Young Leaders in Mission

"Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity."  1 Timothy 4:12 (NRSV) We are blessed to have two beautiful stories of our young people leading us by example in ministry! Discovery sponsors Boy Scout Troop 23, who travelled to Pisgah, Alabama this Saturday to help with tornado recovery.  The adults spent the day cutting the downed trees into pieces, and the Scouts drug them into piles were they could either be burned, or used later. The Mayor of Pisgah came out to visit us along with a representative from the local unit of the Salvation Army. Troop 23 presented the Salvation Army representative with 165 - $25 Wal-Mart gift cards that they will distribute to local tornado victims, so that the victims can go out and get the specific new items that they might need.  That is over $4000 raised by Troop 23!  What a blessing this gift is for the many people suffering from broken homes and lives after the destructive storms! Turner, an 11 year old member of Discovery, heard that the RUSH program of Urban Ministries in Birmingham lost one of its vehicles in the storms at the end of April.  Without any prompting from his parents or anyone else, Turner came up with a plan to raise money to replace the damaged vehicle.  With the help of friends from school and two local churches, Turner raised over $1000 and purchased a new van for the mission group.  Over half of the money raised was donated by children 11 years old and younger!  What a great example of sacrificial giving these young children have offered us!