On Saturday, March 16, Adventist young people around the world mobilized to serve as the hands and feet of Christ in their communities for Global Youth Day 2019 (#GYD19). The theme for the annual service Sabbath was “Adopt.”
Regional reporting stations around the world took turns sharing stories about everything from Adventist youth in northern China adopting a nursing home to youth running anti-gambling drives in Italy. Participants uploaded a torrent of social media updates using hashtag #GYD2019. They shared activities from the special Sabbath as well as other recent efforts to “Be the Sermon” in their communities.
From a studio based at the Seventh-day Adventist’s world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, young adults Ian Reyes and Kalin Griffin hosted the 24-hour broadcast of #GYD19. The live feed streamed on Facebook, YouTube, the Global Youth Day website and dedicated apps.
Early on in the broadcast, Reyes led the worldwide audience in prayers for those affected by the terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, which had claimed the lives of 50 Muslims just a day before #GYD19 began.
“If there was ever a time for Global Youth Day it is now,” said Gary Blanchard, director of Youth Ministries for the Seventh-day Adventist World Church. “God is calling us to shine brighter as this world gets darker.”
This year, Global Youth Day drew attention from high-profile leaders including the president of Colombia who came out to see what Adventist youth were doing for the event in his country. In addition, David Maraga, the Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya, supported the celebration. An Adventist himself, Maraga wore a Global Youth Day shirt and a Pathfinder scarf as he made remarks supporting #GYD19. In Zambia,
First Lady of Zambia, Esther Lungu, urged all faith-based organizations to play their role uplifting the living standards of Zambians and to emulate the Seventh-day Adventist Church in caring for the community. She officiated at the Global Youth day event in which young people adopted the pediatric ward of the Levy Mwanawasa Teaching Hospital by providing sanitary needs, toys and food.
Both the creativity and the compassion of Adventist youth were on display as young people in Mongolia distributed water and food; volunteers in Turkey adopted orphanages; a church in Johannesburg, South Africa, adopted a river that badly needed cleaning and young adults in Hong Kong gave the cluttered apartment of an elderly man an inviting makeover.
