music

A Generation That Gets It

Posted on by oliviaharmony

July sixteen, two thousand and sixteen is a historic date for America. It is a historic date for our generation. A historic date for the Church. In Washington D.C. there was a gathering of hundreds of thousands of young people who desire to see change in our nation and our world. I reflect on that event today because it has not and should not stop. The spirit and purpose of this gathering continues admits darkness, it’s Light shines through.

The roots of all the problems our world is facing comes from brokenness. We’ve seen how dreams, people, and lives have been shattered because of the evil we see happening like a daily routine. There is hatred that cuts through like a knife in our society. Now we face division in our communities, in our nation, and in our world. We all have come face to face with this reality and have to decide how we deal with injustice. Imagine you knock over a beautiful vase that has been passed down in your family for generations. It was so priceless and so precious to your family because of its history. The pieces that now lay scattered on the ground were once so beautiful when they were together. Today as we face division and hatred, we face this question: How do we deal with the broken pieces scattered across the floor? How can we see beauty when there is so much brokenness?

The One that can bring these pieces together is not a politician, not a pastor, not an entrepreneur, not a motivational speaker, or even a billionaire. There is One who humbly came to this earth from paradise to see beauty rise from the ashes of our world. One who saw the broken pieces on the floor and became the Way to bring them back together. His name is Jesus, Jesus Christ. He is the living Son of God who desires a relationship with everyone and restoration for our lives!

I’m telling you, friends, that Jesus Christ is the only One that can bring these broken pieces, us, together.

Together 2016 was appropriately named for the need in our nation. This gathering of people ages 14-22 represented a generation that wants to see beauty out of brokenness. Hearts were longing for unity in our nation, not out of selfish ambition, but out of love for others. I have never experienced an event so unified and moving.

 

It was such an incredible privilege to represent my generation at this event. A high school student and I, two ordinary people, had the opportunity to pray over our peers about the issues we know we face. I cannot begin to explain to you how overwhelmed I was with the Holy Spirit’s presence that day. From preparation backstage to walking out and seeing the sea of people next to the Washington Memorial, I knew that God was there and He was speaking clearly to us about the future He desires for us.

 

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God used so many incredible communicators to preach the Gospel at Together. Many big names took the stage to remind everyone why Christ followers hold on to Jesus as our hope. His story of redemption was declared so that our stories would be changed. With all the stories we constantly hear in the media that make our hearts sink to our stomaches, we were reminded of a story that we need to be sharing more than anything else! The Gospel needs to be communicated in whatever way, shape, or form God has called you to share it. Especially as a young person! Your voice and your influence can inspire this nation to come together in a time that evil has designed for us to flee from unity. This message was preached boldly on the stage that day for our generation to hear.

While inspirational leaders are used by God to communicate His Word, it wasn’t the people onstage that shaped the event. People like Tim Tebow, Christine Caine, Francis Chan, Hillsong United, and Lecrae didn’t bring people together. They were simply leaders and communicators to usher us into the presence of God. And it was so humbly done. These names were talked about, not highlighted. It was Jesus’ name that was lifted higher than anyone who was apart this event. That is why Together 2016 was like no other event I’ve ever experienced.

When Jesus is the reason for a gathering, in the hearts of those who organized the event as well as those who drove miles to get there, lives are radically changed. God does so much more than we could ever do or ask for.

Our generation gets it. We understand that there is brokenness and problems that don’t point to any logical solution. But as I saw hundreds of thousands of Christ followers stand together in our nation’s capitol just few weeks ago, I was reminded of our solution. Our solution is to point to Jesus Christ. As a generation that longs for justice, longs for peace, and longs for love to conquer hatred, we need to continue to stand together under Jesus’ name to see beauty rise from brokenness.

Let’s give Jesus the broken pieces and see restoration in our land.

