Raising up an ARMY!

....an army of radicals.

....an army of radical lovers.

....the preacher asked for it, and he got it. The youth tonight didn't experience youth camp. They experience a moment that could very well define their future and their world. The youth tonight were not given an alter call, they were given a chance to respond authentically to the God who dares love the rebellious bunch.

After explaning that God was raosing up an army, students were challeneged to stand alone in a filled auditorium and yell out who they were presently (addicted, angry, hopeless, lustful, etc.) and then say
"God, change me."

One at a time, from the shocked silence, students... teenagers... began rising withj hands held high... "god, I'm an addict, CHANGE ME" ... the cry was real, and as the voices rose from different directions, a symphony of sorts, of broken humanity desperate for real authentic life, desperate for change.

Probably a hunderd to two hundred students rose with yearnings for real change. The presence of God gently tugged as we then enter a true wrestling match with God... He yielded, and many students came out, like Jacob, with a different name.

2009 youth camp, and it's the first night.