Christ Monologues
WHAT IS CHRIST MONOLOGUES?
Christ Monologues is an expressive way for adults and youth to share feelings and emotions about their journeys and experiences with the Lord.
In the church today there are far too many misperceptions and misunderstandings between our youth and our adults. Often, young people believe that adults do not have a clue about their problems. On the flipside, adults believe that youth do not have any problems, and if they do, they are not equipped to handle them. In turn, young people do not rely on adults to help them with their problems. And adults are quick to judge young people for their shortcomings with the Lord. As a result, a gap has developed between the two—a disconnection between our youth and adults that Satan uses to his advantage. This is a disconnection that, as a church, we must address right away in order to keep the devil from conquering even one soul. Thankfully, the Lord has impressed upon my heart a creative way of building such connections: through shared testimonies.
One of the most effective ways of relating to others is to share our own experiences. When we are willing to be honest with others about our struggles, we feel a connection with someone else. And we realize we are not alone. When we learn how the Lord has lifted others out of struggles and changed their lives, we feel a sense of hope for our own lives. Often times, we will reach out to that person for advice, support, and most importantly, prayer and fellowship. I really believe that this type of sharing—open and honest sharing—is required between our youth and our adults.
It is time for our adults to share their experiences—their personal and emotional experiences—with our youth! Not just the joys and wonderful blessings they have received, but the trials they have faced and overcome, especially in their young lives, to get close to the Lord. At least one adult from each church will be asked to participate. Adults must focus on the feelings they experienced during their trials and those they felt when the Lord lifted them out of their situations. The point is not to glorify sin or sinful actions, but to focus on the feelings—of fear, self-hatred, desperation, suicide, etc—to create a space to share similarities and hope. Adults will be asked to describe their experiences in an artistic form, such as a story, a skit, a poem, etc. to be shared with the six churches.
The twist, and how this differs from regular testimony, is that the stories, skits, poems, etc., of the adults will be performed by the youth. Adult will be required to work closely with youth to make sure their experiences are fully understood. The youth will then present the experiences of the adult. The youth will take on the character of the adult and will embody the feelings and emotions experienced by the adult. This form of sharing and acting will hopefully create connections and relationships between our adults and youth based on personal experiences and emotions. If this ministry is successful, bonds will form between our youth and adults that will continue long after. And hopefully these initial relationships will spark others to share and build connections.
HOW DOES THIS WORK
This is a BIG task! It will take a lot of work and dedication. The following is a template of what is required to make this a successful ministry:
Youth Leaders from each church will need to speak with adults they think will share and that will work closely with the youth.
The chosen adult will then need to prepare his/her testimony in an artistic way.
TWO different ways to create a testimony:
The chosen adult can create his/her own presentation (a poem, a skit, a story, etc). Then the adult must share his/her testimony in detail with the chosen youth, who will then present.
OR
The chosen adult and the chosen youth will create the testimony together. The adult will share his/her story and together the youth and adult will determine the best way to present the testimony.
Testimonies should be captivating. Please do not lie or embellish. Adults will be required to describe his/her true emotions and feelings. Testimonies should be no more than 10 minutes each.
AYS Leaders will choose youth from their individual churches to work closely with the adult.
Depending on how the testimony is to be presented, additional youth may be required to act, create costumes, set design, or any other requirements.
The chosen adult and chosen youth must sit down and talk—openly and honestly.
The adult must share his/her testimony in detail with the youth. The adult must speak openly and honestly about his/her feelings and emotions. The youth(s) should ask questions and connect with his/her own emotions to truly be able to represent the adult’s experience. Youth will be presenting the testimony as if they themselves are the adults.
The adult and youth will need to create a schedule to meet outside of church to practice and continue to share. This is not the type of ministry where one meeting is sufficient. You must meet regularly and continue to build relationships.
AYS Leaders, chosen adults and youth will participate in phone conferences, meetings, and any rehearsals that may be required to make this successful.
If you have any questions, concerns, and/or suggestions, please feel to contact me by phone at (917) 574-8793 or by e-mail at hemangi.pai@gmail.com.
