Passion Conference 2011
With bags loaded, snacks packed, and the "passion" playlist booming from the stereo, our roadtrip to Ft. Worth for the Passion Conference had officially begun. In order to document our extreme amount of excitement, we snapped this photo.
Ten thousand college-aged students gathered in the Ft. Worth conference center over the weekend to exalt the name of Jesus and get pumped up about following Him with a radical, crazy love. When God's people get together in His name, big things happen. I cannot describe the beauty of the sound of 10,000 voices roaring the praises of Jesus with hands lifted high. We were literally worshipping with our whole bodies and our whole hearts. When we gathered to hear God's Word and study it together, hearts responded and people were changed as they committed to living wholeheartedly for God. We also gathered in the name of service and justice, so together we raised 227,000 for a Bible translation project for the Koso, an unreached people group in West Africa. We raised another 70,000 for Haiti relief.
When God's people get together in His name, big things happen.
The name and renown of the Lord is the heart and center of the passion movement. And now it is at the heart and center of my life!
I expected the conference to be a spiritual mountaintop experience, but God gave me so much more than that. He always exceeds my expectations and reveals Himself in more amazing ways than I could ever ask or imagine. I may be on a spiritual high after the weekend, but I also know that I have joined a movement that will impact the rest of my life.
I believe that He is on the move, working across the world in order to spread His name and renown. And I also believe that He has chosen this generation to be an instrument in the carrying of His name. He has empowered us with His Spirit to live lives worthy of the Gospel, so I now have no fear in speaking boldly for Him wherever He leads me. I can enthusiastically say that conference ignited in me an extreme passion that I cannot keep to myself. It is a joy that I want to shout from the rooftops...or at least speak to every person that I encounter. Now I know why they call it the Passion Conference.
When people ask about my weekend, I don't want to tell them about the conference; I want to tell them about Jesus! That is because the conference wasn't about the music or the speakers or the arena full of students. It was all about the greatness of God and the fullness of living for Him. Yes, Lord! Your name and renown is the desire of my heart.
We registered for the conference because we knew that awesome Christian speakers like Louis Giglio, Francis Chan, and John Piper were going to be there as well as great artists like David Crowder band, Chris Tomlin, Kristian Stanfill, Christy Nockels, and Charlie Hall. It is true that all of these people made the conference a great experience, but it was so much more than a loud concert with a good sermon. We got what we were expecting...plus so much more. You think we look excited in this picture? You should have been in the car on the way back home! On the way to the conference, we only thought we were pumped. On the way back, we were explosive with joyful energy and passionate love for the Lord.
You see, the Passion Conference is not an event; it is a movement. We went to the conference for an event, but we left having joined a movement. It is a movement powered by the Holy Spirit as He reigns in the lives of people who are radically sold-out for the Lord, madly in love with Him, and passionately devoted to carrying His name across the world. It is a movement characterized by a generation that is rising up to proclaim the greatness of Jesus Christ wherever they go. God is on the move, and He is working in the lives of college students as they surrender their lives to Him and devote themsleves to spreading His fame.
Ten thousand college-aged students gathered in the Ft. Worth conference center over the weekend to exalt the name of Jesus and get pumped up about following Him with a radical, crazy love. When God's people get together in His name, big things happen. I cannot describe the beauty of the sound of 10,000 voices roaring the praises of Jesus with hands lifted high. We were literally worshipping with our whole bodies and our whole hearts. When we gathered to hear God's Word and study it together, hearts responded and people were changed as they committed to living wholeheartedly for God. We also gathered in the name of service and justice, so together we raised 227,000 for a Bible translation project for the Koso, an unreached people group in West Africa. We raised another 70,000 for Haiti relief.
When God's people get together in His name, big things happen.
The Passion Conference is held in connection with 268generation, whose theme verse is Isaiah 26:8.
"Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your truth, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts."
I expected the conference to be a spiritual mountaintop experience, but God gave me so much more than that. He always exceeds my expectations and reveals Himself in more amazing ways than I could ever ask or imagine. I may be on a spiritual high after the weekend, but I also know that I have joined a movement that will impact the rest of my life.
I believe that He is on the move, working across the world in order to spread His name and renown. And I also believe that He has chosen this generation to be an instrument in the carrying of His name. He has empowered us with His Spirit to live lives worthy of the Gospel, so I now have no fear in speaking boldly for Him wherever He leads me. I can enthusiastically say that conference ignited in me an extreme passion that I cannot keep to myself. It is a joy that I want to shout from the rooftops...or at least speak to every person that I encounter. Now I know why they call it the Passion Conference.
When people ask about my weekend, I don't want to tell them about the conference; I want to tell them about Jesus! That is because the conference wasn't about the music or the speakers or the arena full of students. It was all about the greatness of God and the fullness of living for Him. Yes, Lord! Your name and renown is the desire of my heart.
YES! I love it! This is the beginning of the JESUS MOVEMENT! We are His vessels to carry His name! JESUS IS KING!
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