True voice of Christian youth rings out at Veritas
04/02/2010Heather Hahn
Editor
HOT SPRINGS — Some 1,100 Arkansas United Methodist teens packed into the Hot Springs Convention Center to “Jump Start” their hearts at this year’s Veritas.They worshiped, prayed, played and talked about giving their heart and trust to God during the gathering on Feb. 26-28. And they returned to their home churches re-energized about their Christian faith.
The giant event for seventh- through 12th-graders rivals the size of June’s statewide Annual Conference. And none of it would be possible without the leadership and organizational drive of the youth themselves.
“People think, ‘Oh that’s a great thing that the adults put together,’” said Rod Hocott, the Arkansas Conference’s minister of youth and young adults.
“What I want people to understand is that this is a youth deal. When kids see youth onstage, they see the people who are running things. It’s all youth-run.”
That’s true for all events planned by the Arkansas Conference Council on Youth Ministry. But it’s particularly apparent at Veritas, where teen leaders were always on hand to help things run smoothly and help guide adult chaperones and youth ministers.
“Every adult has questions,” said Mary Gillett, a member of the Benton First United Methodist Church youth group and the Veritas 2010 youth chair. “So I’ve been sitting at the info table trying to make sure everybody knows where they’re going, make sure everybody’s in the workshops where they’re supposed to be, making sure the band is comfortable.”
The Veritas task force includes five adults and eight youth, who begin meeting in August every other month to plan the winter gathering. The teens planned the theme “Jump Start Your Heart” and the T-shirt. They also arranged workshop leaders together. The adults — many with years of experience in youth ministry — often had names to suggest for the main speaker and the band. But the youth on the task force helped make the ultimate decision about who to bring.
The names of this year’s workshops kept up with the event’s cardiac theme. The young participants could choose among 18 offerings with names such as “Serving from Your Heart: Missions,” “Different Chambers, One Heart: Understanding Other Denominations,” Catching the Beat: Going Green” and “Finding the Common Beat: Seeing God in Secular Music & Movies.”
The year’s speaker was Jay Gamelin, who has spoken at youth gatherings around the nation. He also serves as the lead pastor of Jacob’s Porch, a campus mission at Ohio State University. Gamelin was a big hit with a number of those at Veritas, including Gillett.
“He is incredible,” she said. “He’s one of the best speakers I’ve heard at Veritas. It’s so hard to find a good speaker because you’re planning for seventh- through 12th-graders. You have to be able to reach a large age group, and he’s definitely good at that.”
This gathering was Gillett’s sixth Veritas. Although her duties as the task force chair prevented her from attending the workshops, she didn’t miss the time of worship.
Gillett said she didn’t know what her faith would be like without the strength and fellowship she has found at Veritas and other Arkansas Conference youth events.
It was a sentiment echoed by a number of youth at the gathering.
“If it wasn’t for events like Veritas, honestly my number of Facebook friends would be cut in half,” said Joshua Holt, a high school senior who was at his third Veritas.
“So many of my friends are here. It’s just so nice to be able to be with a community of fellow believers. We’re all trying to push forward in the same spiritual direction.”
Holt, a member of Salem UMC in Conway, was a manning a table to promote Youth Service Fund, which provides grants that enables youth to be able to join mission trips and attend youth gatherings they might not otherwise be able to afford.
Holt was the recipient of a Youth Service Fund grant to attend Senior High Assembly. Now, like Gillett, he’s a youth leader helping to carry the tradition forward. In Holt’s case, he serves as the youth chair helping to devise ways to support the fund.
“If it wasn’t for that [grant], I wouldn’t be here in this position now,” Holt said.
Lindsey Maestri, a sophomore and member of St. Paul UMC in Fort Smith, said Veritas has long been her favorite event and she was excited to help plan it as a member of this year’s task force.
“I’ve made friends from places in Arkansas I’ve never heard of,” she said.
Michelle Moore, director of youth ministries at Conway First UMC and the adult coordinator for the Arkansas Conference Council on Youth Minsitry, said Veritas teaches youth the importance of connection within the United Methodist Church.
“It’s incredible to see our young members planning events for others their age,” she said. “I’m so proud of our leaders for taking on the responsibility to continue educating other youth about the importance of being a faith community.”
The experience isn’t just valuable for youth.
Gretchen Diffee now oversees youth at Star City First UMC, where her husband Bryan R. Diffee was appointed as pastor last June. But she told her former youth group at Camden First UMC that she was determined to come to Veritas even if her new charges in Star City weren’t interested.
“I don’t care if I don’t have any kids with me, I’m going to come,” she said.
Ultimately, two youth from Star City agreed to come, and Diffee could not have been more pleased.
“Even though it’s aimed at youth, it was memorable ‘A-ha!’ moment for me as a Christian. It gets you out of the normal, busy church stuff you do on Sunday. I get to pay attention to the Christian message.”
To learn more about how you can be a part of conference-wide youth events, visit www.accym.org.
