Photo courtesy of Charmaine Patel and Justin Vanderwesthuizen
Chosen is a National Teen Leadership week long convention, intentionally crafted by the Australian Union Conference (AUC) and hosted on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland.
Seventy teens from across Australia were affirmed, encouraged and empowered to serve the Kingdom with their unique gifts. West Australian churches were honoured to send four teenage delegates. As a mentor experiencing this event with the WA Team, it was a Holy Spirit driven, Jesus centred and utterly inspiring week. It was incredible to witness the passion and potential of the teen delegates that were present knowing they represent communities all over our country. One stand out challenge that author Sharon Witt shared in the week was questioning us to think deeper and ask ourselves ‘Are you ready to move from your Comfort Zone to your Courage Zone with God?’. As a Church community and in particular as an individual Christian, how will you respond to this challenge?
Here is what some of our WA Teen delegates had to say about the week:
“The Chosen camp was truly incredible. I have connected with many people from across Australia and it was so good to make lifelong friends. I felt like I belonged and I had people I could relate to. The worship band made me feel closer to God as music is a strong way I connect with Jesus. I would like to thank the people that chose me to go on this trip as it is a memory I will forever keep in my mind. It has influenced my life and has connected me closer with our Father God.”
“I found Chosen to be really special for everyone involved and l felt massively blessed and thankful for everyone that supported and helped us to get there. It was amazing being able to make connections and friendships with people from all over Australia as well as learning lots of new and interesting ideas from leadership, to mental health. In all, it was such an amazing week.”
“I really enjoyed Chosen. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I know that the friends I made will be lifelong. I am very grateful for the opportunity to learn how to grow closer to Jesus through teamwork and leadership. There were many inspirational talks and the ones that stood out to me were from Sharon Witt. I loved her talks about positive mindset, self-esteem and body image. They made me think that I need to be more positive towards myself. There was a lot about self-growth and how to be the best you can possibly be. The main quote that stood out to me from the week was: ‘Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.’ (Judy Garland). Thank you to the WA Conference and Carmel College Seventh-day Adventist Church for allowing me this once in a lifetime chance. I am very grateful for this privilege.”
Mentoring is a journey. It is an intentional place held between one person to another that seeks to inspire and to remind the Mentee of the potential they hold as they have been created for a purpose greater than themselves. If you have ever felt called to actively be present, listen and invest in someone else, or you are someone seeking someone to journey with you, then I encourage you to start praying for the person God is lining up to be in your life. Share this with a safe adult/Chaplain/Pastor so we can build frameworks of intentional support into our Church culture. If you would like to find out more about being a Mentor or Mentee please reach out to the WA Conference Discipleship Ministries Team.
