Members of several Upper Columbia Conference Pathfinder groups introduced a new honor at the 2009 International Pathfinder Camporee in Oshkosh, Wis., in August. The goal of the Preach It honor is to help kids learn that God has called us all to share the gospel.
Visitors to the Preach It honor booths in Oshkosh were in for an intense three-and-a-half hour experience. In spite of the rigorous requirements, 269 young people and adults completed the honor.
“I sat there with my mouth open,” says Wayne Hicks, UCC Pathfinder director. “I wrote these sermons and was in awe as I listened to 9-year-olds, faces aglow, preach better than I could ever do.”
Each person completing the honor took a pre-written script and put it into their own words, practiced preaching it alone and then with an interpreter. On the last stage, each participant preached in front of an evaluator.
"People of all ages, from 9 to 60, completed the honor," says Hicks. “Now we’re receiving requests from other conferences to come and train their Pathfinder leaders how to teach the Preach It honor.
Pictured here are: Wayne Hicks and part of the team who helped present the Preach It honor in Oshkosh.
Katie Hickman, one of the initial instigators of the new Preach It honor, explains that God sends each of us to be His “missionaries.“
A retired pastor, describes his stage of the Preach It process to two Pathfinders before they begin.
