{"id":139,"date":"2016-05-12T11:07:06","date_gmt":"2016-05-12T11:07:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.presbyterianmission.org\/weekly-offerings\/?p=139"},"modified":"2016-06-07T19:00:43","modified_gmt":"2016-06-07T19:00:43","slug":"first-third-life-first-impression-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/weekly-offerings\/2016\/05\/12\/first-third-life-first-impression-world\/","title":{"rendered":"The First Third of Life, Your First Impression of the World"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We all know the importance of a first impression. As kids, we all learned about strong handshakes and heard, \u201cFirst impressions are the most lasting,\u201d and \u201cYou don\u2019t get a second chance at a first impression.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Think of all the firsts in your life: your first best friend, your first day of school, your first car, your first job. And on a deeper level, your first understanding of family and your parents\u2019 love, your first experience of God\u2019s grace, your first connections with neighbors and your community.<\/p>\n<p>Now, think of how all of those firsts played a part in who you are today\u2014how you think and act, how you experience joy and hardship, and how you seek and understand God.<\/p>\n<p>The vast majority of these experiences occur during \u201cthe first third of life\u201d\u2014the time from childhood through young adulthood when we all develop our first impressions of how the world works and how we fit into God\u2019s plans for it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Pentecost Offering Is Your Chance to Help Make the Best Impression Possible<br \/>\n<\/strong>The <a href=\"http:\/\/specialofferings.pcusa.org\/pentecost.html\" target=\"_blank\">ministries supported by the Pentecost Offering<\/a> provide positive, faith-filled mentorship, experiences, and service\u2014to support children, youth, and young adults as they grow and encourage them to consider what God has in store for their lives.<\/p>\n<p><em>Building the Foundations of Their Faith<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Helping <a href=\"http:\/\/www.presbyterianmission.org\/ministries\/youthministry\" target=\"_blank\">youth<\/a>\u00a0to grow closer to God and build a faith that lasts a lifetime is what the Pentecost Offering is all about.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.barna.org\/barna-update\/millennials\/635-5-reasons-millennials-stay-connected-to-church.html#.VroRkJMrIkg\" target=\"_blank\">Research has shown<\/a>\u00a0that youth who grow up in churches with active mentorship and community service opportunities are 3 to 4 times more likely to remain faithful as adults.1<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Shaping Who They Will Become<\/em><\/p>\n<p>What happens to our children early in their lives shapes how they view the world, how they experience joy and hardship, and how they build relationships with other people.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-mce-mark=\"1\">The &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcusa.org\/news\/2015\/8\/14\/educate-child-transform-world\/\" target=\"_blank\">Educate a Child, Transform the World<\/a>\u201d national initiative seeks to strengthen early education, provide safe haven, and reduce the dropout rate of at-risk children and adolescents.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Determining Their Life Goals<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Ministries supported by the Pentecost Offering help guide our young people as they prayerfully ask, \u201cWhat do I want to be when I grow up?\u201d and, \u201cWho is God calling me to be?\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-mce-mark=\"1\">Of those who\u2019ve served as <a href=\"http:\/\/www.presbyterianmission.org\/ministries\/yav\/\" target=\"_blank\">Young Adult Volunteers<\/a>, 32% go on to become ordained church leaders, and 66% go into a service-related field such as teaching, social work, or community development.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Help Raise Up Kids in Your Church and Around the World<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If your heart is with the youth in your own church, you should know that 40% of your gift to the Pentecost Offering stays with your congregation to support the ministries most important to your youth and community. And know that every gift helps children, youth, and young adults here at home and around the world\u2014providing them a better first impression of our world, our future, and God\u2019s love and grace.<\/p>\n<p><em>Please share gladly and give generously:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-mce-mark=\"1\">Through your congregation<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-mce-mark=\"1\">Text YOUNG to 20222 to give $10<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-mce-mark=\"1\">Online at <a href=\"https:\/\/pma.pcusa.org\/donate\/make-a-gift\/gift-info\/PC999999\/?appeal=SO-OA&amp;package=B16\">presbyterianmission.org\/give\/pentecost<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We all know the importance of a first impression. As kids, we all learned about strong handshakes and heard, \u201cFirst impressions are the most lasting,\u201d and \u201cYou don\u2019t get a second chance at a first impression.\u201d Think of all the firsts in your life: your first best friend, your first day of school, your first&#8230;  <a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/weekly-offerings\/2016\/05\/12\/first-third-life-first-impression-world\/\" title=\"ReadThe First Third of Life, Your First Impression of the World\">Read more &raquo;<\/a>","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[110,9,50,3,52,83],"tags":[48,46,122,44,45,64,111],"class_list":["post-139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-children","category-education","category-pentecost-offering","category-special-offerings","category-young-adult-volunteers","category-youth","tag-children","tag-educate-a-child","tag-ministries-with-youth","tag-pentecost","tag-pentecost-offering","tag-yav","tag-young-adult-volunteer-program"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.5 (Yoast SEO v23.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The First Third of Life, Your First Impression of the World - Where Your Heart Is...<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/weekly-offerings\/2016\/05\/12\/first-third-life-first-impression-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The First Third of Life, Your First Impression of the World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We all know the importance of a first impression. As kids, we all learned about strong handshakes and heard, \u201cFirst impressions are the most lasting,\u201d and \u201cYou don\u2019t get a second chance at a first impression.\u201d Think of all the firsts in your life: your first best friend, your first day of school, your first... 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