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Missouri Youth Convention 2006 - You've Got to Share Jesus
By Amanda Tate
May 1, 2006

Missouri Youth Convention 2006 was amazing!  Church services were held at the super nice Sheraton Hotel’s convention center in Overland Park, KS (just across the border from Kansas City, MO).

On Wednesday night, April 12, 2006, Bro. Mark Johnson preached an awesome sermon about trusting God.  He told the audience that no one should ask God why this is happening or why that is happening—because it's not our business to know.  God has our lives in the palm of His hand, and He knows exactly what He has in store for you. Therefore, questioning means you are not trusting in Him.  Many of us needed to hear that message because it's hard to trust God when you can't see Him.

On the next afternoon, Brother Matt Maddix preached on our being saved to serve.  He said that we were given the Holy Ghost, not just as a gift for ourselves but also as a gift to others when we go out and witness to them.  He admonished us to do exactly that—witness to save souls.  With that sermon I, and many of my friends, feel like we can actually act upon what was preached instead of thinking about the sermon for a few days and then forgetting it.  Phenomenal!

Then Thursday night came and the Holy Ghost swept through that room so powerfully that we didn't even have preaching!  After a skit on breaking free from the chains that bind us and keep us from getting blessed, someone started talking about getting those chains off.  The audience began crying and weeping and crying out to the Lord.  No one was allowed to pray for him/herself, so that made it all the better because it feels so good to pray for others.  After praying for a little while, I felt a love and desire for God that I have never felt before; I would go back to that moment a million times just to feel that again.  That same night one of my friends who hasn’t been strong for God had a breakthrough.  He was praying people through to the Holy Ghost, praying out loud, and crying.  Just seeing that you felt he was going to walk out of the convention center changed.  It was so amazing; I really don’t even have words to describe to you how awesome God is and has been.

On Friday morning Brother Maddix again preached on saving souls.  What was so excellent about his sermon on saving souls is that every other convention that I’ve attended was worthwhile.  However, the speakers didn’t really preach about going out into the world and making God known.  Yet since this convention, I’ve already invited two friends to church, and they said that they were going to come.  One of the girls is even going to bring one of her friends so that she’s not so uncomfortable.  (Two for one, so I am so very excited!)  Another friend of mine from church has invited a football player from his school and he’s going to come.  Yes, these sermons were definitely life-changing.

The lock-in Friday night wasn’t at all bad for me.  I played foosball pretty much all night and had fun.  There was also bowling, laser-tag, miniature golf, and bands playing. Due to overcrowding, some people liked it and some didn’t; I was one that liked it.

Be sure to attend next year’s convention if you possibly can.  For those of you who did attend, don’t keep what you got from the services all to yourselves—go crazy and tell as many people as you can, saved or not, about Jesus!

ninetyandnine.com

© 2006, Amanda Tate

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Amanda Tate lives, worships, befriends, and witnesses in the St. Louis metropolitan area.