a message from Jay Mooney

Big Dreams for You Dreaming about your future? Has God given you a ministry vision that is driving you? Are you thirsty for an Acts 2:17 encounter? “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.” I am Dreaming 2015.  Last year there were just over 500,000 middle, senior and college aged youth in our churches.  By the year 2015, that can be no less than one million.  We intend to win them, build them and send them to fulfill the Great Commission! Dreaming 2015 is more than a growth call to our fellowship. The Holy Spirit is moving upon His Church. We believe God has an inheritance for you. At 44 years old, 20/20 vision is far from me.  But I am seeing youth ministry with a 20/15 focus (as in the year, 2015). The reputation of youth ministry today is that we don’t keep much of what we catch. I believe that is about to change! My belief in us is fueled by a spiritual vision I will never escape. It was an experience that has taken a full decade for me to understand. It is indelibly seared in me. Simply put, in 1996 I saw multitudes of underdogs becoming champions for Jesus Christ. And they were all young people. Fast forward one decade and I better understand what I saw. The vision was not a dream about “my ministry.” It was a dream about “His ministry.” It was a dream about God choosing a generation in answer to the prayers of so many for so long. We sincerely believe that time is now. I believe we are going to see a growth explosion in the next decade through this generation of the Church! And it is ours as leaders in the church to arm them with the weapons of spiritual victory. Prayer and the Word will once again characterize another generation of champions for Jesus Christ! To this end I raise a couple of questions.  Do you want to be a leader in such a generation?  How many of those young champions are yours? Dream ’06: Impacting The Next Generation, a national youth workers conference hosted by Assemblies of God National Youth Ministries is all about dreaming youth ministry. Two years ago, we hosted a similar conference in Tulsa, OK. Almost 900 AG youth leaders came. There was a clear cry for another conference in 2006. This is that conference. And we are even more clear on the “why.” Among the many confirming witnesses, some incredible new resources are unfolding that clearly supplant a new era of disciple-making growth. The greatest days of youth ministry are not behind us. They are ahead of us. God is delivering on his Acts 2:17 promise! Do you have a similar vision? Are you thirsty for God’s future in your life of youth ministry?  We hope to see you at this national youth workers conference. Blessings, Jay Mooney, director Assemblies of God National Youth Ministries

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national youth workers conference

This year's National Youth Workers Conference, Dream ’06: Impacting the Next Generation, will be held in Kansas City, Missouri, from Thursday, September 28, to Saturday, September 30, 2006. Packed with over 70 workshops, 12 super session, and 3 general sessions, Dream ’06 will focus on today's issues, tomorrow's challenges, and God's answers. Graduate level credit will be available through Assemblies of God Theological Seminary to youth leaders who attend. Please join the national team along with Scotty and Casey Gibbons, Jeanne Mayo, Earl Creps, Jeremy DeWeerdt, Jeffery Portmann, Mark Vega, Allen Griffin, and many more speakers. Tim Bach will be our featured worship band along with other musical guests. This will prove to be an outstanding experience for our nation's youth leaders, while giving them the opportunity for rest, resource, relationship, reason, and renewal. For more information about the conference or graduate level credit please visit www.youth.ag.org/nywc. Also, don’t forget to register by July 1 and receive early bird registration.

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for your library

Dream by Mark Rutland Book Summary (From the book) Learn the language of the Spirit. Asleep or awake, dreams run in across the threshold of the willing soul and bring to life long-forgotten hopes. This generation awaits those visionaries who will lead and…dare to dream again. Look into the lives of two dreamers named Joseph who understood the powerful meaning of the visions of the night. Behind the veil of our sleep, we may be hearing from God every night and missing the message unless we…dare to dream again. Explore your own dreams. Stir them up and allow the Spirit of God to awaken in you a new sense of hope and wonder for what he will do for you, and…dare to dream again. Purchase this book online: www.christianbook.com

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Resources

Dr. George O. Wood, General Secretary of the Assemblies of God, recently wrote an article for Perspective (the monthly Assemblies of God Ministers Letter from the General Council). The article titled, “Passion for the Future” describes the focus of integrating youth into the fabric of the church. Dr. Wood reports that in 2005 the Assemblies of God in the United States had numeric growth in adherence, churches and reached an all-time high in the number of ministers. The article gives an important analysis on what will happen to the current 315,000 Assemblies of God young people from ages 13 to 17 in the next ten years. The conclusion is that unless something changes we could see as many as 210,000 drop out from the faith. Get the complete article for your reading and reference ease here.

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