Having been operating in the office of youth minister and parish director with the responsibility to serve the ministry of some 38 churches in the east division of St. Catherine, Erraldo Budhan of the Life Centre Tabernacle Church of God of Prophecy in Gordon Pen, Spanish Town, recently launched Volume 1 of his first book, which is predominantly expected to act as a spiritual energiser for young Christians.
Power Up, is a 30-day devotional designed to help build the reader’s faith, hope and trust in God by providing real-life testimonies and encouragement from the Word of God.
Lay Minister Budhan told Family & Religion that he works with several youth directors of churches in his division to implement plans and put programmes in place to meet the needs of the young adults they serve.
“I decided to take a step of faith to write books that can help build young people and draw them closer to God. I was inspired by my friend and publisher, Cameka ‘Ruth’ Taylor, to transform my sermons into a book, and that’s how the devotional came about.
“The first name of the book was very ‘churchy’. It was first entitled I beseech you, but after having consultation meeting with my publisher, she said that the name sounds old and not so much youth friendly. So I brainstormed and while talking to my friend, Tanae, the theme Power Up came to mind and it was the best pick,” he said.
In addition to testimonies and encouragement from the Bible, the 25-year-old preacher’s premiere devotional also gives its reader a chance to participate in various activities.
“I believe that in order for us to change and build ourselves in God, we must do some work. The activity component is for the reader to do introspection, answer the questions asked in the book and create goals going forward to build their faith, hope and trust,” he said, warning that unless the activities are done, then the steps to develop oneself will be futile.
Among the core values discussed in Power Up is a vital chat on how to trust God during the hardships of life.
Budhan shared, “We also look at how to put our hope in God and wait patiently for Him to come to our rescue. The core values of a believer are faith, hope and trust, and so throughout Volume 1 we explore how those values can be firm in God.”
Touching on the aim of the book, Budhan, who is a talk show host at the gospel station Love101, explained his ultimate hope for Power Up to cause readers to build a closer relationship between themselves and God.
According to him, “The target audiences are youth and young adults, but anybody can benefit from the book. It’s a devotional designed to help a person construct their spiritual goals and write out how they can accomplish those goals in God. The first day in the book we tackle ‘Asking God for the Big Things’, and in that word of encouragement, the readers are heartened to not limit self when asking God for stuff, but challenge self to ask God for the unimaginable and watch Him do it if it is in His will for our life.
“Power Up today and impact lives forever!”