|
Teen
Revival
Mad about our Savior
By Kalista King
This week, I have the privilege of sharing about a recent Youth for
Christ retreat I went on called, Go Mad. This event is a retreat that
is meant to reach out to hundreds of teenagers from all over who are
involved in Youth for Christ's Monday night "Campus Life" program.
Now if you did not know, I have been involved in Youth for Christ (YFC)
since my eighth grade year of school, and I am currently involved as a
junior in high school. YFC holds a very special place in my heart
because it has helped me lay a foundation in which my faith can
continually grow. I am very passionate about our local Youth for Christ
organization, and I think it is important that you know ways in which
this organization is reaching out to teenagers.
This year was my third year going on this retreat with Miami Valley
Youth for Christ. We had a much larger group this year than any of the
other times I have gone, which included teens from Central Campus life
(Greenville), Arcanum Campus Life, and Eaton Campus Life.
As we set out for our journey to Fort Wayne, Indiana, many of the
first-timers were trying to picture what the weekend ahead of them was
going to be like, and many of those who had been there before could
hardly wait for another year of Youth for Christ madness. Instead of
going through every single thing that happens at Go Mad, I will just
highlight the most important events that take place.
All the Youth for Christ organizations that attend this retreat get to
stay in the same hotel which is across from the conference center where
the sessions are held throughout the weekend. When everyone first
arrives at the hotel on Friday night, they are told to check in and go
to the conference center for the opening session. At the first session,
we pile into a giant room in the conference center where we are
introduced to the band who performs at each session and also the
speaker for the weekend. After everyone is dismissed, we go back to the
hotel for a pizza party where everybody gets to meet and mingle with
each other until bed time. The next day is an adventure filled day
consisting of another session, some free time, games, a cookout, and
"The Big Show," which is the third and most powerful session of the
weekend. At this session, the speaker gives the teens a chance to make
a decision for Christ.
This year, he presented everyone 3 options. Option 1 was that we could
choose to live our lives for ourselves and how we want to and see how
it ends up. Option 2 was that we could choose to live our lives for
others, trying to please other people by becoming who others expect or
want us to be. Option 3 was that we could choose God and give our lives
to Him in order to discover the life that He has planned for us. Three
chairs were spread out in the back of the room, each with a different
word; "Yourself," "Others," and "God." We were told that each chair
could be used as a spot to pray for whatever we were feeling lead to
pray about. Whether it was giving ourselves up, praying for ourselves,
deciding not to live for others anymore, praying for others, making a
decision to give our lives to God, or recommitting our lives to God, we
were given a choice to make. It was truly incredible to see hundreds of
teenagers get up from their seat at this time and go to a chair where
they prayed and cried out to God.
After a long prayer time and some worship, each individual YFC group
got together to share with one another about what God had spoken to
everyone about that night. As the teens in Miami Valley Youth for
Christ shared what was on their hearts, a lot of tears were shed and
many hearts were freed. The bond that was formed between everyone in
the group during this time was amazing. We became a family that night,
especially during the sharing time. There is nothing greater than
uniting with other Believers to form a family in Christ. Saturday Night
was a night that we will always remember.
The next day consisted of the final session in which the teens were
reminded of the decisions and commitments we had made and were sent out
into the world to be ambassadors for Christ. Though nobody really
wanted to leave, we knew we had a mission to win our cities over for
Christ. We were ready to go mad for God despite the cost, and it starts
in our homes, our schools, our workplaces, and our churches.
Last weekend, a bomb exploded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as hundreds of
teenagers went mad for the Lord. As each YFC group went their separate
ways, I had a clear picture of everyone carrying the heat of the
explosion with them, back to their hometowns. I believe each group is
stationed exactly where they need to be to bring revival to a lost
generation. Though we are now apart, each group is still connected
through Christ, and until we reunite next year, we will spread the fire
in our hearts to our own communities. And if anyone asks why we are so
fanatical about all this, we will simply say that we are mad about our
Savior, Jesus Christ.
|
|
|
|