2 Chronicles 7:14- Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

Deuteronomy 30:3-13-  3 God, your God, will restore everything you lost; he’ll have compassion on you; he’ll come back and pick up the pieces from all the places where you were scattered. 
4 No matter how far away you end up, God, your God, will get you out of there 
5 and bring you back to the land your ancestors once possessed. It will be yours again. He will give you a good life and make you more numerous than your ancestors. 
6 God, your God, will cut away the thick calluses on your heart and your children’s hearts, freeing you to love God, your God, with your whole heart and soul and live, really live. 
7 God, your God, will put all these curses on your enemies who hated you and were out to get you.
8 And you will make a new start, listening obediently to God, keeping all his commandments that I’m commanding you today. 
9 God, your God, will outdo himself in making things go well for you: you’ll have babies, get calves, grow crops, and enjoy an all-around good life. Yes, God will start enjoying you again, making things go well for you just as he enjoyed doing it for your ancestors. 
10 But only if you listen obediently to God, your God, and keep the commandments and regulations written in this Book of Revelation. Nothing halfhearted here; you must return to God, your God, totally, heart and soul, holding nothing back. 
11 This commandment that I’m commanding you today isn’t too much for you, it’s not out of your reach. 
12 It’s not on a high mountain – you don’t have to get mountaineers to climb the peak and bring it down to your level and explain it before you can live it. 
13 And it’s not across the ocean – you don’t have to send sailors out to get it, bring it back, and then explain it before you can live it.

 

 

Why We Do It.

Posted on by oliviaharmony

Last weekend, on a Sunday night, Marion High School opened it’s doors to 300 people who came to worship the Lord at an Enlightened event. In the small city of Marion, Indiana, we saw hundreds of students being serious about their faith in their school. God spoke to us about helping those in need and being the ‘Good Samaritan’ to our peers in our schools. The people you’d least expect were called to step out and be courageous for the Lord. We were empowered and inspired by the testimonies and songs shared by high school students from this school. This event changed the atmosphere at their school and in this city. We praise God for speaking to us so clearly on March 13, 2016 at Enlightened Marion. What started at a school called Byron Center High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan is now an event happening in different schools and students who strive to bring Christ on their campus. What a joy it is to remember where we’ve come and where we are going!

God had a plan for Byron Center High School since before time began. He knew that Enlightened would be planted there as a seed only to grow into more schools, more states, and impact more young people’s lives. He knew that lives would be saved, people would be called into ministry, and lives would be restored in His name. The number of people who showed up to the testimonies shared were no surprise to our great Father. He made us to move and work for His glory. As students gathered to worship two years ago in a high school auditorium, we felt the atmosphere change in that building.

It was worshipping together with brothers and sisters of Christ that changed our perspective on how we are to worship. We weren’t worshipping in our comfortable box with the people we knew well in youth group. We were praising our Father in a high school with hundreds of other high schoolers from many different schools, homes, and faith backgrounds. It was Jesus that brought us together and it was Jesus that was glorified.

The reason I believe in Enlightened is because I long for the days when I can worship my God with my peers in uncomfortable situations. I long for the day we can go out of our comfort-zones and give God all we have because He deserves that and more. It was incredible to experience a worship time that wasn’t about us for a change. It was great to look around the room and see people truly moved by God not the songs. God’s hand is over this ministry and I know He is continuing to see His plan unfold in the years following that first event.

The definition of event is, “a thing that happens, especially one of importance”. We remember events and we look back to them. Can you remember the first time you went to school? Or the day you got your license? If you’re a Christian, do you remember the day you turned your life around and gave it all to Jesus? Do you remember those significant moments in your life? Of course you do! They are things of importance that have changed your life forever. They change the way we think and act and speak. They give us new perspectives and new insights on how to be better and become the person we always strive to be.

The most important event to me is not Enlightened. It is not when I first learned to ride a bike or drive a car. The most important event that has affected my life deeply was Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection three days later. Yes, I realize I just gave you two events but they go hand in hand! Jesus didn’t just die, He rose from the dead! And when He did, He saved us from sin and death. That is good news and that is the reason we do everything. It is the reason we have thankful hearts. It is the reason we go out of our way to help a neighbor with a chore. It is the reason we give to the homeless and abandoned. This good news is the reason we wake up and take on the day with a different mindset. It is the reason Enlightened started.

Enlightened is a ministry started by high school students that is devoted to supporting and equipping high school students to lead an event full of worship and story telling at their school for their community. These events are for high school students to encourage their peers to be the salt and light in this generation. We focus on schools and hold these events at schools because we believe, as students, that it is the biggest mission field God has given us in this season of our lives. There is a story to tell; the event where Jesus died for our sins has affected our lives. We need to share this event with our friends! Because if we know how great our lives became after we experienced Jesus in our lives, we know we ought to share it with the rest of the world. The Gospel gives us a mission to go and tell the world. We want to invite our peers to join us as we live for this mission!

