Gold Medallion for Excellence

AY Gold Award

AY GOLD AWARD

The AY Gold Award is presented to Young Adults under 31 years of age who have completed the Silver Award and who have demonstrated exceptional qualities of physical, mental and cultural development.

Sponsored by the Youth Ministries Department, the plan gives Young Adults an opportunity to find satisfaction in worthwhile achievement. Membership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church is not a prerequisite.

The sincere effort and perseverance required to qualify in the various activities will develop qualities of character much needed in today’s generation. The AY Gold Award recipient will be better prepared to take his place as a constructive member of his church and community.

In these last days of earth’s history, demands upon God’s people will become increasingly intense. Only those youth who have a firm foundation on the Word of God and have chosen a moral platform which reflects the purity of Jesus Christ will be able to withstand the withering attack upon Christian standards. Good health, clear thinking, and keenness of spiritual perception are closely linked together. The AY Gold Award has been introduced to give strength to these important elements of life. Youth who earn the AY Gold Award will be youth of true distinction.

TESTS, AWARDS, AND RECORDS
The conference/field or on each college or university campus an AY Gold Award committee shall be appointed by the AY/ Young Adult executive committee to direct the AY Gold Award plan. The union conference Youth Ministries Director is a member ex officio of this committee. This committee appoints a supervisor of testing and at least one qualified examiner for each category.

An accurate record of the candidate's completion of each requirement is to be filed with the AY Gold Award Committee. This record must include (1) the date each requirement was completed, (2) score (where indicated), and (3) certification signature of a qualified examiner authorized by the AY Gold Award committee.

PRESENTATION
Application for the AY Gold Award to be presented to candidates who have completed their requirements is made to the union conference Youth Ministry Director. He will arrange for a special presentation ceremony when the award can be presented in an impressive way. Church and civic officials should be invited to the occasion. The presentation of the AY Gold Award should be the principle event on the program and should not be combined with a Pathfinder/Adventurer Investiture service.

The AY Gold Award medal and ribbon will be treasured by all who receive it. The name of the recipient should be etched on the reverse. (No AY Gold Awards should be presented which do not have this personalized inscription.)

LIVE LIFE TO THE FULL!
Life is a precious gift, as is health. We all wish to be strong and healthy – especially when we admire the rippling, sculpted, and powerful muscles of the well-trained athlete. We may desire to be strong and agile, but desire is not enough. There must be the choice to get fit and to develop our total fitness and strength.

Successful living requires choices and the cultivation of healthy habits. It is necessary to give priority to the important and exclude or discard what will not contribute to success. This means we should have a plan and follow it. We need to budget and use our time wisely. We are multidimensional beings, created in the image of God. The AY Silver Award requires not only physical fitness, but mental, spiritual, and emotional wellness and wholeness (as wholistic beings). Each dimension of health must be carefully developed and nurtured, and sacredly guarded. We need to exercise, but we also need to rest. We need a balanced, nutritious diet, and lots of pure water. We must avoid harmful substances and behaviors, and live balanced lives.

As we strive to add speed to our strength and endurance to our agility, let us ever keep our eyes upon Jesus. As we feed on His Word, we will learn to know Him, and speak with Him as to a friend. He came in order that we may have life and live it to the full (John 10:10). In His strength, and by His Spirit, physical exercise, spiritual commitment, emotional stability, and mental sharpness can all come together in purpose, service, and a fulfilled life. The goals of the AY Silver Award Winners will thus be fully attained, and in turn, many others blessed by these lives of healthy service.

Peter Landless, M.D. Director, Health Ministries

GENERAL CONFERENCE OF ADVENTISTS