This ministry is made possible
by the generous donations
of friends and viewers
of Greater Things.
Can you think of just one place in the world
that is free of violence?
Not likely.
Violence can strike anywhere,
and anyone at any moment.
The high percentage of violence involves you,
whether they be the victim or perpetrator.
On today's episode we will discuss what our Christian duty is
to the hurting before they lash out in violence.
Also we will discuss youth violence,
such as school shootings with law enforcement.
This and more on Greater Things.
(Intro Music Playing)
Alot has happened since our last report.
We begin from news from December ninth
with The Church of God being established in the African country of Malawi.
This has also revived the work for neighboring countries
of Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Please join with me in welcoming the youth of Malawi
to the Victory Leaders Band.
We've received a fantastic report from the former youth leader of Costa Rica
about their recent National Convention.
Take a look.
We have 297 youth members in the VLB department.
We have 350 youth members in attendance for National Youth Camp.
Yesterday, we had a march of over 260 youth people in the National Convention.
Three were sanctified
and seven were saved.
I ask you to pray for us.
We are praying for you.
May the Lord bless you.
Youth emphasis week is quickly approaching.
We were able to grab an interview with the General Coordinator
regarding his thoughts for this designated week.
For Youth Emphasis Week,
I'd like to see our local state, regional, and national coordinators
to make this week one of the biggest youth events all year long.
Take this time to serve the youth.
They are important.
So lets give to the youth during this week.
Youth Emphasis Week is April 28-May 4th.
Greater Things is having an impact in foreign countries.
Costa Rica plans to use one of last years episodes,
"The Millennials Big Challenge,"
as their main topic of their upcoming National Camp.
We wish them the best,
and pray that it is overflowing with God's presence.
We have big news concerning International Youth Camp.
This year it will be held in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee,
at the Smoky Mountain Resort.
This positions IYC in the beautiful Smoky Mountains of east Tennessee,
only 90 miles from the General Assembly in Kingsport.
IYC provides vital training for youth camp directors, staff, and representatives.
Also, all youth leaders are invited to attend this event.
Get your applications in early to reserve your place at IYC.
Share your news and events with us by sending them to gt@thechurchofgod.org
This has been the news for today
and we're looking forward to greater things.
Real hope is the opposite of death.
Real hope is the opposite of fear.
Real hope won't let go,
No matter what the present circumstances may look like
Real hope holds on.
It is not to early to start planning your events
for this year’s Youth Emphasis Week.
This week of activities and encouragement
is dedicated to the ministry of all youth around the world,
so go ahead and plan a special outing
or take initiative to start a new project.
It’s a great opportunity to be creative,
have lots of fun,
and reiterate the importance
of being a follower of Christ.
Whatever your inspiration may be
there is no better time than Youth Emphasis Week.
No matter how far we've run or how extensive our policies and laws are,
we can't escape violence.
It occurs in homes, department stores,
daycares, courthouses, airports, schools, and even churches.
There is not one place that can be named
in which violence in some degree hasn't occurred.
Recent school and church shootings
has prompted a lot of discussion regarding this topic.
What we learn in many of these cases is the perpetrator is a youth
which targeted other youth.
We then ask ourselves,
how can someone so young be capable of committing such acts of violence?
If we had the opportunity to study their history,
then we will likely discover that they too were victims of violence.
There is a vicious cycle that must be stopped.
When sin entered this world, violence soon followed.
Sin produces violence and violence produces more violence.
As Christians, we are called to do more than passively wait
for the next person to draw a gun.
We must close the gap with those that are rejected
and connect with the wounded before they lash out and wound others.
We must bring down the level of tension and stress around us
by being a peacemaker.
You don't have to look far to find someone who is a victim of hurt
feeling all alone and rejected.
God is calling for us to be a peacemaker in someone's life.
Matthew 5:9 says,
"Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."
A peacemaker doesn't sit idly by while violence occurs,
but rather he intervenes much the same way God sustains the weak, runs to the weary,
defends the feeble, and serves the unfortunate.
On the other side of this,
if you are a Christian, and violence is occuring against you,
what do you do then?
Some people are of the believe that no action should be taken,
rather we should just pray and hope for the best outcome.
Others believe self defense is appropriate and permissible.
One thing we can all agree on is that the Bible condemns violence.
It's biblically wrong for someone to commit violence against others,
and it's just as Biblically wrong if someone commits violence against you.
God makes it clear that He values human life.
We are to protect and preserve life including our own.
However violence takes on many forms such as school, domestic, gang related,
sexual and physical assaults, and much more.
And for this portion of this discussion we have obtained a personal interview
with the local sheriff's office.
We have with us today, Heath Arthur, Field Training Officer
with the Bradley County Sheriff's Office.
We appreciate you being here with us.
Yes sir.
In your line of work, you deal with violence on a regular basis.
How often are you seeing youth involved in violence and other criminal activity?
It's on a daily basis, man.
At what age are you noticing youth involved in violence?
Is it in high school age or much earlier than that?
We're seeing it more and more during grade school times now,
it's from Kindergarten on up.
Where are the parents of the youth that commit violence?
Are they involved in their child's life?
