Investiture Achievement/Guide/Spiritual Discovery

Standard Level

Requirement 1

Write and share your personal testimony.

You personal testimony is the story of any event in your life that brought you closer to God. It could be your conversion story, or anything else that brings glory to God.

You can share your testimony either orally or by posting it on the Internet (such as in a blog or on Facebook). It can be shared with a friend or with a group.

Requirement 2

Memorize one key text for each of the following Bible teachings: Second Coming of Christ Seventh-day Sabbath State of the dead Law & Grace Conversion Judgment Inspiration of the Bible Spirit of Prophecy The Saint’s Reward

Second Coming of Christ

John 14:1-3

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
— John 14:1-3 (NKJV)

Seventh-day Sabbath

Exodus 20:10

But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
— Exodus 20:10 (NKJV)

State of the dead

Ecclesiastes 9:5

For the living know that they will die;

But the dead know nothing,
And they have no more reward,

For the memory of them is forgotten.
— Ecclesiastes 9:5 (NKJV)

Techniques

There are several approaches to memorizing Scripture.

Erase the words

Write the Bible verse on a white board and have everyone read it aloud together. Then erase a word and have them read it again, supplying the erased word. Continue erasing words and reading the verse aloud until all the words are gone. At this point, the entire class should know the verse.

Hand write the verse

Write the verses down several times by hand until you can do it from memory.

In song

Many passages of scripture have been set to music. Memorizing the lyrics to a song is a lot easier than memorizing raw text, and the memory will last for years. If the verse you are trying to memorize has already been set to music, switch to the version of the text that matches the song. If it has not been set to music, make up your own tune. Explore different translations of the text to see which one lends itself best to your song.

Say it aloud

Hearing it and saying it will reinforce it much better than just "thinking" it will.

Say it with rhythm

This is similar to the "in song" approach from above, but it is often easier to make up a rhythm than it is to make up a whole tune. Clap your hands and stomp your feet at various places in the verse if that helps. Turn it into a clapping game like "pat-a-cake" and learn it with a friend.

Add action

How many songs do you know that have motions associated with them? If you're making up hand claps and foot stomps, it will help even more if you add other actions such as casting a fishing line, or tracing the outline of a heart in the air.

Make a rebus

A rebus uses pictures to represent words or parts of words. For instance, the word "I" is represented with a graphic depiction of an eye. If you spend enough time coming up with a clever rebus for your verse, you will likely have memorized it by the time you are finished.

Find structure in the verse

Write the verse out so that it highlights the structure. Recall that Hebrew poetry works by repeating an idea using different words. Line them up! We also find structure in New Testament verses. For instance, 1 John 2:3 could be written like this:

Now by this
   we know that
   we know Him,
if we keep His commandments.

This approach lines up the common words "we know" and helps the brain to organize the verse more effectively. It also lines up the third "we" with the first two, so that it's possible to memorize a shorthand for this verse - "we know, we know, we keep". This forms a skeleton upon which we can hang the rest of the words. Look for other structure as well, such as that the word following "we" always starts with a 'k' and has four letters.

Use a Puzzlemaker Online

to create written activities for scripture such as:

• Crosswords
• Wordles
• Fill in the blanks/Missing letters
• Blank out (Similar to Hangman)
• Scripture Scrambles

Step On It

Print out each word of a passage on paper, one word per page in large print. Lay the paper on the floor and step down on each page as you say the text. Remove words from time to time.

Writers Block

Write each word of a passage on blocks of wood, one word per block. Mix up the blocks and put the text back together. Two block sets of the same verse makes for an exciting game!

Do you know some approaches? Click here to add them!

Requirement 3

Learn the principles of leading a person to Jesus.

Requirement 4

Tell a story of a church pioneer to a group.

This is a good research project that can lead to amazing discoveries. Here are some places to find good Adventist Church Pioneer story ideas:

• http://www.investitureachievement.org/wiki/index.php/Adventist_Youth_Honors_Answer_Book/Outreach/African_American_Adventist_Heritage_in_the_NAD The answers include some stories, and people mentioned in the honor would be good to research
• http://www.whiteestate.org/pathways/pioneers.asp has a selection of stories you can listen too, then relate in your own words
• http://www.adventistheritage.org/ Check out the many resources at Adventist Heritage Ministries including pioneer stories in the AHM Bulletins. They also have a video called Meet Hiram Edison.
• http://heritage.adventistconnect.org/ is a useful resource focused on the South Pacific housed at Avondale College, Australia
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Seventh-day_Adventist_Church

If you live or will travel near a historic Adventist site, go visit it and learn first hand about the pioneers. You can relate what you learned to meet this requirement. Some options include:

• Joseph Bates Home in Fairhaven, MA (Adventist Heritage Ministries operated)
  
• Adventist Historic Village in Battle Creek, MI (AHM operated),br>
• Dr. Kellogg Museum, Battle Creek, MI
  
• Hiram Edson Farm in Clifton Springs NY (AHM operated)
  
• William Miller Farm in Whitehall NY (AHM operated)
  
• Ellen G. White's last home Elmshaven offers tours in Napa Valley, Calf.
  
• Ellen G. White Estate Headquarters, in the GC Office, Silver Spring, Maryland offers free tours
  
• Sunnyside, Ellen White's home in Australia, 1895-1900
  
• Consider some of the older Adventist Colleges, Hospitals, and Churches wherever you are in the world for inspiration
  

You might also look for information about the early missionaries who first brought the truth to your part of the world, or some other part of the world that interests you.

Your church library or Adventist Book Center will have a selection of books about church pioneers that you could draw a story from.

Tell the story you discovered to your pathfinder club, for children's story at church, worship or any other appropriate place. Consider combining this requirement with the Christian Storytelling Honor.

Frontier Guide

Requirement 5

Complete Guide requirements.

Requirement 6

Complete one of the following honors: Personal Evangelism Bible Evangelism Literature Evangelism

Requirement 7

Study and discuss two of the following life issues (not previously studied) with your Guide group and an adult: Teen Pregnancy Abortion AIDS Homosexuality Pornography