A Bluegrass State Record

The youth group at Madisonville First Assembly of God (MFA) gave $50,391 to Speed the Light (STL) in 2017, the highest amount a church in Kentucky ever has raised for the Assemblies of God youth ministry.

In January 2017, MFA participated in a STL Tour with other Kentucky churches. Dave Amsler, a full-time Assemblies of God world missionary to Guatemala, spoke that night. Amsler inspired the students to set a giving goal for STL — an unreachable total in their finite minds, yet attainable through God’s leading. The youth group came up with a figure of $50,000, which they exceeded by Dec. 31.

MFA is a church of about 150 attendees. In order to help the youth group attain its STL goal, Senior Pastor William “Chris” Manning, 47, announced the vision to the congregation. As a result, many adults in the church began to give monthly to STL.

Additionally, the youth group held several fundraising events throughout the year, including a car wash, yard sales, T-shirt sales, and a silent auction. But the bulk of the contributions poured in from monthly giving by youth and adults.

“We believe that missions is the heartbeat of God and our purpose here is for all to hear the gospel,” Manning says. “God can help equip missionaries through our giving so that they can reach the lost.”

Manning’s 16-year-old adoptive daughter, Moriah, felt motivated to raise funds as a way in which the birth mother she doesn’t have contact with in Guatemala might hear the gospel via Amsler or some other means.

“I want to do everything I can so that people all across the world can hear about God’s grace, including my birth mother in Guatemala,” Moriah says.

For 2018, Moriah set an individual STL goal of $1,000 in an effort to provide transportation for a missionary in need. By mid-February she already had raised over $5,000. When students donate to STL, missionaries receive means of transportation and communication.  

Allison N. Blevins

Allison N. Blevins is a freelance writer and licensed Assemblies of God minister in Colorado who loves to share stories about how God works in lives, in society, and in the world. Blevins holds a bachelor’s degree in communication studies with a minor in intercultural studies from Evangel University. She and her husband, Sam, have three daughters.