We collected some of the most quotable/tweetable/bloggable lines from the messages at this year’s GYC annual convention, which drew about 5,000 young people to Phoenix, Arizona, from Dec. 31 to Jan. 4.
It was hard to choose only 13—there are so many more we could have included.
13. “Jesus was not loaned, He was given.” — Kameron Devasher, pastor of the Muskegon and Fremont churches in the Michigan Conference
12. “Today’s mantra is freedom, but it is Jesus who offers ultimate freedom.” —Michael Hasel, Near Eastern studies and archeology professor at Southern Adventist University
11. “When Protestant leaders are going back to Catholicism, God is calling for a generation of young people to go back to the Bible.” — David Shin, pastor of the University Seventh-day Adventist Church in East Lansing, Michigan
10. “In this culture it is very popular to search and search and search. But it is very unpopular to find the answer.” — Michael Hasel, Near Eastern studies and archeology professor at Southern Adventist University
9. “Lean hard.” — Natasha Nebblett, GYC president
8. “It’s about time to put your faith into action.” — Esther Caukill, advocacy/donor relations, International Children’s Care Australia
7. “It is only through connecting to the Bible that we can be fruitful and faithful in this age of faithlessness.” — Ted N.C. Wilson, president of the Adventist world church
6. “Obedience has nothing to do with legalism and everything to do with loyalty.” Kameron Devasher, pastor of the Muskegon and Fremont churches in the Michigan Conference
5. “The DNA of our Adventist message is prophetic, not pathetic.” — Ingo Sorke, religion professor at Southwestern Adventist University
4. “… nevertheless.” — Adam Ramdin, pastor of the Yardley Seventh-day Adventist Church and director of the PEACE Center of Evangelism in the North England Conference
3. “But God did the opposite of Adam. He was willing to give up His most prized possession.” — Stephen Bohr, senior pastor of Fresno Central Church, California; president of Secrets Unsealed
2. “The sanctuary is more than a doctrine. It is to be a roadmap for doing theology.” — David Shin, pastor of the University Seventh-day Adventist Church in East Lansing, Michigan
And perhaps the pithiest of them all:
1. “It is OK to be SDA.” — Ingo Sorke, religion professor at Southwestern Adventist University
This list originally appeared on GYC’s blog.
Related links
Adventist Review, Jan. 2, 2015: “Youth ‘Rattle the World’ by Visiting 100,000 Phoenix Homes”
Adventist Review, Jan. 2, 2015: Transcript of president Ted N.C. Wilson’s speech at the GYC convention: “Faithfulness to God in the Last Days”
Adventist Review, Jan. 3, 2015: Transcript of pastor David Shin’s Sabbath sermon at the GYC annual convention: “The Key of the Gospel”