By NW Adventist,
The 49th Regional Convocation issued a specific call for African American churches in the Pacific Northwest and beyond to embrace, empower and engage the next generation in their Pentecost 2025 evangelism efforts.
“You want Pentecost? Then remember Eutychus,” challenged Garth Dottin, keynote speaker from Tabernacle Adventist Church in Florida, in his opening remarks. Dottin previously served as Sharon Adventist Church pastor in Portland and as the first Oregon Conference regional ministry coordinator. “How is it that Eutychus is missing and over on the sideline by the window?”
Dottin focused both of his messages on Acts 20, where the young man Eutychus fell asleep and tumbled from a third-story window during one of Paul’s long sermons.
Dottin connected the biblical story to present-day reality.
“We complain that young people are missing from the church,” he said, “but we know exactly where they are. Tired. Discouraged. Disengaged. Waiting for someone to notice.”
He challenged leaders to not dismiss the reasons young people have distanced themselves.
The harsh reality, in many cases, Dottin noted, is, “The sermon was too long. The church too dull. The tone too judgmental. And they can’t wait until they are old enough to say, ‘I’m done.’”
But instead of blaming or shaming, Dottin pointed to the example of Paul. When Eutychus fell, Paul didn’t criticize. He didn’t send someone else. He left his post, went down three flights, embraced the broken young man and said, “He’s going to be all right.”
“That’s the recipe,” Dottin said. “Leave your office. Open your heart. Don’t host another program — go meet them where they are. Love them. Tell them they can live again.”
He didn’t mince words when it came to the church’s responsibility: “We say we want growth. We say we want Pentecost. But then we sit on the sidelines and criticize. You want to reach young people? Shut your mouth. Care for them. Pray for them.”
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