Students focus on sharing faith at YEC

Before performing a concert, For King and Country lead singers Joel and Luke Smallbone lead a session for students attending Youth Evangelism Conference, where the musicians discuss the gospel through arts and culture. (PHOTO/Texas Baptist Communications)

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BURLESON—About 1,350 students lifted their hands and hearts in worship at the 2014 Youth Evangelism Conference in Burleson.

youth dara mclean425Christian singer and songwriter Dara Maclean leads the students in worship during the Youth Evangelism Conference in Burleson.  (PHOTO/Texas Baptist Communications)With “Speak His Name” as their unifying theme, Christian artist Propaganda rapped, worship leaders Dara Maclean and For King and Country sang and speaker Dave Edwards preached—all about making Jesus’ name known.

During a call to commitment, 75 students responded—11 professions of faith in Jesus, 41 who rededicated their lives to Christ and 23 who felt called by God to vocational Christian ministry.

“It’s a call to evangelism,” said Leighton Flowers, Texas Baptists’ youth evangelism director, about the theme. “When we experience God at our events like Super Summer or YEC, whatever happens there doesn’t stay there. … You take it back home and speak his name and tell others about what you’ve seen and heard.“

Not only were students encouraged to talk about Jesus among their friends, but also to contribute to the “Get the Word Out” offering to distribute Bibles around the world.

youth crowd425Junior high and high school students participate in breakout sessions where they discuss spiritual matters focused on topics such as “how to hear from God” and “how to share your faith.” (PHOTO/Texas Baptist Communications)“We wanted to raise funds to send Bibles overseas where they are difficult to get to,” said Preston Cave, head of the Youth Evangelism Conference steering committee and student pastor at First Baptist Church in Grandview.

Conference organizers challenged youth to meet a $10,000 giving goal. Students and outside donors surpassed that target with an offering of nearly $20,000.

Brittany Howard, a former participant of YEC, decided to volunteer this year as an emcee. “It’s a cool way to get kids fired up during the summer right before school starts,” she said.

A second regional Youth Evangelism Conference is scheduled Aug. 17 in Lubbock. Registration for the event opens July 15. Visit westtexasyec.com for more details.


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