Why young people? Why students?

Students are cool. Students are passionate. Students care a lot about what they choose to care about. And students have more power in this world than they know. I had the privilege of working alongside many students in planning Enlightened events. I got to see how God has gifted each one of them to contribute a special part to Kingdom Work in their schools. Some students loved talking to people so they greeted students at the doors of their event. Other students loved technology so they ran the slideshow for lyrics and videos during their event. There were even some students that took on the responsibility of raising money for materials needed for their event. God used every single person on each Enlightened Crew (the whole group of student leaders) to leave a prominent impact on their high school’s campus.

Enlightened birthed and grew because God planned for students to do big things for Him. We see Him continue to call and equip high schoolers to lead Enlightened events at their schools now. The process is not easy. It is not a road easily followed. But it is a good road, because through it all, we get to experience God’s work in us. His provision through the planning process of an event is surreal. From financial issues to filling in spots for a team, God provided. He is the Provider, and we’ve seen why He is called Provider.

God has a plan. And for now, Enlightened is continuing to grow and seek out opportunities to reach the Gospel to young people everywhere. We love what we do and we are so thankful that God allows us to be apart of the journey.

Matthew 5:13-16  

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town build on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Our Music + Our Hearts =

Posted on by oliviaharmony

Music is one of the most powerful things that I believe we have and possess. It has the power and feeling to bring tears to one’s eyes, to touch hearts, and inspire thousands. Music is very involved in our lives. Whether it is while we work out, when we are writing a paper, just laying around, the soundtrack to a movie, or we are playing the music ourselves; music is always present.

I love music. Since I was seven years old, I’ve played the acoustic guitar so that I could lead worship songs. I can’t tell you how long I’ve been singing. Its a memory that I have always had. This part of my life has always been there and I can’t imagine life without music. God has given us a great gift to be able to use for expressing our feelings, sharing stories, and gathering together with others in music. That this gift is from God. We know that God gave certain people the gift of music to share with others for a reason. That reason is to glorify Him.

At my youth group on Wednesday nights, we are talking about our culture. Each week we are going to look at different things like songs, movies, and television shows to see what messages we are hearing everyday from different things we take in. What was so interesting was taking a secular song and comparing it’s themes and messages to what the Bible said about that theme. When we looked at ‘Uptown Funk’s lyrics on paper, it was like a totally different song than what we’ve been hearing again and again and again and again… and again. I had to take a step back.

I love that song! It is so catchy, it is so fun. And because dancing is my favorite activity (no, I’m not a dancer I just like to dance!) I love grooving to this song. When I saw the lyrics, I saw what I was dancing to. A big theme in this song is pride. We also discussed vanity at youth group. While this song is so much fun, I didn’t like the message that I was reading into.

Secular music is not bad. Or let me say this; not all secular music is bad! I believe there are a lot of songs out there that’s sole purpose is to promote sex, prostitution, drugs, alcohol abuse, and partying. Yet these are the songs that we are demanding so much more of. When I hear songs like that, it makes me think of where I once was before I became serious about my faith. When I was in middle school, I knew Jesus, but I wanted to be cool so bad. I wanted to grow up and be the high schooler who would go to all the parties and be the girl that all the guys wanted to hang out with. It may sound silly to you, but some songs bring back memories of me trying to fit in and grow up to be “cool” like these people that were singing these songs about sex and alcohol and partying like “there is no tomorrow”. Personally, that wasn’t a good place for me. I wasn’t growing. I wasn’t becoming a better person. I was focused on me. Which is exactly what some of these songs promote. It’s all about me.

I like real music. Everyone has their own definition, but I believe in music that has depth and a great sound. I love when I can see an artist play a song just because they love being in the moment with the song not because they love the attention they’re getting from their adoring fans in the audience. Those artists deserve the awards and being #1 on the charts.

We need to be real with our music. We need to be authentic with what we listen to. Whatever we take in fills our hearts. Our music also says a lot about us. If your music is shallow and just “has a good beat”, what does that say? Do you ever think about how you influence others with the music you listen to or play?

