NBCC Youth Office
The idea of TLW stemmed from a frank and candid discussion on boys and sex by a group of junior high school girls in a Baptist Church in the USA. The youth minister, Richard Ross, listened intently to the girls’ story of their struggles to keep their stand for purity in school. He then thought of challenging parents and their teenager kids in church to publicly declare their commitment to sexual purity. The church accepted the challenge. 53 young people from his youth group signed the first pledge cards signifying their commitment. In a unique ring ceremony, teens professed to their parents and to God their vow that they will not have sex until their wedding night. Two months later, the 53 youths stood in front of 1200 youth leaders in Nashville, Tennessee and the TLW movement was born.
What happened at that youth ministry conference caught the attention of more youth leaders who adopted the movement in their churches. Media covered the first nationwide TLW rally at Washington DC on July 29 1994. More than 210,000 TLW pledge cards were displayed on the grounds of the nation’s capitol. 2 years later, over 350, 000 pledge cards were stacked to the roof of the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The TLW Goes Campus campaign was launched on Valentine’s Day 1997. Last October 1999, 1500 youths carried about 100, 000 cards across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Over 220, 000 TLW pledge cards representing countries on every continent were displayed in the 1995 Baptist World Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
While TLW was initiated by Southern Baptist 89 other Christian entities have become co-operating ministries: denominations, Christian students’ organization, Crises pregnancy centers, health groups, and pro-abstinence organizations. Christian authors James Dobson and Josh McDowell, and more than 15 Christian artists in the United States support the Campaign.
Session held in Meluri village (CPBC) January 28-30, 2005. Later on the task has been entrusted State level Committee to work with the Youth Department of the NBCC. Gradually Here in Nagaland the TLW movement was discussed and approved by the NBCC in its 68th Annual under the initiative of the Committee, the TLW was officially launched on 26th February, 2005 at NBCC Conference in the presence of Youth leaders and few pastors from Kohima Baptist Churches. The movement was then dedicated to God with the lives of the young people by Rev. Keviyiekielie, Pastor Khedi Baptist Church.
Why TLW?
God wants His people to be holy and pure. Both print and electronic media convey a message that sex is very normal and socially acceptable culture provided that you handle it with care. Our Youth are catching this culture without inhibition.
The most dreaded disease HIV/AIDS has come to our home and community. The spread of the virus is mainly through sexual transmission.
The horrifying news today is abortion of unwanted pregnancy. Rape and murder cases are on the rise.
The rate of divorce in Nagaland is rising today, and we hear a lot of infidelity of husbands and wives.
There is shocking report of premarital sex at High School, secondary and College level.
Open condom campaign is a direct endorsement to free and premarital sex. Without an inhibition this is recklessly slaughtering the morality of our young people.
Once our morality is gone we shall no more be called a people. So the TLW takes a positive, healthy and Biblical approach to HIV/AIDS endemic. The answer to the problem does not lie in change of method but rather in changed heart and changed behavior or lifestyles.
Through this TLW we endeavor to rebuild the spirituality and morality of the land, and also prevent the spread of dreaded HIV/AIDS
The objectives
The four-fold purpose of TLW is to:
1) GUIDE young people to make a commitment to sexual abstinence until marriage
2) GIVE young people who have made a commitment to abstinence a chance to reaffirm that promise and challenge other young people to do so.
3) GUIDE parents of young people to make or reaffirm a commitment to biblical standards of sexual behavior and model a life committed to sexual purity.
4) GIVE adults a tangible way to affirm and encourage young people who make a commitment to sexual abstinence until marriage.
TLW Target group
TLW primarily targets young people. But it also throws a challenge t a married people to maintain fidelity in sexual relationship.
• So for Youth, develop attitudes and actions such as -
• Show love in ways other than sex or intimate physical sharing
• Value people rather than use them
• Set physical limits, communicate them, and keep them.
• See dating relationships as a way to bring glory to God.
• For married people, develop attitudes and actions such as –
• Share sex only with my spouse Share sex in a loving way,
• Be loyal to my spouse physically, emotionally, socially
• Let sex show rather than use my mate for my own personal satisfaction
• Love each other emotionally, spiritually and socially so sex ca be a celebration of all we are.
Give me five
TLW is a commitment we make to:-
1) GOD. God love you and he wants the best for your life. He says wait.
2) YOU. you are a special person and you deserve the True Love
3) OTHER PEOPLE – your family and friends – need True love from you. You affect them by the choices you make about love.
4) FUTURE MATE. You don’t know him or here yet, but your future wife or husband whom God is preparing for you deserves True Love, not just second-rate love.
5) FUTURE KIDS. Chances are someday you’ll become a dad or mom. You can start loving you little ones beginning today. These are the people who need your True Love. Will you pledge to stay sexually pure for them.
Why wait?
God designed sex to take place in the intimate commitment of marriage. Young people who decide to wait are candidates for God’s provision of a satisfying guilt-free sexual relationship in their future marriage.
In God’s perfect plan, everything about sex is beneficial, edifying, unifying and pleasurable for both partners. That is why God commands us to wait until marriage because He loves us and wants us to have an abundant life. Sex within marriage is within God’s design and is good; sex out marriage is outside God’s design and cannot ultimately be good. It is a sin and sin can never be a good thing.
Therefore God wants us to wait because He wants to protect us from emotional hurt, from disease, from damaged relationship and from the misery that accompanies sin.
1. The physical reasons to waits:
To protect us from -
• Sexually transmitted diseases-HIV/AIDS and others
• Unwanted pregnancy.
2. The Emotional reasons to wait:
To protect us from -
• From guilt
• Hardships of breaking up
• Poor self-image.
3. The Relational reasons to wait:
To protect us from -
• Unhealthy relationships
• Communication breakdown
• Damaged family relationships.
4. The Spiritual reasons to waits:
To protect us from -
• Spiritual decline.
• A sin against the body.
• God’s judgment.
What to do while waiting
SEEK GOD’S WILL for you life through regular Bible reading and prayer.
STAY IN TOUCH, always, with your youth leaders or friends who can help you stay pure.
GUARD YOUR HEART. It’s easy to fall in love. Nothing wrong with that! But always remember your heart belong to God. If he is not the number ONE priority, then watch out, you could be in dangerous territory with your relationships.
CULTIVATE PURITY in the way you look at members of the opposite sex.
MAKE FRIENDS. Some people are shy, some bold. We have different types, but all can make friends. In fact, this is a basic need and desire of all young people-to make new friends and keep good friends.
God’s Definition of True Love
Love is patient and kind
Love is not jealous or boastful or rude
Love does not demand its own way
Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged
Love never glad about injustice but rejoices when the truth wins out ( I Cor.13:4-6)
Love does no harm to anyone (Rom 13:10)
Thus, True Love is making security, happiness and welfare of another person as important as your own. True Love is:
• giving and trusting,
• secure and safe,
• Loyal and forever.
True Love will not do things that will are harmful to the security, happiness and welfare of another person.
The kind of love that protects the loved one from harm and provides for his/her good is an imitation of God’s Love.
