Georgia youth help build relationships with Utah teens

The little white church sits at the edge of town, surrounded by the towering mountain range. In the front driveway, about 20 teenagers sit around tables eating hamburgers and potato chips, talking about school, music, skateboards and God.

Half the group lives in Heber City, Utah; the rest come from towns across Georgia.

For a week, ten Georgia high school students spent their days hiking, bowling, shopping and eating with their Utah peers. But at night, the teens led worship and small group Bible studies, sharing their spiritual commitment.

“It’s tough here,” admitted Bill Bryant, pastor of Heber Valley Church.

“LDS (Church of Latter Day Saints, also known as Mormons) are on every corner like Baptist churches are on every corner in the south. Nobody knows what a Baptist is out here.”

The Olympic emphasis in February 2002 did help jump-start some growth in the church. During a three-week ministry at the cross-country skiing event in Heber City, Southern Baptists were the only volunteers.

“That was 20 years worth of ministry in three weeks,” Bryant said. “They realized that this Baptist church was OK.”

But growth is still slow in the predominately Mormon area. Bryant also works as a full-time high school coach at nearby Wasatch High School. His relationship with parents and students has helped the church as well.

“God’s working here. I think the growth is going to be through the youth. That’s why it’s important for these Georgia youth to come here and be mentors.”

For two years youth groups sponsored by the Georgia Baptist Convention Discipleship Ministries have spent a week in Heber City working with children. This year Bryant requested a different kind of ministry.

“We wanted the Georgia kids to develop relationships and share their faith and their commitment with our kids.”

So the days were filled with activities and every evening the Georgia students led small group discussions. Topics were basic.

One evening Bryan Janney, 18, from First Church, Sylvania, talks to his group about a daily quiet time. “Do you have a devotional book?” he asks.

No one answers until one boy says, “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“It’s different here,” admitted Amber Sims, 16, from Pine Grove Church in Gillsville. “They’re not quiet when people talk (in worship). They don’t seem very serious about their faith.”

Did the week-long trip make a difference?

“I hope so,” Sims said. “I know I’m getting a lot out of it. I never realized how much influence you have just by the music you listen to, the way you dress and the way you present yourself.”

Did you know...

Each summer Georgia Baptist Discipleship Ministries sponsors mission trips for Georgia youth. The trips are primarily designed for youth from small churches who otherwise wouldn’t have a chance to go on mission. These summer projects were held in Jamaica, Utah, Kentucky and Georgia. While participants pay for the majority of the trip, they are partially funded through the Cooperative Program. For more information or for an application for the 2005 mission trips, e-mail gdavidson@gabaptist.org or call (770) 936-5271 or 1 (800) RING–GBC, ext. 271.

Your church’s giving through the Cooperative Program is vital to the missions and ministries of the GBC and the Southern Baptist Convention.

For more information or to order free educational materials on the Cooperative Program, contact the GBC Cooperative Program office at ahill@gabaptist.org or (770) 936-5240 or at 1 (800) RING–GBC.

You and your church may send Cooperative Program gifts to:

Dr. J. Robert White, Executive Director
Georgia Baptist Convention
2930 Flowers Rd., South
Atlanta, GA 30341-5562

Sherri Brown

Kevin Wade, left, and David Wilson, First Church, Sylvania, follow the students during a three-mile hike at Sundance. Wade and Wilson were both leaders of the Georgia group. The half-day mountain hike was one of the activities that helped build relationships with Utah youth.

Sherri Brown

Georgia and Utah youth take turns turning the front steps of Heber Valley Church into a skateboard ramp.

Sherri Brown

Vanessa WIllingham, 15, from Lighthouse Community Church, Pelham, shares during a small group Bible study at Heber Valley Church in Utah.

Sherri Brown

Bryan Janney, left, from First Church, Sylvania, and Kevin Wade, youth minister from Pauline Church, Morven, help children make origami frames at the Heber Valley Church in Utah. For most of the week the Georgia team worked with teenagers, but spent one morning working with church children.