‘GO Tell it on the Mountain’ Bible study now available for youth and youth groups

Christmas/Epiphany reflection is first of five scheduled Post Presbyterian Youth Triennium mission impact resources

by Emily Enders Odom | Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE – From its opening call to worship to its closing benediction and commissioning, the 2016 Presbyterian Youth Triennium—themed “GO!”—was intentionally designed to send young people out to change the world.

Held July 19-23 on the campus of Purdue University, the Presbyterian Youth Triennium—a gathering for high school age youth from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church—attracted more than 4,700 young people and their adult leaders.

And now nearly 5 months after Youth Triennium participants were charged with “The Great GO-Mission” there is good news for those who attended the July event as well as for those who didn’t. Starting this month and continuing through July 2017, the “Keep GOing” mission impact initiative will encourage youth, youth leaders, and Presbyterian congregations to GO!

Through five different Bible studies to be released from December 2016 through July 2017, Triennium participants will be able to continue on their journey into active discipleship. Each of the five studies—intended to transport students back to a key scripture passage from the Triennium—follow a contemplative rhythm. The studies also include a brief video clip from the corresponding sermon preached on that particular scripture at the 2016 Triennium, giving the students a visual as well as a contemplative tool for reflection. They can be utilized individually, in a small group, or with a large group. Each resource ends with an invitation to identify “3 Things” that students will do to “GO”—to deepen their walk with Jesus Christ, to serve those in need, and to respond to God’s call.

“’Keep GOing’ is a simple, no-cost, user-friendly process designed to further engage students with the theme, scriptures, and goals of the Triennium,” says Bible study writer, Gina Yeager-Buckley, associate for the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s Ministries with Youth.

The first study, ‘GO Tell it on the Mountain’—available now as a free download—invites students to consider the story of the shepherds’ response to their encounter with the angels, the newborn holy child, and the people “back home,” as they returned from their adventure. It asks students to read, consider, and respond to the story told in Luke 2, particularly verse 28.

“It is not enough to simply ‘go and see’—that’s just the start,” says Yeager-Buckley. “There was a next step. All those things they—the shepherds—had seen, they had to return and tell! ‘Go and tell’ means returning from lessons learned at Triennium to places you call home. Returning and telling! It is precisely in this ‘telling’ that we ‘Keep GOing!”

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Click here to download “GO Tell it on the Mountain.”