You could have heard a pin drop in the room that night even though over 100 students were present. We were at the mid-week point of the LIFE Conference, and our group was having its sharing time after the evening session. For the past hour, students had been talking about where God was moving in their hearts and how they were being challenged, when, in a moment of incredible vulnerability, one of our girls went public with our entire group about an eating disorder she had been wrestling with for the past 18 months. It was controlling her life.
As she shared deep hurts and woundings through tears, as well as the fear of being judged, every single girl in our group got up and surrounded this young lady in a massive group-hug — and then they began to pray for her. Folks, what prayers! Prayers for peace. Prayers for healing. Prayers that she would experience the love and value of The Father. And as I wiped the tears from my own eyes, I discovered that every guy in our group had stood and surrounded those girls, and with hands stretched out — they were praying over them. Wow. One of those youth ministry moments that I will never forget because it wasn’t programed or planned, instead; it was the Church truly being the Church.
If you were to ask me, “What are the top priorities for our church in 2019?” LIFE 2019 would be in my top 3… yep… top 3, church-wide. I have seen God use this event to do incredible things over the years. I have seen sin strongholds broken. I have witnessed broken students healed. I have been amazed at the depth of community experienced. I have prayed with over 2 dozen students called into full-time Christian ministry. And I have seen students who had never embraced their faith in Jesus as truly their own — fall on their knees before Him for the very first time. LIFE is just an event, but it is an event that God has used in my youth ministries for incredible good, and for His purposes in the lives of teenagers. Parents, Grandparents… your teen needs to be there! This isn’t just a trip experience like sending them to Washington DC for a school trip… this is an opportunity for them to hear the very voice of God. I can’t promise you every one of our teens will experience true life-change at LIFE, but I can tell you, I have seen it happen over and over and over again.
Tonight at 6pm in the youth room there is an informational meeting about the trip. If you have a teenager in your life, I hope you will attend that meeting. Church Family, you can have a role in this as well. You can pray for our teens and youth leaders. You can give and support our students by helping to finance their trip — it is not cheap to travel to Florida and spend a week. Will they have fun? Absolutely! Will they encounter Jesus? There will be so many opportunities! Christian Alliance Church… LET’S DO THIS TOGETHER!
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