Now that is something I could do," Amos, 17, thought to himself after he listened to lay members present the spring ShareHIM meetings at the Kalispell, (Mont.) Church. About the same time Derek, 13, asked his dad if he could give a ShareHIM talk at the next series of meetings. Word got to David Sample, the church ShareHIM coordinator, both of these young people had an interest in the ShareHIM meetings. As fall approached he set up times to practice with them.
Mark, 19, was at church when he saw the two practicing with the synchronized slides and script on the computer screen. He said, "Hey, can I try that?" And so the idea of youth-presented ShareHIM meetings was born. A total of 10 young people ranging in age from 10–19 presented most of the topics at the fall 2007 meetings.
Cody, 14, had just been baptized a couple months before, stood tall at 6 feet 2 inches, when the evening came for his presentation on "Mr. One Day Late." As he spoke clearly into the microphone, he looked out at the audience to see his family, friends and church members who had specifically come to hear him speak. "The whole thing was great," he said. "I liked talking to everybody, and I learned a lot as I prepared for the talk about how Sabbath worship was gradually changed from Saturday to Sunday."
Natalie, 11, said, "I loved being able to tell others about the gospel." She says she will always remember the story about the man who wouldn't wake up even though the sirens were blaring under his bedroom window. "It's so important for us to know that Jesus is coming soon," she said.
Katie, 12, and Jessica, 13, both really wanted to present topics for the meetings but were concerned they would not understand the topic well enough. Both girls spent hours studying and reviewing their topics and afterward Katie said, "Wow, I learned a lot, and I enjoyed the response people gave at the end of the meeting. I think people respond in a special way to young people who love Jesus."
Joe, 14, and Emily, 11, were so happy a lot of their friends came to hear them speak. As a result, an adult family friend, who came to hear them speak, has requested baptism and is now taking Bible studies with their family and Tom, the pastor. Paul, 11, said he really enjoyed the computer technology of the synchronized slides. He says he knew God was with him as he spoke.
Derek, one of the teens who expressed interest initially, was thrilled when several neighborhood teens came to the meetings. He is eager for another opportunity to help with ShareHIM meetings. "The whole thing was awesome!" he said.
Derek Glatts
Cody Larkins
Katie Dieter
Paul Glatts
