Free to dance for Christ
Justin Seidel is passionate about sharing the gospel – and about breakdancing. A social work graduate, he is stepping out in faith with an innovative ministry to young people.
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by Justin Seidel
I was nearly 18 when I caught the dance bug, wowed by the movement, music and artistry of the medium.
I also began to grow in my relationship with God, especially after reading the New Testament and discovering a deep thirst to really know God.
These two passions met in the creation of Freestyle Dance Ministry, an exciting initiative which partners with schools and churches to engage with youth and children through dance, discussion and discipleship. Driven by faith, it involves dance instruction, a Christian message and activities.
My motivation for establishing Freestyle also came from the way God worked in my life at a Christian Life Week camp, where I ran my first breakdancing ‘workshop’. More recently I’ve been involved with dance missions in Portugal through an interdenominational mission organisation. These endeavours showed me God could use my passion to bring people to Christ.
But on a deeper level, I embarked on this ministry because when you realise how good God is, the weight of what he achieved, the importance of people hearing the gospel and the value of God-given gifts, you have to act. You have to take the biggest steps of faith you can. Then you know you’re relying on God’s power.
I believe this is a ministry young people can engage with. The topics are centred on God’s word and it’s as interactive as possible. The dance-discussion combination is great for showing how faith works in life.
It’s really important that when we desire to grow the kingdom, we meet young people where they are, hearing their thoughts and being interested in what’s going on for them.
When we practise this, love comes naturally. You find yourself wanting to share God with them and longing for them to have that treasure. They then see the raw passion that comes from God and want to know more, resulting in relational discipleship.
It’s an amazing process, and I can’t wait to see what God does next.
Justin Seidel is a member at St John’s Lutheran Church Southgate in Melbourne.
- www.freestyledanceministry.com
- freestyledanceministry@gmail.com
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