Unified in Christ/ Passion 2011

I recently got another apportunity to go to the Passion Conference in Atlanta, GA. I went last year and I had such an amazing experience there that I knew I needed to come back. So the minute registration for Passion 2011 opened (9 months before the actual event!), I got my ticket. And I'm glad I did!

Let me tell you a little about Passion. Passion Conferences were started by Louie Giglio and a small group of others who wanted to see a spiritual awakening come to the nation's college campuses. What started as a small one-day event grew into a global movement. God is using Passion to speak to the hearts and minds of thousands of college students each year. I am one of them.

What really stood out to me this time is the unity between the very diverse students present at the conference. I mean, there were all kinds of kids there. Nerdy kids. Kids with mohawks. Kids with tattoos. There was even a group of people who looked like they were Amish. And yet, all of these people had one goal in mind: to praise the name of Jesus! It was beautiful.

Speaking of unity, I got to see one especially memorable moment. After one of the sessions, while everyone was already heading out, one guy walked up to the stage. With arms raised high and tears streaming down his face, he continued to praise Jesus even though the music stopped and the stage was empty. Not much later, another guy walked up and simply held up the first guy's arm. Soon, another student came up and held up the guy's other arm. Together, the three of them stood still, arms held high in worship. Seeing these three probably complete strangers holding on to each other and worshiping God together filled me with awe. I sat there in my seat and just wept.

These kinds of moments really define the heart and pupose of Passion. It's not just a conference or a concert. It's a movement that unifies Christians and empowers them to go back to their cities, their families, and their universities and spread the Good News. It's all about knowing Christ and making him known. Together.

Photo by Yana Yaroshevich.