Are they neglecting their child that caused them to turn to violence?
We have a large number of children in foster care
that are committing these acts.
That's only because their parents have gotten in trouble,
put in prison,
or because of drug use,
their children have been taken away.
So it just depends on how their household is going at home.
Could be a broken home but we see it alot
from the foster system too
where they're having to deal with these trouble kids.
A lot of violence occurs in schools.
Most have policies and procedures to prevent violence.
Do you feel that more measures could be taken to prevent it?
I think one of the biggest measures could be taken from the home standpoint.
I think discipline starts in the home.
The values for life the value for property,
I think it starts at home and how the child is being raised.
On the law enforcement standpoint,
I would look at it as,
we need to have that officer present inside the schools
so they know they'll be repercussions
for any acts that would be committed inside the school.
So you feel that the parents can be active in helping to prevent youth violence?
Absolutely.
A lot of youth violence occur in schools.
Probably the most extreme forms that we have witnessed
over the years is school shootings.
In many cases, it was youth that targeted other youth.
Why is that?
I think the biggest problem, first of all,
is going to be bullying inside the schools.
The teachers, the principals,
the people that are there at the schools need to take
and they need to recognize what's going on with the children.
They need to realize why these children are acting out and how they're acting out.
And that needs to be reported to law enforcement
and law enforcement is responsible for acting on that
and making sure it's corrected before anything bad happens.
First it starts with the parents, teachers,
and that accountability towards the students
and the teachers getting that taken care of.
What are the most important steps that anyone of us should take
if we were faced with an active shooter situation?
A lot of folks don't know--they've not been in this kind of situation before
but what is the absolute first thing that we should do?
Protection of life. You go, you find cover,
and you wait on law enforcement.
And if you have a phone, it doesn't matter if 100 people have called 9-1-1,
you might be the very first one to call 9-1-1
so make sure that you notify the authorities
and you get help there as quick as possible.
There is no doubt students
that are throughout this country, they are living in fear,
they are afraid to go to school tomorrow, what would you say to those students?
Go to school, live your lives as normal,
because if you change, your basically giving that shooter,
whoever is doing these acts, what they wanted.
They want things to change; they want that attention.
Go about your life as normal, don't let them win.
Well we appreciate all the advice you have given today
and we want to make sure that we make application with what we hear
so that we can be better prepared and understand situations a little bit better,
pertaining to youth violence.
Thank you again, Deputy Arthur, for being here,
thank you for your service to the Bradley County Sheriff's Office,
for protecting and serving in our community, we appreciate that.
Thanks sir, My pleasure.
(Piano music playing)
The words you've seen are such a beautiful message.
"For God so loved the world
that He gave his only begotten son,
that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish,
but have everlasting life."
Because they are not of a language we speak or read,
most of us could not understand them.
The Victory Leaders Band is tasked with raising funds
to print and translate the gospel message
to reach every area and language of the world.
Through the fundraising efforts of young people like you,
this beautiful gospel is printed, translated, and sent to souls
who need to know the peace, comfort, joy,
and salvation that only comes from God.
We encourage you to raise a special offering
for outreach literature.
These donations, in addition to our monthly offerings,
are vital as we help lost souls of the world
hear about Jesus Christ.
Will you help us publish his Word today?
Perhaps some of you watching today are victims.
Victims of what, you may ask?
Of fear.
Paralyzed by fear,
dreading to walk into your school tomorrow,
wondering if you will have to face the nightmare that other students lived.
2 Timothy 1:7 says,
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear,
but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
The fear you may be experiencing did not come from God,
but from the enemy of our souls seeking to destroy our peace
and shake our faith.
John 16:33 says,
"These things I have spoken unto you,
that in me ye might have peace.
In the world ye have tribulation but be of good cheer,
I have overcome the world."
What better way to close this episode than with the Words of Christ?
Can you bow your heads with me, and let's pray.
Our Father, which art in Heaven,
Lord we come to you this day,
we thank you, Father, that we can run to you
in our time of trouble,
Lord you are our high tower,
And Father, we can find shelter and peace in you
and Lord, I pray for those that are watching right now
that you would just bring peace to their hearts
Lord, You know of all of the students that are watching this episode
that are afraid to go into their school tomorrow.
Afraid that some violent crime is going to happen there in that place
or somebody is going to come in and do awful things
but God I pray that you just send your Comforter to them,
send your peace to them right now.
Father, and reassure them that You are in control of tomorrow.
You are already there.
And God I pray that you would just minister to them,
you know what they have need of right now
Lord you know what's on their hearts what's on their mind, God,
and I pray that you would meet their needs
and bring an overwhelming peace to them right now, we pray,
in Jesus' name, Amen.
We would love to hear from you,
so send us an email with your thoughts
to gt@thechurchofgod.org,
or leave us a comment on our facebook or Twitter feeds.
Your feedback will help us to improve each episode
and we'll know what topics are important to you.
You can watch this and future episodes of Greater Things
on our website, through our mobile apps,
via our social media pages,
or by subscribing to our podcast feed.
Until next time,
keep your eyes firmly set on Jesus,
and get ready to see Him perform greater things
in your life.