The Cajun dome is packed with thousands and thousands of youth from around our state who gather to listen to some good preaching, great worship music and fellowship. We were blessed to have The Garden Baptist Church open their doors to us and allow us to sleep on the floor of their church to save on our lodging expenses! Things got kicked off Sunday night with an evangelistic message by Mr. Ed Newton, the keynote speaker from San Antonio, Texas. His clear presentation of the Gospel drew many young people to make commitments to Christ and serving Him fully. We drove back to the church to sleep and upon waking up the next morning, we made our way back to the Cajun Dome for a full day on Monday.
Our group is such a good group. We laughed and cut up and enjoyed each other's company. We sang to the top of our lungs. We were inspired and touched by messages of hope, encouragement, and love. The conference was a mountaintop experience, for sure. Here is our group of smiling faces:
Did I mention music? There was great Christian worship music and light show and glow-in-the-dark necklaces were handed out to all in attendance. But don't be mistaken into thinking this was merely entertainment.
The theme of the conference was "Stories" and we were taught that we all have a story to tell about Jesus and how He's changed our lives. The speaker gave his testimony and gave several excellent messages from the book of Acts, Genesis, and Romans. He showed the group of thousands how to share our faith and gave us the opportunity of practicing obedience to the Great Commission. We were given Bibles called "The Invitation" in which the "Romans Road" to salvation was bolded and were taught how to share our faith with a lost and hurting world.
Speaking of invitations, after each message, everyone was given an opportunity to come forward and speak to counselors for guidance and prayer. Many people responded.
At the closing of the conference, the Christian Group, "The Newsboys" put on a concert. You might know some of their music, "God's Not Dead," (they were also in the movie by the same name), "I Believe, " and "Jesus Freak." At a youth pastor's banquet, I had an opportunity to meet them and take a picture with them. I'm the dude in the middle.
The concert was high-energy and loud and fun and loud. Did I mention it was loud? The music had a powerful message. Then the conference ended. We prayed that we would retain some of the fire that we had experienced and that we'd be able to make a difference in the world around us. If you are ever cynical or pessimistic about the state of young people today, you need to come hang around my group sometime. They'll change your way of thinking!
As we made our way back to Jennings at around midnight, I was tired, but at the same time uplifted by what I had seen and heard.
So back to the harvest - how can a Christian Youth conference have anything to do with a harvest? Well...
Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. John 4:35
Was there a harvest at YEC 2016? You better believe it! As evidence, I snapped the photo below as we were leaving that showed a tally of decisions for Christ made at YEC. This folks, is the best "scoreboard" I've seen! This is what it is all about: Young people embarking upon a life of faith and service to our King!
Which brings me to my question: Is God Dead? Absolutely NOT!
I'll answer that question by using the lyrics to one of the Newsboys' songs:
God's Not Dead,
He's surely Alive,
He's livin' on the Inside,
Roarin' like a lion!
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