Again, secular music is not bad. I love all kinds of music. Except country… But hey, that’s just me. I listen to music that relates to me, that has a cool and different sound, and that can lift me up. Ultimately, any kind of music that I listen to can honor and glorify God if I’m choosing songs that have a good message. Songs that have a good beat and are just for fun are always going to be there. We will jam in the car or go to a wedding and belt out “Yeah” by Usher… But we need to make sure that our hearts see what is on that sheet of lyrics.

That physical piece of paper of lyrics really prompted me to look at myself and to make sure that I don’t just listen to anything for the fun of it. Music is great and I want to make sure that my music has a positive effect in my life. If I want my life to glorify God, that means my music should too. Think about what you listen to and how you fill yourself up. Maybe take some time to give up secular music for awhile just to see what kind of impact your music was having on you before and after that break. Christian music will not kill you. It is sad to me how many of my Christian friends think that it will. There are so many amazing Christian artists out there that are making music by glorifying Jesus with their talents. I really appreciate that and love God. So why not listen to music about Him?

This series at church really challenged me and I hope it challenges you as well. Put good things in your heart and you will pour out good things to others.

1 Kings 8:61- Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the LORD our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.

Proverbs 4:23- Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

~

Here are some awesome songs that I have been listening to lately! And yes, I love Phil Collins:

Meridian (full album) by the Soil & the Sun- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztpIl-k9Zvc 

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Geronimo by Sheppard- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozsmSlvGHv4 

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Run Boy Run by Woodkid- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eje2r90MkGE

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Love is War (Acoustic) by Hillsong UNITED- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMUaqizunxg

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You Can’t Hurry Love by Phil Collins- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WPj0r5U41M

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Shine Like Lightning by Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIioazf71DE

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Best Part of Enlightened.

Posted on by oliviaharmony

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We had been there for almost 3 hours by the time my friend Kaley and I became desperate. Sitting in a restaurant with our empty soup bowls and nothing but Britney Spears’ song “Hit Me Baby One More Time” ringing in our ears, we felt defeated. We needed a name. A name for this event that was at the very edge of starting a fire. A name to start it all and to shape the very thing that God wanted to say on the night of this event.

My pen was tapping on our crowded table of scattered papers with drawings and random words that we were brainstorming about. We were silent. But the Britney Spears song was still blaring throughout the empty restaurant. Kaley looked at me and said “What are we gonna do?”

At that point, my brain was fried and my eyes had a hard time staying open. It was only 4 pm. But I had felt like I had been there for a lifetime. 3 hours of nothing. So I started joking around.

“Give me a sign,” I sang along with Britney. “Hit me baby, one more time!”

And there we sat. And sat. And sat some more. Nothing.

“We need something before we talk to our principal. And we need flyers as soon as possible,” I said. My eyes were scanning the room, searching for a pinch of inspiration in something… Anything! We had already talked about the salt shakers at our table but couldn’t think of any cool titles with the word ‘salt’ in it. Thats when I saw my sign.

It was literally a sign. On each table was a sign about being “enlightened about food” or something like that. But I saw that word and I knew that this was it. Thats what we needed to talk about.

“Enlightened!” I said. It was amazing how fast me and Kaley had ideas for the night after that sign. We talked about Salt and Light and what that could look like in our schools. We talked about songs that dealt with light, people we thought of, verses we thought of… And we turned right to Matthew 5:13-16:

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Here we are on October 6th, a dark, rainy day in Michigan. It couldn’t feel any brighter after what happened last night. Last night being the most amazing night of my life.

I can’t even describe in words what happened in my public high school’s auditorium, but I can tell you that people walked out enlightened. Not because of the band or the speakers or the videos or the hosts. They walked out enlightened after experiencing God and connecting with our God that has a perfect plan and purpose for every single person.

Not everything went as planned last night. But it was perfect. It was perfect because it was what God wanted it to be.

Its still unbelievable that over 600 people gathered together in my school’s auditorium to worship Jesus. That was why they were there. Most of the people that walked in those doors had no idea what they were walking into but knew that there was an opportunity to worship. They had no idea about the lights and the songs and the lamps and the games and the messages. Seeing that turn out for worship was encouraging. But that wasn’t the best part.

