Over the last two months we had the privilege of running two ORIGIN's, which are our largest events, where we bring together as many youth groups as we can and share the Gospel. This year was our fourth ORIGIN in Hamilton and it was super encouraging to see 19 youth groups and over 350 youth and leaders attend.
This years theme was "For Real", which we used to speak to big questions like "Who is God?" and "What is sin?". Origin events are made up of three main parts, the Games, the Summit and the Auction (prizes). The Summit is where the Gospel is shared through various elements such as testimony, video, spoken word and a clear message. This year, Billy Hanna was our speaker who brought a clear and convicting delivery of the Gospel. This led to 12 teenagers publicly responding to the Gospel message at Hamilton ORIGIN, and many youth groups around the auditorium praying together for their young people after the message.
This year was our first ever ORIGIN in Christchurch, which was an awesome opportunity to see the groups we've been working with down south for the past two years all come together for the Gospel. We had just over 100 teenagers at the event, and it was super encouraging to see 16 youth walk forward in response to the Gospel.
All praise and glory goes to God for the way these events came together, the provision of all our needs and ultimately the lives that were brought into his kingdom.
The Heart Behind Origin
The heart behind ORIGIN, is to create a place where youth from the local churches we work with can feel comfortable in inviting their unsaved friends to hear the Gospel. Our vision is to "see every young person impacted by the Gospel through a friend" so these events create an opportunity to start the conversation with their friends.
"One of the youth from my youth group brought their friend to ORIGIN. This friend had never made a decision to follow Christ and realised that night their need for Christ. They went forward at the end of the message and the friend that brought them that night was able to share the Gospel with them and encourage them along with a leader from our youth group. At the end of the night, not only was this new Christian overjoyed at their new found relationship with God but their friend was buzzing with excitement that they got to be a part of what God was doing!"
- Youth Leader
It is beyond exciting to see youth from the local church excited about the Gospel and taking active steps to share the truth with their peers.
Stories like the one above is made possible because of your intercession and your support of God's work in Aotearoa. Thank you to everyone who offered support through, prayer, service and financially - we could not have done these events without your faithful support of this ministry.
