See, Experience & Believe

I was at the most recent CIY Believe in Tulsa, OK and I can say that I actually saw and experienced something that I thought I never would at a Believe weekend event. There are many elements that are part of the event at Believe. Students sing songs, listen to Mark O speak about Jesus, watch Brent the acrobat, laugh at Dave and Brian and listen to Robert Pierre. But there was one other element included in this particular weekend in Tulsa. Across the hallway in the arena was an extra piece of entertainment taking place on Saturday afternoon. It was youth ice skating. I have a hard time watching ice skating on television but now it was right in front of me. I saw some kids glide and twirl their way to claps and cheers from the stands. I experienced pain and disappoint as some of them fell to the ice. I could not believe that I actually sat down to view this spectacle of competition.
Leaving that thought behind, I really enjoyed the weekend as many students were part of a great opportunity to hear about Jesus' life. I was able to talk with many youth ministers that I have not talked with for some time and met some for the first time. I was encouraged to see the excitement, experience the craziness and believe for myself that Jesus wants to use students in many ways.