In a wintery two-day retreat in December of 2023 in between Christmas and New Year celebrations, Mobilizers Ryan Bentancourt, CherryBee Bentancourt, and Max Peterson successfully launched the US’s first TUSfy course at Awaken Church in Las Vegas, Nevada. Thirteen participants ranging from 8th graders to young adults in their mid-twenties were engaged from the start of session one until the closing of session five. Actively participating in worship and group activities, watching teaching videos, and praying for unreached people groups, then thoughtfully integrating what they had learned into a personal application at the end of each session. Ryan noticed how much it opened the eyes of the youth to learn about unreached people groups and consider ways to actively engage those who don’t have access to the good news of Jesus Christ and reaching the lost.
After launching at our SMI Conference in Thailand in September, mobilizers around the globe are taking the material and beta-testing the course's format in various ways; incorporating it into their youth groups, youth camps, and youth retreats to test out the best methods to engage and mobilize this generation of young believers. The feedback for the Las Vegas launch was positive, with participants sharing that their favorite aspects of the course were the interaction and engagement incorporated within the activities and learning from the content presented. Suggested improvement comments left a desire for more information and time in this fast-paced course. Ryan explains that to a degree, the content of the course is set up to be more of a survey rather than an in-depth course, leaving space for the likes of taking the Kairos course depending on age and maturity level. When asked how they would describe the course to a friend, words like informative, multi-faceted, fun, engaging, culturally relevant, and missions-minded were expressed.
Running the course was insightful for the leaders as well, quoting CherryBee it was "Impactful for the youth, even with diversity in the age groups. It was received well overall and ignited a passion for missions in the youth. This was something brand new to many of them. All the activities went well and I can’t find anything negative.” Max commented "It seemed to be very impactful to the students and they were all engaged in the content. They had a lot of fun with the group activities and the prayer chains.”
Overall, we are excited for this content to be incorporated into more youth programs. Though we are still beta-testing different formats, the possibilities for engaging the hearts and minds of our youth in creative ways are endless and the core message remains the same: as believers, we are all on mission with God anywhere and everywhere no matter our age.
If you are a youth leader interested in learning more and using this course in your church or organization, we invite you to partner with us. Watch our promotional video for the course and contact us for more information.