wed Aug 06, 2008 4:45 pm Agree: 2 Disagree: 1

I too have seen Charismatic Catholics fired up and some fall back into old routines. You can't survive on the "Feeling" of being fired up.

The Charismatic Catholics I know who remain fired up are nourished daily with the Word of God; Scripture and Eucharist. This sustains them and keeps that fire lit.
tpique1 »

Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:34 pm Agree: 1 Disagree: 1

The fire dies because they get the "tinglies" but don't don't commit it to a lifestyle of holiness. What they get at meetings can be mostly flesh. It isn't until we commit to a LIFESTYLE of spending time with the Lord that the change happens.

"Draw nigh unto Me, and I will draw nigh unto you."

We need to "keep being filled" by the Spirit and allowing Him to remove things in our lives that hinder us from becoming more like Christ.

A rock concert is NOT going to change A THING. It is when the "music fades" and we're away from energy of the crowds that God begins to do His work in us.
DannyPoo »

Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:44 pm Agree: 0 Disagree: 0

Going to an assemblies of god, i've seen far too often many people coming back from Camps/Retreats etc. Fired up to serve God, but many times fall back to their old patterns.

I believe that the problem is, that they expect the "feeling" of that fire to stay, often it does not. The desires of the world often douse the flame.

When returning from such an event, we must develop our understanding of the Word so that we may fuel the fire every day.
msnchris70 »

Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:14 pm Agree: 0 Disagree: 2

Many Charismatic Catholics would whole heartedly agree with this. You must receive the Holy Spirit to be set on fire for the Lord.

May God bless all Christians who are fired up for Our Lord! The Charismatic movement in the Catholic Church has grown to 200 Million of our 1.2 Billion flock. Estimates say that it is growing at a rate of 20% per year, praise God!

May the Holy Spirit inspire us all to live the life Christ wants us to. Lead us to spread the Gospel!
tpique1 »

Wed Aug 06, 2008 12:23 pm Agree: 3 Disagree: 1

Get baptized in the Holy Ghost and you won't be a Sunday morning Christian.

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