Last night, His children were crying out to their Father. I heard it. I saw it. The wonderful privilege of leading worship is witnessing people’s hearts being displayed as they worship. It was a beautiful, beautiful experience. The way everyone sang, “I’ll stand with arms high and heart abandoned” was a moment I will never get out of my mind. The voices are still ringing in my ears. I can still see people raise a little candle to the sky as they devote everything to their Savior. But that wasn’t the best part.

I got to stand next to my best friend and lead worship with hundreds of my friends last night. Kaley saw this vision from the beginning and God used her to make Enlightened what it was. Her beautiful testimony was truly God speaking through her. But being able to stand next to her while we sang “The Stand” was such an honor and touching moment for me. God brought us together as friends during really lonely times of our lives and she has been there for me ever since. Always praying and encouraging. Even though that aspect of the night was incredible, that still wasn’t the best part.

We challenged everyone in the audience to action last night. There were candles on the sides of the stage (fake, battery-powered candles) for people to take and light if they wanted to make their own personal commitment to God. Before the service, I felt like God wanted this commitment to be what each person needed it to be. Whether it be giving their life to Christ, surrendering a relationship, committing to do what He is asking them to do, talking to someone about Christ… Whatever that is, everyone had something different. And hundreds of students stood up from their seats to grab a candle and hold it high. As I looked out into the crowd, I saw a lot of candles shining a warm glow of yellow. They all looked the same but none of them were the same. That wasn’t the best part either.

The best part is yet to come.

Its happening right now. The lights that flickered in that room are now walking through the hallways of 8 different schools, 17 different churches and several different communities. And thats what Enlightened was and is. Its not over. It will keep going. Because Enlightened is not mine. Its not Kaley’s. Its not anyone else’s that was on that stage. And because its not ours and belongs to the Ultimate Creator, it will go on.

Two years ago I was at a conference called The Follow Tour. This event had thousands of students gathered together in a hotel to worship and hear messages from inspiring men and women of God. That event changed my life. I couldn’t tell you why that weekend was so powerful for me. The worship was awesome, yes. And the speakers were awesome, yes. But God was calling me to something that I couldn’t figure out and I couldn’t shake it.

That weekend I re-accepted Christ into my life because I wanted my life to take a stand for Him. When the preacher said “Stand if you want to make that decision” I stood because I knew that I was not living my life that way. I was not standing for Him. Especially in my school. So I stood and I told God that I would always stand for Him. And that when I got home, I would stand when He called me to.

On the last night of that conference when everyone was drying their tears from the last worship song and saying their goodbyes, my youth pastor, at the time, confronted me. He said,

“God was talking to me during worship tonight and He wants you to know that in a few years, you will be up on that stage”. He pointed to the big stage in the front of the massive room.

I said, “Wow, that would be cool!” And I laughed. What could I say to that? I had no idea what he was talking about.

“You’re going to be up on that stage, Olivia. And right now is the grooming process. You need to get ready for what God is going to do. You may be losing friends and school may be hard, but God can use that for preparing you and for you to draw closer to Him” he said.

For the past two years, I had always thought my pastor was talking about my future after high school. And I have been waiting to see what that meant for my life. What stage God was talking about.

Yesterday afternoon, as I was preparing my message to speak at Enlightened, God revealed to me what my pastor was talking about.

This, Enlightened, was the stage that God has been preparing me for. And it was my turn to challenge others to stand in their schools. That passion that He gave me in that moment when I stood at the Follow Tour was what I needed to share with my peers.

God is beautiful. He had this whole night planned for longer than I can imagine. And He has been preparing the words, the songs, the messages, and the theme of Enlightened for every single person that was in that room. He is so good. I cannot express how grateful I am to have had the honor of being apart of this beautiful story of how God is calling disciples to rise up.

It was all Him. The whole time. And He is the reason we need to keep going. The reason we need to keep shining that light. He has called us all to do so. Not just some of us. Not just the ones on stage or the ones that play sports or the ones that seem to have it all together.

He is calling all of us.

And last night, everyone in that room heard it.

Enlightened.

Posted on by oliviaharmony

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It was my freshman year when God first planted a seed in my mind about something that is now called “Enlightened”. All I can remember is a vision of my peers worshiping in my auditorium. Their hands were lifted high and the beautiful song “The Stand” was being played. The thought took me by surprise and I didn’t know what to think about it.

