A General Invitation

For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe, 1st Corinthians 1:21.

I often put out a general invitation for people to attend the annual Youth Week Event at the Black Creek Baptist Church in Black Creek, NY. I have usually given that invitation a week or two ahead of the event. This year, I am making the invitation 5 months prior to the actual gathering.

I strongly believe that if you are one of those who mourn over the lethargy and ineffectualness that seems to dominate churches in our last few decades, Black Creek's Annual Meeting called Youth Week may be a blessing to you.

Youth Week is a misnomer. In 2011 it started as a young persons' meeting with 11 young visitors from out of state and a few local children. Evangelists Cliff Taylor and Timothy McVey (now the pastor at Black Creek) saw a need to preach to the older young people who were attending VBS (Vacation Bible School).

Because of the nature of a VBS versus the nature of a preaching meeting, it was decided that we would meet annually with the older youth in a separate meeting dubbed "Youth Week". This was not a tent meeting or revival meeting. It was a meeting of the Black Creek Baptist Church in which young people could come and stay together, enjoy each others' company, and get preaching in the morning and evening.

From the onset, the Lord mightily anointed the preaching. The meeting grew in the first few years from a bare handful from 20 to 30 people with a mixture of adults and youth, to eventually needing a tent in which over 200 people attend.

The people of the Black Creek Baptist Church mostly schedule their vacation time around it. Throughout the year, young people would text my wife from other states telling her things like, "just 183 days until Youth Week". Of the 200 or so attendees, only a fraction of them are youth. Each year, more and more families set aside the week following the last Sunday in June to be able to attend.

If you should choose to come, forget your clock. Youth Week is the closest meeting I know of in which a people immerse themselves in a meeting like the old gatherings of the 19th and early 20th centuries. At the evening sessions, there are a couple of signs always put up that tell people they will not grieve the Holy Ghost if they need to slip out of the meeting to go home for the night.

We have seen night preaching and the subsequent moving of God to go on well past midnight. (I have also seen nights where the moderator sends everyone home early.) I learned early on that a person distressed for personal reasons and needing to leave will quench the Spirit of God as they keep looking at the their watch. Some people need to get up early. Some have health problems. Some are not interested.

We always convey to the attendees that if they need to leave no one will think the worst of them. That allows a complete liberty for the work of God. Most camp meetings that I have attended follow a strict time schedule. They are considered successful if there is great shouting and running around.

Youth Week is measured by changed lives. People come back year after year because they were able to come apart from the world for one week and get a touch of God that they could carry home. I know of no other meeting like it currently being held in the United States.

This year, the meeting starts on Sunday, June 28 and runs through July 3rd. In the last few years, the meeting has been extended through the next Saturday. If that happens again this year, there will be preaching on the 4th of July.

The traditional formal kickoff is actually 11:00 Monday morning followed by a light lunch. After that, there will be preaching every evening starting at 7:00 PM and every morning starting at 10:00 AM. There is a supper provided for out of town guests as well as provision for breakfasts and lunches.

Keep in mind, the grace poured out upon us so far in former years does not guarantee a visitation from the Lord this year. Each year, we trust that the Lord will be pleased to visit with us. When he does, it is by his grace. Preachers are called from the floor, but there are usually far more preachers than opportunity to preach.

If you are interested in attending, contact the Black Creek Baptist Church by email at andsomeevangelists@gmail.com or blackcreekbaptistchurch@gmail.com. Arrangements can be made for housing. Each person and each family or group will have their own specific needs. Feel free to discuss what you would need if you were to come.