Restart 2010 Recap

On May 30, the youth of the Duluth SDA church hosted its second year of the Restart evangelistic series. This two week series was a continuation of the previous summer's created series. Like before, the Restart 2010 program included an opening song service, and 45-minute small group discussions, followed by the nightly sermon. Each night of the fourteen day series, the youth in attendance would meet together in their assigned groups and discuss the night's topic. Despite mirroring the format of 2009, Restart 2010 had to be different.

“Because so many youth of the youth in attendance are from the church, our goal was to design this year's Restart as a continuation of 2009, and also as the next phase of our spiritual journey,” said Bradford Goodridge, youth leader and speaker for Restart 2010. The youth knew what it meant to have a restart on earth, but if Christ meant anything they were to be devoted in their restart for heaven. The idea led to the next phase of the Restart message – commitment. And, Restart 2010: On Earth. For Heaven, was born.

The 2010 series was based on Titus 2:11-14 and the parables on the Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew 13. The series opened its first few nights discussing mankind's state of being east of God's original plan, the need of realizing Satan's role in this world, and to define Jesus role as our personal Savior. During the course of the fifteen sermons, Six speakers took turns in sharing the messages of commitment. The sons of Adam, Abraham, Matthew chapter 13's parables, and an understanding of the heavenly sanctuary were the topics of study. It was clear to speaker Joel Thompson that all the topics were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Joel joined Bradford and Dale Bushell in creating and finalizing the topics.

This year's Restart gave the youth participants a chance to grow. “I got to experience what the youth should be doing in the church. I've learned to love and crave studying the Bible once again, “ shared speaker Jerdie Ale. Much of Restart 2010 was run by the youth. It proved that the youth can shine for Jesus. And, no night proved this more than the June 12 finale. Following the final meeting was a concert organized by Restart crew member Joy Chikwekwe. The Restart finale was a great success, bringing in one of the largest crowds the series has ever had. A number of performing acts not local to Duluth SDA also included Knoxville First SDA, Douglasville SDA, Atlanta North SDA, and Emmanuel SDA.

Restart included youth members from other local SDA churches, as well as having many volunteers who returned from college and boarding school to help. This network involved with Restart included students from Atlanta Adventist Academy, Georgia Cumberland Academy, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, Emory, and Oakwood and Southern Adventist University. What brought these young people together is the friendships they build and the passion they had from the blessing they received in ministering for Christ. The message of Restart isn't just what the youth can do, but what Christ is looking to do in us. As Elder Gerard Carter stated, “we should be preparing ourselves for JC.”

RESTART 2010: Let's commit ourselves on Earth. Let the Holy Spirit prepare us for Heaven.

www.restarthope.com

By Bradford Goodridge

Photo by Dr. George Kawamura