Early in May we took sixteen middle schoolers to Acquire the Fire in Baltimore to give them a chance to experience corporate worship services geared toward youth and to give them another opportunity to hear the gospel and/or be further encouraged in their faith. It was also an opportunity for six leaders who have been developing relationships with these students to engage and pray for them in a unique environment for an extended and concentrated time.
So please pray with us for these sixteen students. In Mark 4, Jesus tells the story of seed (good news) being scattered on hard soil where the birds ate it up, on the rocks where the roots did not go deep enough, among the weeds where the cares of this world choked the good news, and in fertile soil where the good news increased exponentially. We have seen a lot of hard, rocky, and weed-infested soil this year; so as the gifted speakers, well-crafted skits, and passionate music scattered much seed, we as leaders found ourselves praying earnestly for soft soil in the hearts of our students. And we could see the fight going on inside of them during those sessions, and at times we could see glimpses of beauty as we prayed for seed to take root.
One girl, for whom we have been praying for the past four to five years, stood up during one of the times of sung worship and, while many of her friends sat down and disengaged, she stood and sang with strength, “There is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain, to break every chain, to break every chain.” As we sang together, I began to cry because I desire so much for this seed of truth to root itself unshakably deep in her heart that she would let God break every chain that is holding her back from the beauty that she is. If God can soften the soil of this one student then I have hope for every other student regardless of where they are in their trust or unbelief in Jesus.
Please continue to pray that the seeds from our time at Acquire the Fire would continue to take root in the hearts of our middle school students.