I wish you could have sat on the "story couch" each night and heard the stories that each participant couldn't wait to tell. They would literally line up, just waiting for their turn to sit in the middle of us adults and tell what happened at their site that night.
One night two of them got to talking together when one said, "I guess altar calls scare me....I mean I did it...but just had them raise their hands...I didn't have them come forward...I mean what if nobody were to come? And what am I supposed to say....how do I add on to the altar call that is already there in my notes?" The other student evangelist answered, "Oh I can understand...I used to feel that way too, but then I realized that all I had to do was pray....really pray. Sometimes I have someone sing an appeal song and then I just pray and I say to God...'God I am ready to say your words. I just want to be used by you, so give me the words to say'.
Then I just start talking...and God does the rest and you don't have to be scared because it isn't about you anyway, it is about God and what He will do through you. So if no one comes up...that is God's problem not yours but keep talking, keep praying while your translator translates...send up little prayers and God will continue to tell you what to say and when the people come up, don't feel embarrassed to cry if you feel like it...that just means you are happy and you love the people!"
"Do you know what happened to me", exclaimed a teen preacher. "Tonight my voice was simply not working..I could only squeak. I don't know if I talked too loud on the bus today or if I am getting a cold or what, but it wouldn't work! I was panicking but then I remembered to pray and said 'God I am the only preacher here tonight, so please make my voice work because these people need to hear this message.' When I stood up my voice worked well and I actually had more volume than normal and the minute I quit preaching...it went back to sounding dreadful like it sounds now," she squeaked.
Another young person blew in the door and said, "I don't know what happened to me tonight but during the closing part of the sermon I just quit preaching from my script and gave an altar call from my heart...I got emotional thinking about the grace of God and how much He loves this sorry little planet and all us imperfect people, and I just preached my heart out. The entire church rose to their feet and come down front! It was amazing because it included all the visitors! I LOVE PREACHING! GOD is AWESOME!!¨"
