ADVENTIST YOUTH TO YOUTH

WHAT IS ADVENTIST YOUTH TO YOUTH?

BACKGROUND: The Start of Youth to Youth.

Youth to Youth originated in Columbus, Ohio, as a high school program in 1982. Its goal was to support and encourage teens to be drug-free. By 1984, the program had received much attention and an overwhelming number of requests for help from all over the country. In response, the First National Youth to Youth Conference was developed. The annual conference in Ohio soon spread to regional conferences in California, Idaho, Ohio, and New York, as well as several countries around the world.

Adventist Youth to Youth was first tested in the North American continent at the February, 1988 "Fly High Naturally" Conference held in the southeastern U.S. That conference was such a success that it led to further conferences throughout North America. In February, 1990 the North American Adventist church decided to adopt Adventist Youth to Youth as the official prevention program for the 1990s. A collegiate version was launched in 1992. Young adult leaders now provide the major administrative roles for these conferences. The program has been successfully adopted in a number of high schools where sufficient youth and adults have been trained in the program. Most recently the program has been extended to youth leadership development overseas, starting in the former U.S.S.R. in 1992.

SO WHAT IS ADVENTIST YOUTH TO YOUTH?

THE QUICK PICTURE...

• A health and temperance program.
• Youth leadership is developed. Adults support and encourage, not control.
• Spiritual principles are the foundation, but traditional religious rituals are absent.
• Program is youth oriented and fun. Adults are welcome.
• Targets a wide variety of youth, especially those usually hostile to religion.
• The program is life-changing for both youth and adults.

A MORE DETAILED LOOK...

Adventist Youth to Youth is a POSITIVE, PEER PREVENTION PROGRAM which uses local clubs led by youth supported by adult sponsors to reach other youth and children with a drug-free living message. Clubs are started by participants who have attended a four-day conference and have made a commitment to being drug-free.

POSITIVE:	The program focuses on positive alternatives to handling problems so that the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs is seen as unnecessary and undesirable. The program features personal support and encouragement of all participants. Positive interpersonal communication is taught.
PEER:	Youth are trained to take initiative and reach out to teach and encourage other youth and children in choosing to live drug-free.
PREVENTION:	The objective is to help children and youth make a personal commitment to abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, or to stop using them if they have begun experimental or casual use. The program does not work effectively at rehabilitating alcoholics or drug addicts, but will prove helpful in support of children living in families where addiction exists.
PROGRAM:	There are five elements of the Adventist Youth to Youth program which make it very comprehensive and integrated. See below.

Youth are trained to educate their peers and younger children to avoid drugs. Included are a wide range of activities to involve youth in solving the drug problems in their own communities.

The experience of an Adventist Youth to Youth conference promotes personal commitment to a drug-free lifestyle. The conference also trains adults to be effective sponsors for these youth.

THE FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES:

1. A totally drug-free message. There are no messages saying that "responsible use" or "moderate drinking" is all right, because using a mind-altering drug is always risky. We seek to understand things the way they really happen, not the way the drug pushers (including alcohol producers and tobacco companies) want us to think they are. Drinking and smoking do not make a person beautiful, glamorous, rich, or powerful; they can, however, make a person poor, miserable, sick, and dead!

2. Youth orientation. This is youth speaking to other youth. It is not an "adult to youth" program. Youth are actively involved in planning, organizing and running the meetings and various activities. Youth take responsibility to contribute to solving alcohol or drug problems in their communities. Adults act as "coaches" to support youth efforts.

3. Drug-free living is fun! The youth leaders of this program show other children and youth that living free of drugs is more fun and profitable than depending on drugs. Youth to Youth believes in getting high from natural experiences rather than through mind-altering, dangerous chemicals.

4. Personal support. Through small Family Groups where confidentiality, honesty, and positive interaction are the ground rules, youth feel acceptance and the freedom to learn how to be good friends with others and with God. Youth discover how to think for themselves and how to communicate with others more effectively. These experiences help them develop spirituality and deepen their understanding of God in their daily lives.

5. Honor, dignity, and respect. This philosophy is the ethical foundation of Youth to Youth. It gives value to each person, honoring him or her as a child of God. It seeks to build in each person a deeper sense of self-respect and self-worth.

   In practical terms, during a Youth to Youth Conference the premise is evident in the rules which govern family groups, in clear positive expectations for the conference participants as stated in an early general session, in the spreading of "WARM FUZZIES" among participants and staff during the conference and in a positive approach to resolving conflicts which may arise.

6. A comprehensive prevention program. The Youth to Youth model works because it uses all of the following elements in its operation:

   

   INFORMATION. "What every teen should know about drugs and alcohol."

   

   FAMILY GROUPS. Personal and spiritual growth through "getting to know and value myself and others, and getting to know God as my friend."

   

   FUN EVENTS. "Have fun with me, I'm drug-free!" Positive social alternatives.

   

   ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND OUTREACH. Starting positive prevention programs in my school and community; promoting positive change for my world."

   

   LEADERSHIP TRAINING. Developing my initiative, capabilities and self-confidence.

The motto of the program is "MY CHOICE -- DRUG FREE!"

Founded on honor, dignity, and respect, the program therefore uses a positive and comprehensive approach to create a social environment where drugs will have no appeal.

THE SPIRITUAL FOUNDATION IS BIBLICAL

Commitment to a drug-free lifestyle is a spiritual decision. Therefore, nurturing spiritual growth is a key goal of Adventist Youth to Youth.

