It’s here! This is the week of our biggest youth event of the year!

We host a youth conference every year at our church called The Stand. We cover this in prayer and do our best to spread the word via posters, social media, and  word of mouth. We want people to feel welcome to join us. This is our 7th year putting this event on. Anytime you do something more than a few times, you find yourself getting in a rhythm. You learn and grow and figure out what works and what doesn’t. So in reality, each year the event should be getting better and better….right?

At least that is the kind of mind-set that we put ourselves in. Otis and I take this event very, very seriously. This is a HUGE deal to us. We start planning the next year, almost as soon as the current event ends. We have learned how to feed 100 students 5 meals over the course of a weekend with a pretty low-cost. We pick fun activities or outreach. We pray about and choose speakers. A Worship set list is selected and practiced.  We decide on colors and order shirts. This in a major investment! Not only financially, but so many volunteers invest their time.

It’s so exciting!!!!

This year feels a little different. We moved it up a week from the past years. I feel like that might be part of the difference…. there is more of a momentum from summer camp.

That’s not all  that is different though…

I usually fast before this event. I fast and pray, because I am expecting miracles and God moments and broken chains and restored lives. During my prayer time, the thing that keeps coming to my mind is quality over quantity.

People would tell you that if you have been doing something for seven years that in order for it to be viewed as “successful” that there should be a certain percentage of growth.  And it HAS been exciting watching our attendance grow over the years.

However, that is not my focus this year. Quality.  I would rather have 15 teenagers in a room really going after God than have 100 playing on their phones not paying attention to the service.

I am expecting miracles and healings. I am expecting salvations and baptisms in the Holy Spirit. I am expecting for lives to be changed and for young people to have an encounter with God that will change their lives forever.

My prayer is not for our room to be full or for attendance to be the highest ever. My prayer is for the Lord to bring the people to this event that are hungry for Him.

Our preparation doesn’t change whether 10 show up or 200. We are going to do everything to the best of our abilities.

I’m just not going to stress over “bigger and better”. I think that is one of the biggest traps that the enemy uses on us. We are too busy comparing to others  or even our own past, that we lose focus on what is right in front of us. I would be lying if I said that I have never been upset over a disappointing  turnout for an event.

Not this weekend though…we are preparing for revival. We are doing our part and will trust God with the rest.

Please join us in praying for us this weekend. Cover Otis and I … we always, always seem to face attacks the week of this event…..pray for our youth staff and band members….pray for our volunteers and speakers…pray for every student that steps foot on our campus. Go beyond that– pray for every car that drives by our campus!! ( One year at the stand, we had someone come up that said they were just driving by and could feel the presence of the Lord and had to turn around to come check it out).

I cannot wait to write my next post, which will be a recap of our weekend, and share with you all that the Lord did!!

I am choosing to stay desperate for God and trust that He will work everything else out!

Thank you for praying with us!!