First Priority held a City-Wide Campus Ministry Network Meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013, at Hunter Street Baptist Church Student Building. Over 100 youth leaders across the Greater-Birmingham area attended for a time of equipping, encouragement and fellowship. Everyone enjoyed a delicious lunch provided by Chick-fil-A.
Our special guest speaker, Thought-provoking Visionary and Speaker Brent Crowe, brought an inspirational message about the gift of imagination in ministry. Brent said we all have three gifts: Relationship, Freedom and Imagination. He said imagination is part of what it means to be born in the image of God. Brent told a story about a time when his daughter named a bird they encountered on a fishing trip. “She used her imagination and named the bird,” said Brent. “We can teach students to be creative and use their imagination, but we have to ourselves.”
Brent then said creation and the fall lead us to:
1) Redefine what has become (the great crisis and needs)
2) Regain something that was once lost (reimagine how it should be)
3) Reimagine how it could be (restoration)
“If Jesus is not the hero in your story, then your story is not worth telling.” Brent closed by telling a story about his father who had a stroke earlier this year. Brent went to visit his father in the hospital. During this visit, Brent read a scripture passage to his father and asked him what he thought about it. “Jesus is good,” said Brent’s father. Even though he experienced much pain and set-backs from the stroke, Brent’s father still proclaimed that Jesus is good. “Redemption is the theme of my dad’s story. Your situations don’t determine the goodness of God. If Jesus is the theme of your story, then your story is worth telling.”
We would like to thank Brent for his words of encouragement and the challenge to use our imagination and make Jesus the center of our story. We would like to give a special thanks to our vendors who helped make this event a huge success: Servant Life, The Disciple Project and Adventure Travel. Representatives from these organizations provided youth leaders with educational material about their programs and upcoming events. These groups also gave away several nice gifts and youth ministry resources. Please take time to visit their Web sites.
We would like to thank all those again who attended and joined us for a great time of growth and fellowship. We would like to give a special thanks again to Brent Crowe for an amazing message and words of encouragement. Be sure to check out pictures from City-wide by clicking on the links below.
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