Teenstreet-Offenburg, Germany 2011
So it all came to an end on August 6th. TS was a whole week, from Saturday-Saturday of little sleep, camp-like food, music, energy, art, sports, sessions and more. There were between 2500 and 3000 teenagers, and around another thousand of staff members. The week was explosive and positive, exciting and full of activity. Every day involved time in the main hall where all the teens participated in worship and a short sermon. This year TS looked at the life of Jesus and his example, called "Jesus REAL," and progressed day by day from his coming to earth as a child, and what love this manifested, to the servant role he humbled himself as, until his very last days with humanity.
The exquisite activities took place in the afternoons and evenings during "Interact I, II, and III." This is when the kids could really be creative, try something new and just be themselves. There were sessions on various topics, dancing and arts, sports of all kinds, workshops and the list goes on. I'm really quite unsure of all the different opportunities, there were so many! I was on the Sports Team, so I mainly worked the rock-climbing wall and crate-stacking challenge.
Amongst all the crazy push and pulls of the day's strict schedule and numerous activities, the teenagers were all a part of a small group from their home countries. A dear friend of mine was a coach for one of the German groups and it continued like that; for every 5 or 6 teenagers there was a coach leading up that group. This is awesome because the small group time or "NET time" happened twice a day and really encouraged fellowship and deeper study in the Bible to take place.
My absolute favourite part of the day, however, was the "Shh time." After the morning sermon/worship at 11:05 the clock would ring out across the campus and everyone would "Shh" each other. Within literally a few seconds the entire body of TS teens and staff would be quiet, and silence would fill the air. This was half an hour where everyone stopped what they were doing, many deciding to sit outside in the central grass area, and be still before God. That's like getting a college campus party to be silent for 30 minutes, no distractions!
I had the special privilege to talk one-on-one with a teenage girl during the outreach day. This is when outreaches took place all across Offenburg, from volley ball in parks, to assembling the longest tea and cake table on record in Germany! Each outreach allowed the kids to have fun, and test out using their gifts or maybe just being available, and ministering to even one person. Anyways, my time at the volleyball pit didn't involve any game time. I sat and talked in-depth with this girl from the Netherlands for over 2 hours. It was amazing to get to share my testimony fully and clearly to someone so alert. She was brilliant, so bright; had a Christian background and a solid understanding of God and his love for her. I could see so much of myself in her when I was 15. We talked about life, God and surrender, bouncing off each other different metaphors and imagery we attained over the years in our experience with Christianity. However, all through the discussion I could sense how God wanted to use me to speak into her life and bring about this issue of surrender. In the end we prayed together, and I proclaimed my verse, Romans 12:2 over her. She was so impacted by the encounter and I must say that I was equally impacted. (The last evening of TS, among the hundreds and hundreds of people, I found her again and was able to give her a note with the verse I felt God was giving to her as he had given to me back when I was 15. I will continue to remember her and pray for her throughout my life.)
So this is what Teenstreet was like. Crazy, busy, exhilarating, upbeat... yet peaceful and still, worshipful and thankful. I felt what TS offered every teen was a look at the life God wants for them,"This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant..." (romans 8:15) God spoke individually to so many, meeting them with an immense love and "double-edged sword," and many came to know God as their personal Saviour. He's all that.
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