KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — About 9,000 young people attending a global United Methodist gathering were challenged to go forth and lead the world as bold Christians.

The richly diverse group met for Youth '99 on the campus of the University of Tennessee with a common purpose: to learn how to "Be!" Amid spirited singing, enthusiastic worship, energetic dancing, and fun and fellowship, young people ages 12-18 had opportunities to profess the kingdom of God and to boldly serve as the body of Christ.

Youth '99, held once every four years, is sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Discipleship and is billed as the agency's largest international event. During the July 28-Aug. 1 event, the teens and their adult leaders were challenged to deepen and practice their faith, to respond to God's call by loving and serving others, to experience the diversity of youth ministry worldwide; to be ready for mission and ministry and to go into the world as Christ's disciples.

"This is a place where youth can come and know that you are safe ... all you have to do is to be," said the Rev. Grace Imathiu, a Kenyan residing in Nashville, Tenn. Her young listeners responded with cheers.

Throughout the gathering, the youth were bombarded with the theme "Be!", which was used in rallying them to experience Jesus Christ's transforming power. Event designers wanted a theme that called for youth to be bold in their faith, explained Terry Carty, director of ministries for youth at the discipleship agency. "Be!" was chosen because youth are called as Christians to go forth and be the people God has called to lead the world, he said. The boldness is represented by the theme's exclamation point.

Youth '99 allowed participants to celebrate the fact that they are not alone in their faith but have brothers and sisters from across the world like them. Every U.S. state except Hawaii was represented, and 75 international participants hailed from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Germany, India, Liberia, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, the Philippines and Puerto Rico. Attendance was more than twice that of the 1995 gathering in Salt Lake City.

Each day of Youth '99, the participants were invited to reflect on the characteristics of the theme. They were required to be a celebration; a community; transformed; real with God; and still.

Young people described how God is working in their lives. Several told how their lives had been impacted by certain events, leading them on the path to seminary and youth ministry.

In Bible study sessions, Duffy Robbins encouraged participants to be faithful, available and tenacious, or FAT, about God's love. Robbins is the chairman of the youth ministry program at Eastern College in St. Davids, Pa.

Using humor and storytelling to give diverse perspectives of Scripture, Robbins highlighted instances of what it means to be a follower or disciple of Christ. His message focused on the choice Abraham made to leave everything and journey to an unknown place.

Abraham shows faithfulness by saying "a genuine 'yes' to God," he said. With that yes, he also noted, there is "a genuine 'no' " and things that have been done in the past are left behind. Like Abraham, "who made a go-for-broke decision," Robbins asserted that "we must also make a decision where we hang it on the power and grace of God."

Robbins told the youth that Abraham chose his own adventure because he did as God told him. He said their lives are an adventure, and each of them must choose what to do with their lives. God will be present in what they do in their lives, and Robbins invited them to no longer play it safe. He encouraged them to take risks, to do not what comes naturally, to step out in faith and to push themselves to be all that God wants them to be.

"God is calling each of us and needs not your ability but your availability," he said.

As he described other elements of FAT, Robbins invited the young people to volunteer for the Upper Room Living Prayer Line. More than 350 participants responded to answer prayer requests. However, only two telephone lines were available. Twenty people fielded 200 calls, while 30 others prayed in the background for the callers and for those operating the phones.

The sessions, with music and speakers, afforded times for the youth to strengthen their resolve to grow in faith. Workshops focused on skills needed to build a more Christian world. The gathering was also designed to cultivate a sense of Methodist identity among youth and to encourage leadership development.

Imathiu, associate pastor at Edgehill United Methodist Church in Nashville, spoke to the young people about the blind man in Mark 8:22-26, and discussed how the man was brought to Jesus for healing. "There are times when we need to bring others to Jesus because they cannot come themselves. We have to intercede for them, beg on their behalf, be their advocate," she said.

As she described how Jesus led the blind man away from the village, she told the youth that there are times when they would need to leave their "villages" to clear their heads. "There are times when you have to get of the village and away from the usual stuff you have been socialized to believe is the correct way of doing things. You have to just get out," she said.

As she talked about judgment and acceptance, she discussed the influences that give youth the messages that they are not good enough, or that they should not try to be different or Christian. She told them to remember that "God loves you and there is nothing you can do about it."

The teens were encouraged to get out of the "villages" where certain types of clothes are required, to "get out of the place where you always have to see Tommy (Hilfiger) in T-shirts and see a place where Jesus is a good thing." Imathiu implored her listeners to leave the villages or places that use income to determine worth and to get away from those who advocate a certain type of beauty.

"Youth '99 is about getting out of 'the village' ... being with God's children who love me and accept me just the way I am," Imathiu said.

She called the blindness in Scripture a metaphor for the condition of the heart and the mind, and she asked the youth to become "people who intercede and beg on behalf of God."

Recalling a recent trip to Australia, Imathiu told how she shared her story with some of the continent's natives at a convention. "Stories make the world a smaller place, they make us human," she stated. When personal stories are shared and the superficial things are removed, learning, loving and caring begins, she observed.

She expressed her amazement that someone with her humble beginnings has been called by God to do his work. "God has shown me that it doesn't matter who you are, God can use you. God is looking for someone who is available." She said that when you respond to God, he will present you with a gift that you did not know you possessed.

Participants were encouraged to share their stories with one another and to build relationships. Each person in the audience was challenged to acquire a friend from a different country, culture, race, socioeconomic status or theological leaning. "Your eyes are opened when you have a friend from another country," Imathiu said, "... and the world becomes a smaller place for you."

Alluding to the troubles many youth face today, such as sexual abuse, drugs, anger, desperation, Helen Musick asked the participants to not be conformed to the world but transformed by the renewal of the mind. The youth ministry professor at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky., encouraged those undergoing adversity to "reach out in your desperation and find and healing and be transformed."

Other speakers included evangelist Tony Campolo, professor of sociology at Eastern College, St. Davids, and the Rev. Vance R. Ross, pastor at First United Methodist Church, Hyattsville, Md.

Participants acted on the theme of the event not only through workshops and worship, but with hands-on ministry and prayer. They prayed for a member of the Youth '99 staff, Ada Egbuji of Lagos, Nigeria; she had come to the United States to see her mother who was in Nashville, Tenn., for medical treatment. Egbuji heard about Youth '99 and wanted to experience it and be among other Christian youth.

"I was impressed by the fact that although the kids did not know me, they made me feel like family," she said. The gathering "was a nice experience for me and because everyone allowed Christ in them to shine, it made me become more Christian, and while there I learned so much."

For Renee Reasinger of Mt. Gilead, Ohio, Youth '99 was an opportunity to give teens the opportunity to see what she witnessed as a participant in Youth '91. "I had some wonderful experiences, and now that I'm a youth pastor, I wanted them to experience becoming closer to God and I wanted them to connect with teens from around country."

Patrick Briscoe of New Orleans was most impressed with the community that was formed and how well people from different cultures interacted. "No one segregated themselves, and everyone was open."

Youth '99 led to a deeper relationship with God for Emily Smith of Auburn, Calif. "The event was lots of fun, and it's taught me to understand God's calling. ... I've grown closer to God by witnessing these people worshipping together."

In other action, the youth:

• helped to build a Habitat for Humanity house;
• sponsored 175 children through Compassionate International, a global agency that helps children, particularly in Third World countries;
• participated in early morning worship;
• listened to performances of Christian recording artists, bands and choirs;
• participated in clean-up and repair projects throughout the city; and
• interacted with clients of area ministries and provided hands-on services.

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New York, and Washington.