In defining spirituality, Christ's explanation of the moral law is relevant:

"The first of all the commandments is 'thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength; this is the first commandment. And the second is like...Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.'" Holy Bible: Mark 23:29-31, KJV

Spirituality has been, therefore, defined:

"Spirituality is having a strong, healthy relationship with God (a vertical relationship) and a strong, healthy relationship with other persons (horizontal relationships)."

The vertical and horizontal relationships which are necessary to be a strongly spiritual person are diagrammed below:

Developing spirituality means strengthening a person's willingness to live in relationship to God, accepting God's love and Lordship, and building the ability to positively relate to other people. These relationships are woven through-out the fabric of Adventist Youth to Youth.

HOW DOES AY2Y WIN SPIRITUAL COMMITMENT FROM YOUTH?

As a church-sponsored program, AY2Y goes one step beyond the invitation to commit to a drug-free lifestyle. It provides an opportunity for youth to make a spiritual commitment to Christ. This decision may be of the greatest import in maintaining resistance to the many messages in today's society which promote the use of alcohol and other chemicals to solve life's problems.

Thus, there is an important reason why AY2Y is "non-traditional." It has as its target the young person who is not already committed to Christ. Youth, like other people, can be divided into several categories:

1. Converted youth whose hearts and lives are committed to serving God.

2. Youth who have become acquainted with God, but are undecided about whether to surrender their lives to Him. They are not hostile, just uncertain.

3. Youth who are alienated and hostile to religion. They may be rebelling against parental beliefs or may be atheistic because of education against religion. They see no value in religion for them.

4. Youth who have never had any exposure to religion. They are secular-minded, strangers to God.

Adventist Youth to Youth targets its efforts to the last three categories, although it welcomes the dedicated Christian young person and utilizes them as staff. It seeks to win the hearts and minds of these undecided, alienated, or inexperienced youth by facilitating the development of friendship networks with them. When trust and friendship bonds have been established, the AY2Y youth staff are able to introduce them to God, or discuss with them what God is like and how God is the most reliable, trust-worthy, and devoted Friend possible.

Repeatedly, young people who have attended an Adventist Youth to Youth conference testify that they found Christ at the conference and while there, gave their lives to Him. Adventist Youth to Youth is a powerful magnet for youth who are difficult or impossible to reach by traditional means, drawing these youth into the loving embrace of other Christians and the church community. We can visualize the process as a "flowering of spiritual awareness and commitment" because of the warm, peer-to-peer friendship environment.

SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLES

1. Abstinence is valued. One of the fundamental beliefs of the Adventist church is in the importance of an abstinent life, avoiding alcohol, tobacco, and other addictive or narcotic drugs because they damage and destroy the body temple. See 1 Cor. 6:19-20.

2. Positive attitudes and experiences are fostered. God did not create negative things. All the frowns, tears, pain, hostility, shame, and death in the world came through Satan's influence. God is a positive Being. By fostering joy, smiles, laughter, honesty, trust, teamwork, love, peace, encouragement, and support, AY2Y operates on God's side. Our "playing field" is in harmony with God's wish that His creation be restored to the "good" state. See Genesis 1:31.

3. The inner child is nurtured. Inside every person remains an unseen "inner child." Keeping in touch with the playfulness, simplicity, innocence, and trust of that child was encouraged by Christ: "Except ye become as little children, ye shall not see the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 18:2-3). AY2Y fosters that child-like spirit which Christ commended through its games, its social interaction, and the youth-oriented program.

4. Self-worth is encouraged. God didn't create junk when He made human beings, including adolescents! A correct foundation for self-esteem consists of identifying self as God's child, a prince or princess of the kingdom, (Romans 8:14-17). When young people realize how valued they are by God, they begin to develop self-respect and self-knowledge. Positive self-esteem is well-known to be protective against the false appeal of mind-altering drugs.

5. Acceptance and love are unconditional. The ethical foundation of "Honor, Dignity, and Respect" at AY2Y creates an environment where everyone can feel valued and wanted. Since God loves human beings with unconditional love, the same principle facilitates His love to flow through people to reach those who have not yet discovered that God wants to be their best Friend. (Romans 8:31-39).

6. Positive interpersonal relationships are strengthened. The experiences in Family Groups, the "warm fuzzies" expressed among participants, the philosophy of "honor, dignity, and respect," all contribute to a bonding and unity among youth and adults which is much needed in the church and society. (Col. 3:12-15).

SUMMARY

Adventist Youth to Youth has been demonstrated to change youth in ways which improve their earthly life. But even more important, the personal and spiritual growth they experience has eternal value to them. As they become committed to friendship with God, personal lifestyles which are healthy and fulfilling, and gain leadership skills and experience, the youth in this program are ready for the great challenge of sharing the gospel wherever they may be, inviting others into a personal friendship with Christ.

"With such an army of workers as our youth, rightly trained might furnish, how soon might the gospel of a risen, soon-coming Saviour be taken to all the world, how soon might the end come, the end of suffering and tears." Ellen G. White, Counsels to Teachers, Parents, and Students, p. 555.

For Complete Details on Local Club Operations: Get a Complete Manual:

A "how-to-do-it" manual designed for youth leaders of AY2Y groups. Contains information on how to start a group, leadership tips, family group planning, a complete set of family group activities, social events, outreach and service activities, resources, and a chapter for adult sponsors. Every club should have one!

Send comments or suggestions to Arthur Gibbs