Reach...

One morning. 2 hours (well, 2 1/2). 360+ Middle school, high school and college students all in one room (ok, and some leaders and parents too). Why? To worship Christ, through our commitment to make disciples in this world. This was such a GREAT morning. We wanted to have an opportunity to really just focus on world missions with our students - to bring to the forefront that all of us are called to go - whether it's physically going to a foreign land or by supporting and sending with our finances, resources and prayers. It's clear that God's plan for some reason is using us, His children, to tell others about His amazing love...

So...2 1/2 hours - highlights included: the world geography song by the animaniacs (ok, Patrick introduced everyone to the world with this song - I miss wacko, yacko & dot!); worship led by Logan Martin (what a talent and a heart for Jesus - thanks to Him and the rest of the worship team! - on a side note - check out his cd on itunes!); inspiring drama by high school students with monologues they wrote based on the lives of 5 amazing Christian missionaries (C.T. Studd, Gladys Aylward, Jim Elliot, Amy Carmichael, Hudson Taylor); video testimonies from Kathy Fairley and Paul Newman, members of Salem Alliance who have extraordinary God stories from the mission field; interview with Mark Lynch the CM&A district contact for those interested in world missions; prayer time for the world and each other led by Steve Dangaran; strong challenge from our lead pastor, John Stumbo, about the names of the people groups who have yet to hear about Jesus, and the numbers of peoples who have yet to hear...and how we need to go!; and then a call for the students to say I am committed, as God allows, to give my life as a foreign missionary. 84 students walked forward that morning - WOW! 1/3 of the world hasn't heard...and these 84 are saying, Here I am Lord, send me! It was a humbling, exciting, thrilling, challenging, inspiring time... Each student got a book, most of which were copies of the missionary biographies of the lives they had already heard about that morning. I can't wait to see how God works in the lives of each of these people to confirm His call on their life, and how He'll use and provide through those just as committed to missions by giving of their resources to send those who are to go.

Reach - a student missions movement. We don't want this to be a one-time, one-morning thing. Our prayer is that God will instill in all of us a desire and passion to serve, and to go and make disciples of all nations...