Samuel Wendl is the Youth Ministry Leader at his church in Slovakia.
When did you trust Christ?
I came to know Jesus at a young age. My desire to follow Him was there, but my motives changed as I grew up. It was only when I was about 16 years old that I decided to trust Him after I was confronted with the idea that salvation comes by God's grace, not by my good deeds. This was difficult to accept since I spent many years believing that I needed to do something so that God could forgive me. But, there is no other way, so I surrendered.
What have been the defining moments of your Christian walk?
When I was 17 years old, I was invited to help organise a summer camp for youth. It was then that I realised I needed to either give all my life to Jesus and accept the responsibility and consequences, or live as part of this world.
What do you hope to gain from participating?
I found out about ELF from my brother, who's been attending for the last two years. I expect to learn about what I can do better in ministry and new ideas I can incorporate into my church's ministry.
What is your ministry?
I am currently organising a youth group for teenagers at my local church; the group consists of eight teenagers. I organise a session every two weeks with some extra activities during the week. The goal of the ministry is to help teenagers to, first of all, know the Good Message, then to grow in knowledge and understanding of the Bible. The last goal is to encourage them to spread the Good Message themselves and become disciples. In addition, I am still volunteering at summer camps and weekend retreats for older teenagers.
What is your leadership role or what were your past leadership roles?
I started to help with organising summer camps for teenagers in my local church when I was 17 years old. Back then, my role was primarily to help with the sports and games and spend time with kids. After that, I started to serve as a youth group volunteer, which included most responsibilities for the youth group sessions. On top of that, I received more responsibilities, leading the morning Bible discussion groups and moderating the evening programs. After doing these things for a few years, I started a new youth group at my current church.
Why should someone invest in your ministry?
The main reason is that this ministry is something I believe God has called me to do. Gaining new inspiration and ways to do ministry will help me continue to bear fruit.
