PINEVILLE, La. (BP)–A teenager dressed as a clown twists a balloon into a heart for excited children as puppets perform a musical routine a few feet away. Another teenager carefully paints colorful designs on a child’s cheek. A young man offers cups of cold water — free — to adults walking along the sidewalk.
These and numerous other acts of kindness have been duplicated throughout the state of Louisiana since March 2002 by Acteens and Youth on Mission groups participating in a year-long celebration of Jesus Christ’s life and ministry called Crosswalk.
Crosswalk is a statewide awareness and ministry project that encourages youth to become actively involved in the Great Commission, said Pam Smith, former ministry consultant for youth and collegiate audiences for Woman’s Missionary Union.
The project is symbolized by a six-foot-tall cross, emblazoned with the words “Acteens Crosswalk.” The cross has been passed from church to church, association to association, throughout the year. During the week that a church’s group had the cross, they were challenged to study Luke 9:23 as well as to conduct a missions project in their community.
Acteens groups took advantage of Louisiana’s fondness for summertime fairs and festivals to conduct many different kinds of servant evangelism projects, reported Janie Wise, Mission Friends/GA/Acteens ministry associate for the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Cups of cold water, face-painting, crafts, puppets and fishing booths are just a few ways youth demonstrated Jesus’ love.
“We have been really excited about what it’s meant to our state and how the youth have responded,” Wise said. “Our goal was to involve as many Acteens in ministry as possible.” Louisiana youth have taken their Crosswalk responsibilities seriously, she added; they have been organized and very much “in charge” during the various ministry projects.
Wise said she also wants churches to know that having Acteens and Youth on Mission or Challenger groups in a church is an excellent way to instill a missions lifestyle in their youth. While many churches are sponsoring missions trips and projects, these organizations help teens build a biblical foundation for missions and missions work around the world.
The Crosswalk concept was born in Florida in 1996, when a group of state Acteens teen leaders had a dream to encourage Acteens to be radically involved in the Great Commission. To make the challenge more visible, they decided to design a large cross to pass from Acteens group to Acteens group. Realizing that their dream could impact the entire country, they decided to pass the cross and the challenge to Kentucky Acteens in 1998. The cross then traveled to Mississippi and then to Louisiana. A second cross is passing through the state of Wyoming this year.
The cross has had positive benefits for adults as well as youth in Louisiana. “The adults in these churches have been telling me that having the cross in their area has been truly meaningful,” Wise said. “They’re sometimes not aware of what the youth are doing and this shows them all the service they’re providing.”
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(BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo title: CROSS-BEARING TEENS.
