Posts Categorized: YAV

Supporting Our Young People on #GivingTuesdayNow

#GivingTuesdayNow is a global day of giving and unity that will take place on May 5, 2020, believing that generosity has the power to unite and heal communities in good times and bad. We are encouraging congregations to consider a #GivingTuesdayNow campaign for the Pentecost Offering, so that we can continue to support our young… Read more »

Pentecost: The Greatest Love of All

The children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Remember that song from the 1980s? It is called “The Greatest Love of All.” And what greater love is there than God’s love for the children? The chorus in that song goes “the greatest love of all Is happening to me…. Read more »

Pentecost: Surprised by the Spirit in New Orleans

The Holy Spirit is moving Can there be any more inspirational words to hear from a young person than these? “The Holy Spirit took me, and changed me in ways that I wasn’t expecting.” During Pentecost, we celebrate that the Holy Spirit has opened the doors to faith in Jesus Christ. While serving as a… Read more »

Pentecost: Building a Life of Faith

Who was the first person to teach you about Jesus? Who was the first person to  show you how to honor God with your life? Who helped you open the doors to new understandings of God and of faith? When did these things happen? For many of us, they happened during our childhood. They happened… Read more »

Pentecost: Young Adult Volunteer Saw Lives Renewed in Peru

The Spirit Moves in Peru… One day at lunch, 14-year-old Teresa pointed to the camera of Presbyterian Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) Kristen Young and called it Kristen’s “treasure.” “I tried to tell her that it wasn’t my camera that I treasured, but rather the people and moments I could capture with it,” Kristen says. Kristen… Read more »

Over 80 Congregations Participate in All 20 Years of Pentecost Offering

For 20 years, the Pentecost Offering has served to connect the outpouring of the Holy Spirit with ministries that build a life of faith in children, youth, and young adults. Since the Pentecost Offering started in 1998, Presbyterians have raised more than $14 million for Children-at-Risk, Ministries for Youth, and Young Adult Volunteers, committing to… Read more »

Pentecost: Building a Life of Faith

“O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.” ~ Psalm 71:17 The Pentecost Offering unites us in a church-wide effort to support young people in Christ and inspire them to share their faith, ideas, and unique gifts with the church and the world. Each year on Pentecost… Read more »

Seeing faith through a different lens

Young Adult Volunteer program opens eyes to the church’s relevance in our world Sitting on a city bus in Washington, DC, with the plight of homeless people weighing heavily on him, Andy Thomas experienced a homecoming of faith. This Presbyterian Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) had attended a memorial service for the 41 homeless people who… Read more »