Seneatha Clayton, director of AYC, shares her heart about Apostolic Youth Corps. Apostolic Youth Corps (AYC) is a ministry of UPCI Youth Ministries and facilitates the pairing of ministry-minded Pentecostal students with North American and international sites that need and desire evangelism assistance. That is AYC’s mission. It is an adventure that allows youth to be part of something bigger. If you are a youth with a mission, keep reading.
So why AYC?
AYC allows youth to fulfill the Great Commission. Jesus commanded us to “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.” (Matthew 28:19).
As you travel the streets of India, you are face to face with a hunger for God that is impossible to ignore. You are challenged to share truth with any and all who will listen. Millions of miles from home you realize the world starts at your doorstep. The Great Commission becomes my commission.
AYC allows you to realize the importance of Matthew 16:24: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Click To TweetIt allows you to grasp the truth of Nehemiah 8:10: “neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” You watch fearless Botswanan saints dancing before the Lord. You catch a glimpse of one; she has nothing while giving God everything. Her face glows. Her smile is naturally contagious. She has unexplainable joy that gives her strength to face tomorrow, a joy that doesn’t give room for worry.
It is a joy that challenges you to overcome your fears and grab hold of an unexplainable peace from God: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
You meet people for the first time and instantly become kindred spirits.
You meet people for the first time and instantly become kindred spirits. You create a bond with people in a few short days, and that bond will last a lifetime. At the end, you leave a part of yourself with them, never to return the same. A part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is a price you pay for AYC. It is a price you would eagerly pay again and again.
AYC allows you to realize the importance of Matthew 16:24: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” You see Nicaraguans travel four to five hours by foot to have church in a thick, hot, concrete building. They worship Jesus like it is their last chance to be in His presence. Then it clicks; you begin to see the big picture. Life isn’t about you; your selfish desires seem to vanish. You are saturated with an overwhelming desire to deny your wants and dreams to follow only after Him. You begin to see His will through His eyes and not your own.
Youth with a Mission
It has been said many times that AYC is life changing. You come home with a clear vision, heavy burden, and enough passion to change your world. You are forever changed. Your great adventure ends with this thought:
You create a bond with people in a few short days, and that bond will last a lifetime.
I needed Botswana, Nicaragua, and India more than it needed me. I speak from experience. My great adventure began on foreign soil. It happened at an altar, in a foreign country. God broke me out of my perfectly square box, a box that I had put myself in; I even made God share that box with me. I limited myself to others’ thoughts, labels, and success stories. Thankfully, Jesus had a different view. He changed my perspective and my direction. I left that country seeing God’s will through His eyes and not my own. I was a blank canvas. God, not me, began to write my story. To this day, my great adventure continues.
Seneatha Clayton is the promotions coordinator for Apostolic Youth Corps. She is a travel enthusiast with a love for numbers and serves in UPCI Youth Ministries.
Resources and Links
To see the 2021 AYC destinations, click here.
A version of this content originally appeared in Pentecostal Life.