The youth ministries department of the Australian Union Conference (AUC) has begun rolling out their new STORMCo shirts for 2024, which feature Indigenous artwork by artist Susan Doolan.

Service To Others Really Matters (STORMCo) is an initiative that allows youth and young adults to visit communities and serve others, with the goal of presenting Christian faith in action by building long-term relationships.

Doolan described the meaning behind her artwork: “[The] circles represent gathering places, [the] cross represents Jesus, the Bible is there because they teach the youth from the Bible, colors represent the land, footprints are the leaders walking to the gathering place. … These are the different age groups coming together and learning about Jesus.”

This year, the AUC has produced 1,877 shirts for teams across Australia to wear while serving the community.

AUC youth ministries director Jeffrey Parker said, “I am so proud of all our STORMCo teams. Each team member volunteers at least a week of their time to reach into a community outside of their own.

“The impact of STORMCo is beyond measure. This seed-planting evangelism that is done by our youth and young adults reaches deep into communities that are hard to reach any other way. The youth departments across Australia praise Jesus for our committed youth and young adults who go forward in His name.”

About STORMCo

For more than 30 years, STORMCo has served the community in Australia and beyond. The STORMCo concept began in 1992 in Queensland, where a school chaplain recognized that Christian students wanted to do more to put their faith into practice. Within a few years there were STORMCo teams in every state in Australia, and the idea would spread to New Zealand, Europe, North America, Africa, and the South Pacific. 

There are five foundations of STORMCo that make it a success. The first is Listen – No Agenda: Teams go into communities to first listen and then to serve. A second foundation is Engage – No Walls: Teams serve and engage all groups within the communities they enter. A third is Serve – No Expectation: Teams serve to build relationships, and they serve without expectation of anything in return.

STORMCo leaders also emphasized a fourth foundation, Pray – No Fear: Teams get their source of strength from devotion, worship, and prayer times. They also use prayer to stay connected to God, to listen and follow what He is saying, and to guard against spiritual attacks. Finally, a fifth foundation is Return – No Limits: The purpose of STORMCo teams is to maintain a relationship with the community so it is not a “once only” event. Teams adopt the communities and return year after year. 

“The five foundations of STORMCo are really important,” Parker said. “STORMCo is a seed-planting evangelism where we have no agenda. We want to engage the community and build their trust — which can sometimes take a few years — but once we have their trust, we can serve them more and show them who Jesus is.”

The original version of this story was posted on Adventist Record.