Reaching the lost is the heart of
Valley Life Center (Assemblies of God), Dallas, Ore., with its growing
ministries that touch the community. In March and April, Valley Life
ministered to close to 10,000 people through youth, children’s
and musical events.
The
church is trying various methods to communicate the gospel –
including youth rallies, Easter musicals and egg hunts (above).
Bob Swope, a former children’s
evangelist, has pastored Valley Life Center for five years. Since then,
Valley Life, now a church of 800, has tripled in size in the city of
16,000 west of the capital, Salem.
"Our goal is to get the good
news out," Swope says. "There are people who are in darkness,
needing to find the light and life of Jesus. We are determined as a
church to share Christ, using whatever tools are available."
The church is experimenting with
various methods to communicate the gospel — including youth rallies,
Easter musicals and egg hunts and a new youth event: City Extreme.
In March, the church sponsored motivational
assemblies in local junior high and high schools with Assemblies of
God evangelist Donny Moore. One Wednesday night, 800 students rode buses
from local high schools to the church for a rally, and 133 committed
their lives to Christ.
As a result, 11 of those who made
salvation decisions and around two dozen new students attend the youth
church weekly.
According to Marshall Snider, youth
pastor, the community is beginning to look to the church as a resource.
A church team will be assisting the public school system’s safety
fair. For the Easter egg hunt, volunteers stuffed 20,000 eggs for the
3,500 people that showed up.
"If we get a chance to share
the gospel with the community, we want to do that," Snider says.
"But if we don’t, we have still built relationships and done
friendship evangelism."
This summer, the church will host
City Extreme for area youth, turning its parking lot into an amusement
park with climbing walls, inflatable games and go-carts. Midway through
the evening, students will move to the sanctuary where they will hear
a gospel presentation.
The youth will be coordinating Hiz
Kidz, a sidewalk Sunday school in a neighborhood park. They also are
sponsoring a Sunday night luau and concert for the community, anticipating
an attendance of 1,000.
"We need to recognize that
people are not just going to come into the church doors," Snider
says. "It’s important for the church to come up with creative
ways to reach the lost. We believe that every young person has a right
to a quality presentation of the gospel of Christ."
Valley Life’s emphasis on children
and youth is intentional. "We believe that every church ought to
be involved in new ways to reach their community," Swope says.
"Don’t underestimate how important children and youth are
— they may not have the big bucks, but they have their whole lives
ahead of them."
