Last weekend we took 19 of our Junior High students and 5 brave adults to the Christ In Youth BELIEVE Conference held at Northern Kentucky University. I say “brave adults” because we joined with 6,00 other people . . . and the vast majority were sixth, seventh and eighth graders. There was a lot of junior high energy in the room.
We’ve attended this event for the last several years. The program is always top-notch and this year’s followed suit. The theme for the weekend was “The Presence.” The focus was on the Holy Spirit. When I first heard that theme, I wondered how they were going to take a sometimes confusing topic for adults and present it in a way that young teens would understand. They did an excellent job.
Weaving together the music sets, clear teaching and well-done video stories, three clear messages about The Presence came through the weekend:
The Presence gives life where there was no life.
The Presence creates community where there was no community.
The Presence gives courage where there was no courage.
Through the events of the weekend, we were challenged to accept the life the Spirit gives, engage in community and rely of the courage The Presence gives to live for God.
The program was great and we had a lot of fun through the weekend. We enjoyed participating in BELIEVE, eating sardines in the hallway of the hotel, cruising around Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky in a church van and bus and killing some time at the mall.
Here are a few pics from the weekend:
Music & energy
Sardines!
Sweet stage and lights!
Thoughts from a Hoosier Fan in the Buckeye Land 