GUIDELINES FOR SERVING ONES
1. Prayer – Before and during the conference, we should pray very much, both personally and corporately to be those who are vital before the Lord. Also, pray for the young people and the conference in a thorough way – practical arrangements, the messages, the group times, singing, and anything else the Lord may bring to our consideration, especially with our return to in-person gatherings and with the combined grades. Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation”.
2. Atmosphere of Love – Beginning with Friday evening, there will be three scheduled group times (arranged by locality) and at least one scheduled hospitality morning revival time. These small-group times are the most important part of the conference – making the leaders of these times the most important people in the conference. Do your best to cultivate and maintain a loving, positive, mutual, and age-appropriate atmosphere. Practice praying in the groups, as well – even those with 6th graders. John 21:15 “Feed My lambs”.
3. Blending and Coordination – Exercise to serve in a blended way and with a harmonious coordination with the other serving one(s) from your locality, in your assigned group, and with your hospitality. This will enrich the young people’s experience very much, and afford the Lord a way to bless all our service this weekend.
4. Facilitate the function of the Young People – Our function is to facilitate their function, measured in their speaking, exercise, or enjoyment. Do not dominate the time with lengthy speaking, but instead exercise your spirit to be open, new, and living. This will keep us from being dead and boring.
5. Speaking – When you do feel to say something, do not preach to them or rebuke them. Try to be an usher: open the way for them by testifying about what touched you and giving an experiential impression of the points. This will usher them into the same experience of the matters presented in the messages and reading.
6. Be Positive & Flexible – Our goal is to cooperate with the Lord to shepherd the young people; and so we should endeavor to be positive with the young people and one another. We need to be flexible in our spirit to preserve a way for the Lord to speak and for all of us to receive His speaking.