In the Rearview: A Look Back at the 2015 Youth Evangelistic Team Tour

By Kevin Skiles

For the past two summers, the Lord has allowed my wife Christy and I to travel with some of the most talented and amazing kids we have ever had the privilege of knowing. Although we have worked and traveled with students for several years at Seffner Christian Academy, we were apprehensive about this new adventure to which the Lord led us. Traveling all over the country with 15 people in a 15-passenger van can seem quite daunting, especially when 13 of them are teens.

As we met these students and began to work with them, however, that apprehension was replaced with an unexplainable peace, and God worked in and through the Youth Evangelistic Team (YET) in ways that showed His incredible ability to use the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary for His Kingdom.

This summer, YET traveled to the Northeast, working with churches from North American Ministries. We began our tour with Pastor Nate Altom at Keystone FWB Church in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Continuing north, we traveled to Exeter, Rhode Island, and ministered at Beacon FWB Church, pastored by Bill Reynolds. Our next destination was North Point Church in Buffalo, New York, pastored by Brian Williams, followed by the Flagship Church in Erie, Pennsylvania, with Daryl Grimes. Our last stop on the tour was Lyon Park Fellowship in Arlington, Virginia, pastored by Michael Kernodle. Then it was a quick trip back to Nashville, Tennessee, to practice for the National Youth Conference.

The 2015 tour concluded with a Sunday morning worship service at the 180 Church in Clarksville, Tennessee, pastored by Chad Kivette. As I look back on this whirlwind tour, several key words come to mind:

Challenges

Besides the obvious challenge of traveling in cramped quarters, unexpected situations always present themselves. Whether it was driving through New York City traffic, finding a hospital in Rhode Island after one of the team members fell and cut his head, or just dealing with everyday teenage drama, the three-week tour certainly held its challenges, but the Lord was faithful to deliver us through everything that we faced. He always causes us to triumph in Christ.

Fellowship

The fellowship we experienced, both with each other and with other believers we met, is an amazing testimony to the oneness of God’s people and His Church. Because of our mutual faith in Christ, it is easy to develop friendships that will last for years to come.

Service

Through projects as simple as cleaning the church for Sunday service, the students learned that ministry is much more than singing on a stage. Worshiping God is about every aspect of our lives, not just a Sunday morning event!

Encouragement

Certainly, we want to be a refreshing boost to those who minister in places that do not have the “spiritual bubble” under which many of us live. But the encouragement is reciprocated in the lessons team members learn from these missionaries as they see what it takes to build a church from the ground up.

Toward the end of the tour, the students were waiting for a hotel shuttle and began to sing on a sidewalk in downtown Arlington, Virginia. A man walked by in tears, thanking them for what they were doing. It is my desire that the Lord will use these experiences to develop a heart for ministry in these talented young people. We want the Lord to use their abilities for eternal purposes rather than temporary gain!

Want to suport YET? Visit verticalthree.com/yet to find out how.