Today we begin a new segment on our blog that will highlight youth ministries and the awesome work they are doing in their church and communities.

We kick off our first youth ministry profile with Tusculum Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Nashville, TN. I had the pleasure a few years ago to serve at Tusculum as their young adult minister. They have an awesome youth program at Tusculum and I wanted to highlight their youth ministry and a ministry they participate in every year called the 30 Hour Famine.

This blog is an interview with the youth minister at Tusculum CPC, Tyler Spradling. He shares a bit about their youth program and their particpation in the 30 Hour Famine.

Question 1- So, who are you?

My name is Tyler Spradling. I’m the youth minister at Tusculum Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Nashville, TN. I’ve been the youth minister here at Tusculum for a little over 15 years.

Question 2- Tell us about your youth ministry?

Our youth ministry is consistently active in service to our community and our congregation and meets regularly for Bible study and discussion.

Question 3- What is the 30 hour famine?

Probably the most strongly supported activity we are involved in is the 30 Hour Famine.  Our students agree to fast from food for 30 consecutive hours and raise money and awareness for hunger around the world.  All money we raise goes to support World Vision, an international organization that focuses on relieving hunger and poverty.

Question 4- How did you become involved?

When I first started doing youth ministry, I had heard about this opportunity and thought it would be a good event for our students to try.  We had a small crew who agreed and gave it a shot.

Question 5- What do you do during it?

Our 30 Hour Famine event is a little bit different than others that I have witnessed and discussed with other group leaders.  The biggest consistent difference is that we don’t have a lock-in.  We start fasting after lunch on Friday, and all the students bring the money they raised to check-in on Friday evening at the church building.  We have some free time to hang out and play games and celebrate the growing total as each person checks in.  After everybody has checked in, I address all of the students and share some words regarding their accomplishment and the impact that has on the world.  We usually finish the evening with some structured games, and they all go home around 10pm.  Every year is different, but this year on Saturday morning we gathered and watched the movie “Tomorrowland,” and discussed the idea of changing the future, which fit nicely with what we were trying to accomplish.  We also have a tradition of each student adding their handprint to a dedicated wall in the youth room with their name, year, and total amount they raised for the Famine.

In the afternoon we split up for various service projects in the area.  Some of the activities include: projects to help Second Harvest Food Bank, Ronald McDonald House, the Zoo, our friends experiencing homelessness, visiting people at nursing homes and helping them with activities, visiting hospitals, and many others.

My favorite is driving around town and offering to buy lunch for people we encounter that are not able to purchase food for themselves.  We offer to buy them anything they want, and the reaction we often get is priceless.

Upon returning, we take some time to share our experiences with everybody else, making sure to hear from each group and each service area.  After everyone has had an opportunity to share, we do another structured activity.  Over the years we have tried several different things, from going to play laser tag or jumping at Sky High to a photo scavenger hunt to having interactive prayer stations focusing on the theme of the event.  The past several years we have gathered to celebrate the Lord’s Supper as our first taste of food.  We invite all of our supporters to join us in a meal after communion.  Many of the families of the participants bring their student’s favorite food to share.  We have the food set up in multiple places around the room so there is not a line.

Question 6- How has it evolved?

The first year we participated (2001) we had 10 student participants and raised $1,254. 

The second year we had 5 student participants and raised $898.  At that point I thought, this is going in the wrong direction.  Maybe this was a two-year experiment that didn’t go as I hoped.  My plan was to scrap it.  A couple of those dedicated students from the big pool of 5 who participated in 2002 told me they really wanted to continue and asked not to give up on it yet.  In 2003, we had 25 student participants who raised $3,269 and overall momentum has continued upward.  This year we had 20 student participants who raised over $16,000.

Our cumulative total over the last 16 years is over $116,000. 

The evolution of our event had two very significant markers: 1) When those previously-mentioned students asked me not to give up on the event and 2) Several years later when we developed a team of students who were dedicated to planning the 30 Hour Famine event each year.  The planning team has breathed new life and new ideas into the process.  They evaluate what we did the year before, right and wrong.  With my guidance and support, they plan the promotion, build-up, fundraising process, and the 30 hours of the event.  Every year the event is different from the year before.

As the students have become more and more enthusiastic about the 30 Hour Famine, our congregation as a whole has become more and more supportive of it, with time, energy, and financial support.

Question 7- Why is it important?

The obvious main reason this event is important to our youth is that it makes them angry that so many children die every day from hunger and other preventable causes.

A couple of other on-going factors:

1) They see that it is working.

The statistics show that the death-rate in children due to hunger-related causes is decreasing!  Knowing that they are not wasting their time is a huge motivator.

2) They want to beat what they did the year before.  I always encourage our planning team to set a goal that is approximately 10% higher than what we raised the year before.  We actually achieved a 20+% increase this year.

Question 8- How can others be involved?

World Vision will provide you with all kinds of resources.  Let them know you want to do the Famine and they will send you fundraising ideas, videos, informational packets, sample schedules and activities, and much more.  If anybody feels like my history with the Famine would be beneficial to them, I would be more than happy to discuss our successes and failures and help them figure out what the 30 Hour Famine might look like for them.

Check out World Vision and 30 Hour Famine

TCPC website

We would love to hear about what your youth group is up to in your church and communities! If you would like to be a part of the youth ministry profile contact Nathan Wheeler nwheeler@cumberland.org