We had a blast at Grace Convo 2017. From the moment we arrived to the moment that we left, everything was awesome. Cloverton, the band/worship leaders were amazing. Their rendition of Elton John's Hallelujah had the whole room in tears. The best part about the Grace Convo was the structure. It was arranged in four main sessions (10am and 7pm) on Saturday and Sunday with breakout sessions that immediately preceded them and followed them. There was plenty of free time for the groups to explore Gatlinburg and hang out in the hotel.
It looked sketchy initially because of the fires in Gatlinburg but one look at the areas surrounding the hotel and it was evident that God put a hedge of protection around the Park Vista to preserve the space for us. The Holy Spirit ordained the moment. That was, by far, one of the most amazing worship experiences that I've ever been involved in. The youth who were there were looking to encounter God, and I believe that they did.
Pastor Derek Jacks (Homewood CPC), a humble, scholarly and worshipful man, did a masterful job coordinating everything. The theme was "Testify" and how we should testify about God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Rev. Micah Tanck (Scottsboro CPC) brought two excellent messages during the Sunday sessions from the third chapter of the book of Joshua. The take home message, as the Israelites went to cross the Jordan under Joshua's command, "God saw the Jordan before they saw the Jordan...just keep following God!"
Our group was amazingly well behaved, well mannered and attentive. Honestly though, all of the young people were just awesome. To hear YOUNG men and women excited about the gospel was refreshing. To see their excitement was energizing. To hear them recount words from the sermons and how they will immediately apply them to their lives was inspiring. I look forward to taking another group on next year.
I cannot say enough about our youth leaders! What a great group of people who want nothing more than to raise up our young people in the fear and admonition of the Lord. April, Wade, Tiffany, Eddie and Samantha did an amazing job. They kept the youth stimulated, they led the devotionals before each session and they showed the passion for Christ that we have needed for a long time with the youth ministry! A HUGE thank you goes out to them!
Let's continue to pray for those churches that were represented there! There were over 30 churches, nearly 600 people and one AWESOME God whom we all worshipped!
