On Tuesday, January 18, 2011 we hosted our very first ministry banquet. The theme was “Unveiling Illusions” and we spent the evening highlighting various illusions that are often associated with youth ministry. Our hope was to expose the 200 attendees to our core mission of bringing the greatness of God to the Next Generation through our ongoing ministry to the youth leaders who serve this target group.

John Wilson received The John 12:24 Award for over 23 years serving as a volunteer youth leader at Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church. Here are the remarks made by T.W. Francescon who was in his first small group 23 years ago;

“John Wilson has had many titles, including husband, father, businessman, athlete, elder, deacon, choir member; and Bill Dudley has said, “John is a great churchman.” A title he has that is, arguably, the least prestigious of them all:  volunteer youth leader. John has served as a youth leader at Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church since 1987, having served alongside five youth staff administrations and having seen over three thousand youth darken the doors of SMPC. I joined the youth program in 1988 and had the privilege of being one of six guys in John’s first small group. I was the smallest in my class, my voice hadn’t changed yet, and I was pretty insecure. John’s faithfulness, consistency, and way of helping me not take life so seriously are qualities I appreciate about him. Besides my Dad, John is one of several men who have invested in my life over the last 20+ years, and have helped point me to the person of Jesus Christ. Oswald Chambers writes, “The true test of a saint’s life is not successfulness but faithfulness on the human level of life. We tend to set up success in Christian work as our purpose, but our purpose should be to display the glory of God in human life.” John, thank you for “displaying the glory of God” in my life. More meaningful than what I can say, here are comments by John’s three sons:

John Ryan (14): “I don’t mind my Dad being a youth leader at church; I’m friends with the 10th graders in his small group and he’s the same at home that he is with them.”

Murphy (20): “I admire that Dad wants to give youth what some may not receive at home. It’s inspiring to see Dad live out what he taught us at home.”

Josh (23): “My Dad has been a friend, mentor, and at times, a pain, but most of all he's been a father who has best exemplified God's love. My father’s passion in life is to minister to youth, and I know he has touched many of their lives because he has touched mine.