News from IJM Canada: Freedom 151
An energetic and committed group of youth from Trinity Baptist Church in Kelowna, B.C. have reached their impressive goal of raising $151,000 for the work of IJM Canada. Eight youth rose to the challenge given them last year by Simon Ng, Middle School Pastor of Trinity Baptist.
Malcolm Evans, 15 was one of the youth who participated. "I first heard about IJM through Simon, he stood up at youth and explained about what it was and the work they did. I let it slide at first. I was hesitant because he asked us to give up our Christmas gifts and stuff to go towards the campaign. But, then I kind of thought about it and joined," explains Malcolm.
Malcolm's mother, Lesley-Anne Evans, is glad that her son did. "When we first found out about it my husband and I had doubts that what they were trying to do. It seemed so far beyond what we thought their capacity was. We joked about it. How on earth are they going to raise that much money? But we quickly saw that the intensity they had for it was different. It was something new," says Lesley-Anne.
The youth met weekly between school and youth group to pray and brainstorm new fundraising ideas. "We started out doing things like dessert nights, or a board-a- thon at Big White, where people would go up and down on the hill and raise money for each run they did. We had opera nights, music nights, and talent nights going on," explains Emily McMahon, 15, another youth participant. " We organized local artists and bands to come down. People would pay for their tickets and food and it would all go to IJM."
Middle-school students from Trinity conduct a "sit-in" in front of the church to draw attention to their cause.
Besides raising an impressive amount of funds for IJM's work, the campaign also raised the consciousness of the participating youth, their families, and their community about the reality of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery and oppression around the world. "I was completely unaware of bond slavery. I knew about sexual slavery but I certainly didn't know it was as widely experienced and by girls as young. That was eye opening to me," says Lesley-Anne Evans. " Another thing that jumped out at me was that you could change all of that. We learned a lot and had our eyes opened , just as much as Malcolm did."
Connor Gibbs is another youth who participated in the campaign. " Before the Freedom 151 campaign, I knew nothing about the huge issue of slavery and human trafficking or IJM. The news of modern day slavery rocked me hard for the very first time, that's why I jumped on board. I also learned that God can be trusted, and he will do amazing things for those who choose to serve him."
Malcolm Evans, 15 was one of the youth who participated. "I first heard about IJM through Simon, he stood up at youth and explained about what it was and the work they did. I let it slide at first. I was hesitant because he asked us to give up our Christmas gifts and stuff to go towards the campaign. But, then I kind of thought about it and joined," explains Malcolm.
Malcolm's mother, Lesley-Anne Evans, is glad that her son did. "When we first found out about it my husband and I had doubts that what they were trying to do. It seemed so far beyond what we thought their capacity was. We joked about it. How on earth are they going to raise that much money? But we quickly saw that the intensity they had for it was different. It was something new," says Lesley-Anne.
The youth met weekly between school and youth group to pray and brainstorm new fundraising ideas. "We started out doing things like dessert nights, or a board-a- thon at Big White, where people would go up and down on the hill and raise money for each run they did. We had opera nights, music nights, and talent nights going on," explains Emily McMahon, 15, another youth participant. " We organized local artists and bands to come down. People would pay for their tickets and food and it would all go to IJM."
Middle-school students from Trinity conduct a "sit-in" in front of the church to draw attention to their cause.
Besides raising an impressive amount of funds for IJM's work, the campaign also raised the consciousness of the participating youth, their families, and their community about the reality of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery and oppression around the world. "I was completely unaware of bond slavery. I knew about sexual slavery but I certainly didn't know it was as widely experienced and by girls as young. That was eye opening to me," says Lesley-Anne Evans. " Another thing that jumped out at me was that you could change all of that. We learned a lot and had our eyes opened , just as much as Malcolm did."
Connor Gibbs is another youth who participated in the campaign. " Before the Freedom 151 campaign, I knew nothing about the huge issue of slavery and human trafficking or IJM. The news of modern day slavery rocked me hard for the very first time, that's why I jumped on board. I also learned that God can be trusted, and he will do amazing things for those who choose to serve him."