Sign up for our free newsletter:

"Up" for a Good Cause

Last year, we asked you to send your best group ideas to our Salt & Light "Idea-a-Thon." Each winner grabbed $100 for their group. You'll find the winning ideas, as well as the runners-up, in this and upcoming issues of Campus Life.

Imagine getting paid to pull an all-nighter—and imagine that the money would go for a really good cause. You just might jump at the chance, right? Well, the youth group at Faith Fellowship Ministries in Franklinville, New Jersey, sure did when they decided to hold a no-sleep lock-in to raise money for one of their church's missionary families.

Group members spent a few weeks gathering pledges from their families and friends. The longer they promised to stay awake, the more money they'd make. The goal was for them to stay up for the whole event, all 15 hours of it. So some folks pitched in a dollar or two for each hour the students stayed awake, while others gave one big pledge for the night.

Then the real fun started. The group gathered at the church at 7 p.m. on a Friday and got settled in for a night of fun. They started out with some mellow group games, but as the night went on and eyes threatened to close, things got rowdier.

The group played a late night game of kick-the-can in the dark church hallways and fueled up on an endless supply of chips, sodas and pizza. Those who wanted a little less activity stuck with board games and peaceful conversation.

Around 3 a.m., things calmed down a little too much and most of the group found sleep a pretty tempting option. But there was money to be raised! Group member Shannon Minter (pictured above, far left) says, "That's when our youth leader broke out a tape of Praise Aerobics. Needless to say, that didn't go over well. After about a minute, we all fled the room! But it served its purpose and got us up and running around for the rest of the night."

At 8 a.m., a group of parents showed up to cook breakfast for the sleep-starved youth group. After breakfast, the group packed up, headed home and—you guessed it—slept.

But that wasn't the end of it. The next few weeks were spent collecting pledge money from sponsors. In the end, the Faith Fellowship youth group raised nearly $1,500—enough to help the missionary family buy a car they desperately needed. Shannon says, "When the missionaries came to the church and were presented with the car, it was such a thrill to know we had contributed the majority of the money. In our own way were helping spread God's Word to people who need him."

Scrambling for Dollars
The youth group at Community Reformed Church in Holland, Michigan has a fund-raiser called Sell an Egg, and it works something like this:

The youth group divides into teams of three or four people. Each team starts knocking on doors. At the first house, they give the owner a flyer telling a little about the youth group and the church. Then they ask for an egg. They take the egg to the next house, hand out another flyer and try to sell that same egg for whatever price the homeowner is willing to pay. The team picks up a new egg at the next house, sells it at the house after that, and so on.

Group member Nakisha Zwyghuizen says, "We made $250 in a half an hour. The highest price we got for an egg was $20! It was a great way to earn some fast money for our group's summer missions trip."

Go Fish
Talk about being fishers of men! The local chapter of Student Venture in Chesterfield, Missouri, has put yet another spin on the beloved scavenger hunt. But instead of looking for things, the group looks for people.

Teams of three people receive a list of people categories, with points assigned to each category. So cheerleaders, for example, might be worth 30 points, and a foreign exchange student might be worth 40 points.

The teams pick up as many people as they can in an hour, just stopping at friends' and classmates' houses to gather them up (the "hunted" must be willing to go, of course). Then everyone heads back to the church to add their scores, listen to a Christian band, eat and just hang. At the end of the event, the students hear speakers and a presentation of the gospel.

Student Venture member Kevin Corlett tells us, "Sometimes the people we pick up don't know much about church. It's an extremely fun event and a great way to introduce people to Christ."

Getting Involved Sure, it's the dead of winter. But that doesn't mean your creative juices have to freeze. Huddle up with your youth group and take advantage of these hot ideas: If you're planning a youth outreach soon, and you're looking for a way to connect, try breaking the ice with a theme party … Hawaiian, roaring twenties, or sci-fi … you get the idea. On long cold nights, you probably like to stay inside under a pile of blankets. But remember that some people in your town may not even have a sheet to keep them warm. So, grab as many blankets and coats as you can spare, and with an adult leader, give them to the folks in your area who don't have a warm place to call home. It's never too early to start planning your spring break or summer missions experience. Be sure to check out our special section on missions (page 38) and share it with your group. Travel across the world without ever leaving your hometown—adopt an unreached people. Find out where they live, what they're like, and pray for them weekly. Contact the Joshua Project (719-576-2000; www.ad2000.org/peoples/index.htm) or Adopt-A-People Clearinghouse (719-574-7005; www.aapc.net) for more information. Got other cool plans for '99? Don't take that passion for granted—commit to carrying them out this year and hold each other accountable.

The Invisible World
Check out a new video from Youth for Christ called "Invisible Enemies." It gives a glimpse into the kind of spiritual activity that might be going on all around us. Youth groups like the one at First Church of Christ in Bluffton, Indiana, are using it not only to reach out to non-Christians, but to also get Christian students asking deeper questions about their faith. Youth leader Craig Yoder says, "The video really gets Christians thinking about their own relationship with Christ and asking themselves what it means to have a faith that can stand up to the spiritual forces at work in the world."

For more information on "Invisible Enemies," call 1-800-735-3252.

	Where in the World Is Mark Matlock?
	Check out dynamic youth speaker Mark Matlock in one of these cities: Houston, Texas: January 29-30 Tulsa, Oklahoma: February 5-6 Birmingham, Alabama: February 12-13 Dallas, Texas: February 26-27 Lubbock, Texas: March 5-6 Mobile, Alabama: March 12-13 For more info on these conferences, call Shepherd Ministries at (800) 646-8336.

Copyright © 1999 by the author or Christianity Today International/Campus Life magazine. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or e-mail clmag@CampusLife.net.
January/February 1999, Vol. 57, No. 6, Page 76

Discuss this on the 'Witness & Missions' message board

Read more from 'Witness & Missions'

				Try an Issue of Ignite Your Faith RISK-FREE! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Ignite Your Faith coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive eight more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issues are yours to keep, regardless. Give Ignite Your Faith as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!