Youth Service and Cake Auction Turn Out to Be a "Sweet" Success!

Palpable excitement and anticipation hung in the air as Kilmichael Baptist Church's youth team prepared to lead the evening worship service on Sunday, April 20, 2008. The team was led by Youth Director Tiffany Bennett of Winona, Mississippi, whose organizational and leadership skills proved to be vital to the outstanding success of the service. The youth group sat patiently in the choir loft while their hardworking leader explained what the kids were about to do. Several of the youth were going to each read a short passage of scripture and then expound on it, giving a personal interpretation of how these scriptures related to modern-day teenagers.

The congregation was blessed by the entire youth group singing the song "Here I Am To Worship", accompanied on the piano by talented teen Katie Lollar. This reporter firmly believes that angels were smiling in Heaven as these future leaders of America raised their voices in worship and praise to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Songbirds Ariana Halbert and Emily Gibson led the "special music" portion of the service with their beautiful rendition of "The Real Me" by Natalie Grant. I noticed that several of the adults had tears in their eyes as the two girls sang about the unconditional love of the Father.

Next, one by one, the teens came up to the podium, read a passage from the Word, and then educated us grown folk on how God uses young people to fulfill His purposes. The teenagers were poised, articulate, and well-prepared to speak the truth in love. They talked about such Biblical greats as David, Timothy, Mary, and John the Baptist, who were powerful servants of God that were anointed for special purposes while they were yet very young. The youths stressed the importance of being reflections of the character and goodness of God, in the hopes that they might be examples to believers and nonbelievers alike.

Tiffany Bennett was fighting a mild case of laryngitis as she approached the podium after the youth finished their presentation. She did not allow Satan to stop her from speaking to us "grown folks". Tiffany challenged us to perform regular self-examinations in several areas of our lives, including the purity of the movies we watch, the content of the songs that stir our spirits, and the encouragement (or discouragement) that we give other people as we interact with them.

Kilmichael Baptist Church's pastor, Reverend Gary Jackson, complemented Tiffany openly about the quality of what amounted to be her "sermon". Tiffany may not have intended to preach that night, but in effect, that is just what she did - and rather eloquently at that! Brother Gary also said that the youth would be given more frequent opportunities to serve at church; he suggested, for example, that teens who felt the call of God be invited to teach a few Sunday School classes.

Tiffany gave a wonderful benediction.

After the youth service ended, the church was dismissed to go to the Fellowship Hall for a cake auction. Volunteers had baked and then donated the delicious confections so that they could be sold at auction to raise money for "MissionFuge" and "CentriKids" trips this summer. The cakes boasted many mouthwatering flavors, including coconut, chocolate, Mississippi Mud, and even Apricot Nectar.

The auction was presided over by the church's own Reverend Gary Jackson. The Hand of God in a velvet glove, Brother Gary is an enigmatic blend of fiery boldness for Christ and gentle compassion for the members of his flock. It turns out that he is also a gifted auctioneer, able to make people laugh with his characteristic quick wit and keep track of bids at the same time. He was fascinating to watch. I was amazed at how fast he could talk and still be crystal clear in his speech. Auctioneering takes talent!

Brother Gary was assisted by deacons Bryan Lott and David Johnson, who held up the cakes and presented them to bidders for closer examination.

The average opening bid on a cake was $25.00. However, by the time the bidding wars were over, some cakes were purchased for upwards of $200. Pretty and popular Rita Eldridge, for example, baked a cake that sold for a whopping $215! (That's about $21.50 per SLICE!) It all went for a worthy cause, though.

To name just a few, bidders who purchased cakes included Bud Hill, David Johnson, Marvell Morgan, and Buddy Johnston. (Buddy Johnston is the Music Director of Kilmichael Baptist Church. His enormous talent for singing is eclipsed only by the size of his heart.)

Chairman of the Deacons Larry Bamberg was not present at the cake auction as he had been feeling ill earlier that day. However, he was determined to support the church that he loves, so he made his bids over the phone. Hanging onto every word he said and using a cellular phone, Stacy Lott acted as his proctor. She periodically called out information to Brother Gary about what Larry was willing to pay for a container of Juanita Morgan's sausage balls. The whole church erupted in thunderous applause when Larry won the bid! Whatever illness had him under the weather, I do hope that poor Larry hadn't been having trouble with his ears, because they surely would have been partially impaired when the applause reached him on his end of the phone. Larry Bamberg enjoys a great deal of well-deserved popularity at Kilmichael Baptist Church.

This reporter had an opportunity to sample a piece of Mississippi Mud Cake and was relieved to discover that there is no actual mud used in the recipe. However, there ARE nuts, marshmallows, and chocolate! Before you laugh, allow me to explain that I am NOT a native Mississippian and I find a number of dissimilarities between the local language and the words that I used before I moved to the South. This fact has provided me with a good laugh on more than one occasion.

Altogether, the cake auction generated $4,005 for the youth! I know that the teens will use the money wisely. (If I were given access to $4,005, I would probably eat all the cakes myself and then use the money to purchase liposuction!) Between Tiffany Bennett's leadership skills and the generosity of the church members, the youth service and cake auction DEFINITELY turned out to be a "sweet" success!