God Bless!
Hemangi Pai
Christ Monologues is an expressive way for adults and youth to share feelings and emotions about their journeys and experiences with the Lord.
In the church today there are far too many misperceptions and misunderstandings between our youth and our adults. Often, young people believe that adults do not have a clue about their problems. On the flipside, adults believe that youth do not have any problems, and if they do, they are not equipped to handle them. In turn, young people do not rely on adults to help them with their problems. And adults are quick to judge young people for their shortcomings with the Lord. As a result, a gap has developed between the two—a disconnection between our youth and adults that Satan uses to his advantage. This is a disconnection that, as a church, we must address right away in order to keep the devil from conquering even one soul. Thankfully, the Lord has impressed upon my heart a creative way of building such connections: through shared testimonies.
One of the most effective ways of relating to others is to share our own experiences. When we are willing to be honest with others about our struggles, we feel a connection with someone else. And we realize we are not alone. When we learn how the Lord has lifted others out of struggles and changed their lives, we feel a sense of hope for our own lives. Often times, we will reach out to that person for advice, support, and most importantly, prayer and fellowship. I really believe that this type of sharing—open and honest sharing—is required between our youth and our adults.
It is time for our adults to share their experiences—their personal and emotional experiences—with our youth! Not just the joys and wonderful blessings they have received, but the trials they have faced and overcome, especially in their young lives, to get close to the Lord. At least one adult from each church will be asked to participate. Adults must focus on the feelings they experienced during their trials and those they felt when the Lord lifted them out of their situations. The point is not to glorify sin or sinful actions, but to focus on the feelings—of fear, self-hatred, desperation, suicide, etc—to create a space to share similarities and hope. Adults will be asked to describe their experiences in an artistic form, such as a story, a skit, a poem, etc. to be shared with the six churches.
The twist, and how this differs from regular testimony, is that the stories, skits, poems, etc., of the adults will be performed by the youth. Adult will be required to work closely with youth to make sure their experiences are fully understood. The youth will then present the experiences of the adult. The youth will take on the character of the adult and will embody the feelings and emotions experienced by the adult. This form of sharing and acting will hopefully create connections and relationships between our adults and youth based on personal experiences and emotions. If this ministry is successful, bonds will form between our youth and adults that will continue long after. And hopefully these initial relationships will spark others to share and build connections.
HOW DOES THIS WORK
This is a BIG task! It will take a lot of work and dedication. The following is a template of what is required to make this a successful ministry:
Youth Leaders from each church will need to speak with adults they think will share and that will work closely with the youth.
The chosen adult will then need to prepare his/her testimony in an artistic way.
TWO different ways to create a testimony:
The chosen adult can create his/her own presentation (a poem, a skit, a story, etc). Then the adult must share his/her testimony in detail with the chosen youth, who will then present.
OR
The chosen adult and the chosen youth will create the testimony together. The adult will share his/her story and together the youth and adult will determine the best way to present the testimony.
Testimonies should be captivating. Please do not lie or embellish. Adults will be required to describe his/her true emotions and feelings. Testimonies should be no more than 10 minutes each.
AYS Leaders will choose youth from their individual churches to work closely with the adult.
Depending on how the testimony is to be presented, additional youth may be required to act, create costumes, set design, or any other requirements.
The chosen adult and chosen youth must sit down and talk—openly and honestly.
The adult must share his/her testimony in detail with the youth. The adult must speak openly and honestly about his/her feelings and emotions. The youth(s) should ask questions and connect with his/her own emotions to truly be able to represent the adult’s experience. Youth will be presenting the testimony as if they themselves are the adults.
The adult and youth will need to create a schedule to meet outside of church to practice and continue to share. This is not the type of ministry where one meeting is sufficient. You must meet regularly and continue to build relationships.
AYS Leaders, chosen adults and youth will participate in phone conferences, meetings, and any rehearsals that may be required to make this successful.
If you have any questions, concerns, and/or suggestions, please feel to contact me by phone at (917) 574-8793 or by e-mail at hemangi.pai@gmail.com.
God Bless!
Hemangi Pai
