For the past 23 years, Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Tyler has annually hosted Take Action, a multimedia event aimed at encouraging young people in their walk with God and exposing them to world missions. The event includes a multimedia production (drama, music, video, and dance), worship, small groups, workshops, and times of prayer and interaction with the participants.

Take Action has affected thousands of teenagers from all walks of life. Young people have been delivered from addictions, rescued out of abusive family situations, and inspired to reach the world for God. They have returned to their home churches with an enthusiasm that has spread through the whole body. Take Action is one of our largest outreaches to the community, and two years ago the production went on the road to various cities across the nation reaching urban young people with a missions challenge.

The first Take Action event of 2009 took place on February 28th in Tyler. The team then went on the road and took the event to Chicago on March 14th. The challenge of this year’s production is “Get Loud.” The audiences were treated to a production that highlighted various situations in the characters’ lives such as physical and sexual abuse, addiction, and unplanned pregnancy, as well as broader areas of social injustice such as human trafficking and slavery. In the words of one of the characters,

“I believe that if one of us is chained, none of us are free. When you realize millions are forced to live and die in inhumane conditions working for someone else’s financial gain, it really puts your life into perspective. Looking back, I now realize that even I was enslaved, enslaved to my past. But slavery is just one aspect of a much bigger picture of social injustice—oppression, violence, abortion, poverty, disease, abuse. I don’t know about you, but I want my eyes open to the oppression and injustice around me; I want to awaken my voice, stand up, and GET LOUD!”

People were challenged to take a stand in areas of injustice and to be a voice for those who have none. God radically touched lives and as a result many now want to take His message of love back to their homes, schools, and even to the nations! Zoe, a MySpace user who attended Take Action, posted the following:

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Subject: Take Action – Get loud, we can make a difference
Current mood: Unstoppable

Today I went to a youth event with my church called Take Action: Get Loud. Youth With A Mission, aka YWAM, is a large group of adults and teens who minister to the youth. It was a great experience and I learned a lot. I have to say though that the most impacting thing anyone said during the whole day for me was, “If one of us is in chains then none of us are free.” In other words, if one of us is suffering, we should all be suffering along with that person. It put things in perspective for me that we are all friends and family and your troubles are my troubles, and my troubles are your troubles. It hurts me to see you hurting, and my friends hurt when I’m hurting. Think about it: there are 6 billion people in this world, and if one person, just ONE person is suffering, the rest of us are suffering also.

To make this a world where no one is hurting and that there isn’t pain is pretty much impossible cause we have to admit, we aren’t perfect. But let me just say this, for God nothing is impossible. Nothing.

And I might be just one teenager out of millions, but I sure can make a difference in my friends’ lives and other people’s lives. And if a whole bunch of just ordinary people decide to make a difference that becomes a huge revolution that could change the world. We can change the world. Everyone who ever did, started out as a nobody. I’m a nobody, and I want God to use me to touch a somebody. The whole concept is hard to explain, but our world is broken and we need hope, and something needs to change, ‘cause we aren't giving God our all. And God deserves nothing less than everything I can give, and everything you can give. I’m going to make a difference, even if it’s the last thing I do.

This is exactly the heart of Take Action – to inspire young people like Zoe to make a difference in their world. There are many more Zoes out there, too, who are a key part of God’s plans and purposes for the world. They are the leaders of the future and that is why it is so critical to invest in their lives.

The Take Action team will be bringing the event to San Antonio on March 28th. Please pray with us that many lives will be changed as God’s message of love, redemption, and reconciliation is shared.