Colombia (MNN) — Who would've thought that the very city identified as the "former murder capital of the world" by Ambassador Charles S. Shapiro would be the place where 2,500 youth leaders would be inspired to touch the world for Christ?
In Medellin, Columbia, Global Advance partnered with Youth Solutions to bring their Youth Leaders Missions Conference to over 2,500 youth plus 3,500 viewers online. The conference was held in early June and included several inspiring speakers, worship sessions, and a time of response from the attendees.
One attendee said of the ministry, "We are trying to fill the gap in training Latin American leaders. They are there because they want [to be], but they are not well trained, so we want to train them to do God's work better."
Another young man stated, "I have been blessed with all the preachers, with all of the prayer, and with all of the prophecy."
These youth attending the conference face many challenges within their own country. It's not only identified as being the "former murder capital of the world," but according to the CIA, Colombia is also the world's largest producer of cocaine and a major producer of other illicit drugs. Also, nearly half of Colombia's population is below the poverty line.
Yet out of such a background, Christ has brought forward many youth who have been inspired by the Father's love. The conference hosts were encouraged to see that nearly all the young leaders committed to renewing daily time with the Lord, over 70% were inspired to launch new churches, ministries, and kingdom initiatives in the next 12 months, and over 30% committed to go into cross-cultural missions in the next 12 months.
One such young leader, 19-year-old Yopi Quiroz, attended last year's conference in Medellin and was similarly touched by the Holy Spirit to go out into the world and evangelize. Following that conference, he traveled to Indonesia where he learned the language in less than 6 months. Quiroz was invited back by Global Advance to pray at this year's conference over the young leaders who also expressed a desire to go into cross-cultural ministry. Quiroz plans to return to Indonesia as a missionary this year.
Global Advance has conducted several Youth Leaders Missions Conferences all over the world in more than 80 different nations. The mission of Global Advance is to empower leaders in the church to go out into all the nations and fulfill the Great Commission by spreading the Gospel. They outline three major focuses in their ministry: to encourage evangelism, church planting, and missionary service.
With such a powerful response to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, this generation is being raised up to make an impact for God's Kingdom. Please pray for the lives of the youth in Colombia and across the nations as they go out into the world for Christ.
