Pinoy Youth

After church service yesterday, I met with about ten youth leaders from the Northwest Quezon City District of the QCPACE of the United Methodist Church (don’t we just love abbreviations?). We talked about the upcoming Christmas Institute. This is the annual Christmas camp for United Methodist youth ages 12-24. It’s a big event for most districts and what’s remarkable about it is that it is a program of youth, by youth and for youth.

Amazingly, as early as now, the youth leaders of NWQCD are thinking about what they will be doing in the Christmas Institute. Let me just present a number of observations about the Christmas Institute over the years that I’ve attended it and looked at it from a distance.

Christmas Institute is life-changing! A lot of youth who attend the Christmas Institute get to meet Christ more deeply and decide to embark on a lifetime adventure with him. Some of these youth become Christians. Some of those who are already Christians decide to take their faith to the next level of commitment. If you talk to a lot of Methodist Pastors and deaconesses, they will point out to the Christmas Institute as the turning point for their decision to enter the ministry.

Christmas Institute brings together youth from all walks of life. This variety of youth coming together can create an awareness of diversity among youth. They suddenly begin to open their eyes to a wider reality of the world as they come in contact with youth who are not from their background. As they learn about social issues and the application of the Methodist faith, they also widen their perspective about the world they live in.

I myself have experienced the power of the Christmas Institute. I have come to know our faith better and such knowledge enabled me to commit and serve with the young people of the church. My continuous presence in the church and in youth ministry is a testimony to how powerful the C.I. is.

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