The Paarl East Seventh-day Adventist Youth Ministry, in conjunction with other Cape Town-based youth celebrated Global Youth Day on 16 March by going into the Amstelhof area and serving the residents.
The global Seventh-day Adventist General Conference initiative started in 2013 aims to have young people aged 4 to 30 go into their local areas and take the Three Angels Message to the people by practical evangelism and community service. This entails tending to residents’ physical needs as well as spreading the gospel. This year’s theme is “Show Up In The Cities”.
The guest of honour, Southern Africa Union Conference youth president Pastor Joseph Gawaseb, with the Cape Conference Y-com members in conjunction with Paarl’s junior youth ministry, hosted the day.
Youth from Khayelitsha, Elsies River, Michells Plain, Saron, Stellenbosch, Mbekweni and Worcester met at the Strauss Hall in Paarl East. They then split-up into groups where some headed to old age homes and some into the community of Amstelhof to clean the area. Others were spread out in Klein Drakenstein Road with placards, and some visited the elderly and disabled.
The afternoon the youth set out to raise awareness. They rallied everyone behind the marching band and made their way down Klein Drakenstein Road to The Stoepe and then back to a designated area near the taxi rank.
With the last segment of the programme, they hosted an open-air service where gospel singing groups gave performances to the intrigued residents. These were from groups and individuals such as Whispering Hope, 4Christ, Zoa Louw, Kerwin Baadtjies, and Influence of Love.
As the day drew to a close and the spiritual needs of the community were fulfilled, the non-profit welfare organisation Meals on Wheels with every attending club, handed out food items to residents in the area.
It is the purpose of the Seventh-day Adventist church to offer a holistic approach to meeting the needs of individuals and rendering community work. Persons who are interested in attending a service will be introduced to various departments that are dedicated to helping members and visitors.
These include welfare department, adventurer and pathfinder clubs for children and youth, stewardship to educate on the importance of managing time, money and resources to name only a few.
Anyone is welcome to visit a church service on a Saturday from 09:30-12:00 at the Paarl East or Paarl West congregation.
