Making An Impact

Hundreds of area youth are ready to infuse their schools and community with compassion and zeal after a recent event held in Jamestown.

Over 300 students experienced a compelling youth rally in the Gateway Teen Center on Sept. 20.

In its third year, the purpose of the youth rally was to encourage teens to bring faith, hope and love into their schools, as well as to pray for area school districts. The rally was organized by Dan Soderberg, pastor of Impact Campus Fellowship and was sponsored by the Charles Bradley Fund and the Lynn Fund of the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation.

Students from 12 local high schools attended the rally, which has become one of the largest youth rallies in the county. During the first hour, students enjoyed laser tag, skateboarding, batting cages and large group games in the teen center.

Over 60 extra-large pizzas and 400 bottles of water and soda were brought in for the teens to eat.

It’s always amazing how much pizza the average teenager can consume, said Soderberg. However, the students weren’t just feeding their stomachs, but their spirits and minds as well.

“(The rally) is something that Impact started a few years ago to kick off the school year,” he said. “It’s to encourage students to get involved and help serve in some way. The primary purpose was to challenge students to promote positive attitudes.”

Soderberg said the fun and games gave way to serious discussions to build up the students and to provide a firm foundation for them to remain strong. He said many of the issues the area is facing, it is important to bolster the students confidence, and provide ways for them to keep their faith despite outside circumstances.

Later on, the students gathered in the cafe area where a band led by Jay Baehr and Justin Joyner led the students in inspirational singing.

A dozen free T-shirts were passed out to the crowd, and the encouragement continued as two local students, Alex Bailey and Katie Meadows shared their personal stories of resilience and courage in the face of temptation and despair.

Both challenged the students to see how God can and must use them to bring hope in the midst of some very dark situations. Meadows shared her testimony about how her father passed away the previous year and how God helped her through that time. She also discussed how she was able to translate that pain into help and hope for her friends. Students were in awe of her courage and honesty as she shared this in front of over 300 of her peers, Soderberg said.

Bailey spoke about her trip to Uganda this summer, and focused on the blessings people often take for granted.

“Alex went to Uganda and saw the plights of the people,” Soderberg said. “She talked about how grateful she was for all that we have here. Their stories were just incredible.”

The keynote speaker, Tim Miller, associate pastor of Gerry United Methodist Church, gave a powerful message challenging the students to take their efforts beyond the rally, and into the community.

“It’s all fine and great to sing and ‘whoop it up’ and be encouraging here, but we need to bring this kind of love and hope and life out there in our schools and communities.” Miller said.

He also spoke about the despair that many young people experience today and how they turn to other substances for support. He challenged them not to allow anyone to look down on them because they are young, but instead see the tremendous opportunity they have to set an example by the way they live in love, hope and purity.

In the middle of Miller’s message, there was a power outage, and the microphones and lights went out. As the staff were scrambling to solve the electrical problem, Miller began speaking loudly, and the student quieted down so much that you could have “heard a pin drop” as he continued to speak, Soderberg said.

A few minutes later the power came back on as Miller ended his message by leading the students in prayer for them to have an impact in their schools. The rally closed out with an electrifying song led by the band.

The event was not only a night of fun and entertainment, but an encouraging time for students to see fellow students who want to make a positive difference in their world, Soderberg added.

“They were challenged and motivated to join a movement that will hopefully have a positive impact on their schools and communities,” he said.

Soderberg said Impact Campus Fellowship would like to offer a special thanks to the Impact Board members and the Chautauqua Regional Community Foundation for sponsoring this annual event.

Impact Campus Fellowship is a Christian organization that has many groups throughout Chautauqua County, Cattaraugus County and recently, Warren County public schools. Impact groups are student-led, school-based groups that meet for fellowship and prayer.

For more information about Impact Campus Fellowship, contact Dan Soderberg at DanS@zioncov.org