"It's Just A Youth Conference"

This week a group of our teens from Fellowship Baptist-Durham are attending the National Youth Conference at First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana.  This is one of many youth conferences that are held each year in churches around the country.  There are dozens of them.  We even host our own Youth Conference in April of each year.

Right about now you might be thinking:  "It's just a Youth Conference."  I understand why you might feel that way, but let me tell you a story.  In 1978 an eighteen year old teenager attended a Youth Conference with a small group from his church.  He and the other teens traveled almost 900 miles in a caravan of cars in order to participate in the meeting.  On Thursday night of the conference this young man walked the aisle and surrendered his life to serve the Lord.  It was just another decision, not unlike tens of thousands of decisions that are made by young people at camps, revivals and conferences each year.

The difference, in this case, was that the young man was me.  At a Youth Conference in Hammond, Indiana in July of 1978 God turned my life upside down.  I came to the conference as recent high school graduate with little or no direction in my life.  I left that conference with a vision of what the Lord wanted to do with my life.  Thirty-three years later lives are still being impacted because of that one decision that one young man made at one Youth Conference! 

Please join me in praying that this week's conference would not be "just another Youth Conference."  Ask God to bless our teens, as well as the thousands of other teens from around the country.  Pray that the Spirit of God would have freedom and that the Word of God would be preached with great power.  There is no way of knowing what God might do in this week's conference.  There is no way of knowing whose life might be changed.