Make myself known
By Abigail Young
Prior to this summer’s LIFE Conference I had heard many things from my friends who had attended the last LIFE Conference in Kansas City back in 2016… namely, that it was basically a Christian rave and that it was a place to party with fellow Alliance youth from around the world. Going into LIFE I was beginning to get exhausted from working as a youth intern at church and, due to this, I was prepared to go crazy with a bunch of teenagers on top of meeting God and having some lit worship. Of course, based on this description of my mindset and expectations for LIFE, my focus was on enjoying myself instead of having God as my top priority during the conference. Praise the Lord that despite this, He still showed up and moved in my personal life and broke down the walls that I had been unconsciously building up since I was still a baby. Read more →
Convoy of Hope
By Derrick Duong
I felt so blessed to be able to participate in the Convoy of Hope event. The coordination of the humble team, the willingness to serve of our church, the spirit of joy and the energy of excitement were so high and strong since the first day of flyers distribution. Not only serving on the actual day (11/23) was an act of kindness; also distributing flyers from door to door to the neighborhood was an act of blessing. I was so moved to see more than a thousand volunteers walking from the parking area to the stadium in the early morning with great joy, getting ready to serve. All the prep works that were put together by the 50 churches was more than amazing! It’s indeed the work of the Holy Spirit! Some people who came for prayer looked helpless and lost; others admitted their brokenness, facing difficult situation. After prayer, tears of hope and joy appeared in their eyes. A lady even reminded us to call her for the follow up! It is a humbling experience to reach out to the community and see the work of the Holy Spirit.
The MAGI
By Betty Young
In preparing my heart for Advent this year, I’ve been reading and rereading the story of the Magi in Matthew 2. As I stilled myself and prepared my heart to welcome Jesus, I tried not to be distracted by the continual diversions of the commercialized season. The people of Bethlehem and Jerusalem were distracted, as were the innkeepers, the priests and the prophets. Nevertheless, the occasion of Jesus’ birth was marked by the angelic announcement to the shepherds who left their sheep to witness this marvelous sight. Lowly shepherds came to welcome and worship Jesus. The Magi came also, though much later. Read more →