That would be cool, I thought. But that could never happen at my school.

That thought was pushed to the back of my mind for 3 years.

During those three years I learned a lot. I felt heartache, lost a lot of close friends, learned what kind of boys NOT to date, I started leaning on God, and learned a lot about myself. High school is a place to grow up. Its a place to figure out what you want to do by what you’ve learned and acquired in your life. And I figured out what I want to do with my life.

I figured out that I want to do whatever God asks me to do with my life. Wherever I go to college and whatever I end up doing, I want it to be for His Kingdom and for His glory, not mine. These past few years have made that so clear in my life.

So this summer, while I was home, God started poking at me. One night we had youth group at church and I was leading the musical worship. So before the service started, I snuck away to the prayer chapel.

I prayed for the night, the worship, and all the students that would be at church that night. I prayed for an awakening through worship and what would happen in that room. Then when I was going to keep rambling on, feeling prompted to listen, I just stopped talking and started listening. Thank the Lord that I did. He said something that changed my life forever.

“Worship” was what I heard so clearly. At that moment, peace fell upon me and made me sure that worship is something I need to do for the rest of my life. But I didn’t just want to stop listening there. I wanted to to do something about this calling now. So I asked,

“What can I do right now with worship, God?”

I will never forget what He said:

“That vision that I gave you three years ago, about worship in your school’s auditorium, needs to happen this year. Now is the time.”

So there I was, in the beginning of the summer with this dream and something God was asking me to do and my family was leaving for a few days to start traveling for NTS camps. All summer. I would be gone for a little over a month. That would not leave me a lot of time to plan. This night needed to happen soon, in the beginning of the year, as to say “We’re going to start off this year right”.

My adrenaline kicked in and I started messaging and talking to a few close friends that went to my school as well as my Dad. I told them my idea and asked what I should do about it. Leaving for a month put me in a tough spot to plan this event. One thing that the vision was clear about was that the room was full of students worshipping. It wasn’t just a few people in a worship club. This was to be an event with a room full of people on fire for Jesus. I knew that some people needed assurance that they weren’t alone at school.

This was not going to be easy to get together.

When I got back from camp, it all began.

First we got the OK to use my school’s auditorium for a Sunday night service.

Emails were sent to dozens of youth pastors around the area to bring their youth groups.

My friend Kaley and I were reading through Matthew 5:13-16 and God gave us the name ‘Enlightened’ after about 3 hours of having no idea what to do with this night.

Then we gathered together 10 more students from my school to help plan and lead this night.

The theme of the night is ‘Enlightened’ because as students, we want to encourage our peers to shine brightly for Christ in our schools. There are a lot of broken and lost people that need love during high school. We don’t want to just sit back as Christians and dismiss ourselves when something is out of comfort zone. We want to step out and do what God is calling us to do. And that is going where “my trust is without borders!” Sometimes we don’t even know what we’re singing. Enlightened will serve to be a reminder to Christians that school is a mission field and a very dark place that needs a lot of light.

God’s hand has been over all of this because we miraculously have 16 churches connected and 6 schools that are advertising on their own! As we started praying about numbers, we were praying for 500 and it looks like we’re going to have more than 500 people there that night!

The band is all students and the speakers are students. Enlightened is led by high school students for high school students! God is using a lot of amazing leaders to make this night possible and its been an incredible blessing to be apart of it.

As you are reading this, I hope you are encouraged and as excited as I am about this event. In this post, I wanted to get the word out but I also wanted to say something even more important: We need prayer.

Here are some things we need prayer for:

1. For God to speak to many students that night to do something to be a light in their school this year.

2. For the band and the speakers and the ones planning it, its a very busy and stressful time (the date is October 5th-very soon!)

3. For candles. A church has already donated a few hundred fake battery-powered, white candles for something special during the service. But with our numbers growing, we’re praying for more!

4. For no technological problems.

5. For the worship that night-that the Spirit moves.

6. For the word to spread like wildfire!

Listening to God has been an incredible blessing and we haven’t even had this event yet. I encourage you to listen to what He has in store for you and to follow the path He has set out for you. It could change the world.

I cannot wait to share what God does at Enlightened on October 5th!