BUMP Translated Back Home - Super Bowl Style

Arriving home after BUMP week brings a participant a well-earned night’s rest in their own bed and a heart stirring with the words “new normal” and “missions begin now.”  Capitalizing on the freshness of the message to translate BUMP back home, Jon Pausley, youth pastor at Liberty EFC in Pella, IA, began preparing his youth for a Super Bowl XLVI outreach party.

Combining a desire to create a less threatening environment for evangelism with full support of the local church body, inflatables, pizza, food and pop, Jon’s youth group, “Journey Student Ministries,” threw an event to remember.  In their own halftime “show,” the group performed the University of Northern Iowa’s “Interlude Dance.”

The students led worship after which Jon presented the gospel message of redemption. Besides being a fun way to bring kids in, Jon challenged his students to take it a step further and “start a spiritual conversation.” No one ever said evangelism had to be boring and stuffy!

Real life training

In the weeks leading up to the event, Jon trained the youth on what evangelism is—God’s heart for people and learning to view the lost as people God loves.  Together they studied the “Parable of the Sower,” emphasizing their job was simply to spread the seed; God’s job was to help it grow and produce. The students also spent time discussing using the Good News wristbands (used during BUMP). “They are a simple tool to put in your toolbox for starting spiritual conversations,” Jon says.

“The BUMP experience of evangelism was a huge piece,” says Jon. “It is a great faith builder. You really have to believe it to share it.” Jon’s students who participated in BUMP found it easier to embrace the outreach idea because evangelism wasn’t completely foreign to them; some returned home with their wristbands on and shared about the trip. That helped build enthusiasm.

"Faith in Motion"

The group prayerfully considered who God would have them invite. The living out of “Faith in Motion” (the group’s mission) brought 97 kids to the event, 34 of which were first-time visitors to the youth group. Pella’s population per the 2010 Census is 10,000+, nearly 30% of which are under the age of 19. The event also brought to the forefront a discussion about what youth group would look like if some of these non-believing friends actually became a part of their weekly gatherings – powerful discussions that should happen in every church. They will spend time together in the future considering what God speaks to them on this issue. “I’m really proud of my students,” says Jon.

Tragically, a fellow Pella high school sophomore was killed in a car accident on February 13. The student was a believer and Jon is hopeful that evangelistic conversations might now happen in the light of this reminder existence is fragile and can end at any time.

A core measure of BUMP’s success is participants return home with both the desire and skills to engage their communities. BUMP is proven to help student’s faith become active, vibrant and growing while providing the opportunity to stretch students beyond their comfort level. The result? The discovery and deepening of the students God-given skills, gifts and talents.

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Learn more about BUMP 2012.

Join BUMP on mission in prayer. Learn how: bump@efca.org