The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

IN MEMORY of the late youth pastors Lavard and Radel Parks who died in the November 9 plane crash, the Christian Youth Leadership Network will play host to its first National Youth Meeting.

Comprised of 14 youth ministries from various denominations, the network will gather at Bahamas Faith Ministries (BFM) this Friday at 7pm. They are encouraging all youth groups to join in on the informative and entertaining evening.

Speakers at the national youth meeting will include Felicia Archer, Deno Cartwright, Nathan Wells, and Corey “DJ Counsellor” Rolle. Live performances will follow by artists including the Gospel Boys, Lyrically Blessed, ACL, V Mac, Mr Beeds, WD4D and many more.

“A few of us have been talking for a while about having a National Youth Meeting, and when Lavard and Radel Parks had passed I brought it back up and said this would be a good time to do it. We decided to come together in memory of them and we are looking forward to doing it at least three times again next year,” said DJ Counsellor.

DJ Counsellor is an artist, communicator, youth specialist and life coach, music and film producer and the founder and CEO of Kingdom Dub Entertainment Group.

He also serves as a youth specialist and speaks at high schools, conferences, children homes and prisons.

He told Tribune Religion this Friday he will touch on the topic “Living Beyond the Concession”.

“This meeting is important because the church is not unified as it should be and that’s why we have a less hands-on the community because they see this also. Everyone is just separated doing their own thing. So if we can come together to do some things collectively within the schools, in the community and support each other, it says a lot about what we stand for,” said DJ Counsellor.

He said it takes some time and effort to unite, but they have seen a great number of groups committing to this endeavour. However, DJ Counsellor said in moving forward there is a lot more they can do as a unified body.

“We have some youth groups that are suffering as in man power and ideas, and when you have a unified community there are a lot of things you can pull from to assist you in those areas. With the Christian Youth Leadership Network, it is designed to re-train and equip us as we go out to make a difference in our local congregations and youth groups,” he said.

“This meeting would definitely be entertaining and beneficial for the kids because the youth leaders who are speaking are the most current ones now. We have music in between the presentations, and we have a special 10=minute message from Lavard in which he spoke on a youth Sunday.”

He said guests can expect the entire night to be fulfilling, entertaining and different.

“We have flashing lights, a sound system and fog machine, so the environment is going to be a lot different from what a lot of youth groups are exposed do. The main thing is to have the kids equipped with knowing what it is to be a Christian in school and topics along those lines,” said DJ Counsellor.

His goal is to have the young people who attend walk away with a more purposeful meaning of their faith.

“A lot of times people make a decision to become a Christian but it is much different than what it was 20 years ago. With them understanding and seeing other examples, and also seeing what we are representing as youth leaders, it helps them,” said DJ Counsellor.

Nathan Wells, vice-president of the Christian Youth Leadership Network, will speak on the topic “Taking God Serious”.

Mr Wells said the Christian Youth Leadership Network is all about connecting youth leaders and youth groups with each other because the network believes they can serve a wider community if they work together as a organisation.

“We are hoping that different organisations understand how important it is to unite and be a part of this. We realise that none of us by ourselves is the answer, but together we are,” said Mr Wells.