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The lyrics of the hymn “Come Thou Fount” resonated throughout the Indianapolis Convention Center in powerful unison, as the praise band Hello Industry led more than 1,850 animated young men and women in worship. This was the first night of the Indianapolis Christmas Conference, an annual event hosted by Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru). College students from 92 campuses all over Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio took four days out of their Christmas break to worship God, to fellowship with each other, learn to follow him more intimately, and to have an opportunity to impact the lives of those around them.
This year, the conference theme was, “You can’t walk standing still.” The students heard from four speakers about what it means to have an active faith in God and learned about practical steps they can take to grow in their personal walk with Him, to surrender to His will, and to become a part of His redemptive work in this world.
The first speaker, Randy Singer, is a successful lawyer, an award-winning novelist, and a pastor at Trinity Church in Virginia Beach. Singer offered a unique perspective on what it means to truly follow God. He said, “The only thing that can change your life is having a high, exalted view of Jesus Christ.” He encouraged students to trust God with the things He can accomplish through them, adding, “Sometimes God has a vision and He wants us to buy into it without [us] knowing exactly what it is. Singer then expounded on what it may mean for the young college student to develop a vision that glorifies God, whether it be in his or her ministry or personal life.
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Indeed, the Christian life is about changed lives. Each morning, students watched short videos of their peers sharing personal faith stories. Ryan’s team makes it possible for these stories to be shared during the conference. One of them, Ali, committed her life to Christ just a little over two months ago and has experienced tremendous healing in her relationships and a new-found purpose to live for Christ. Another student, Jesse, has been a Christian since the age of seven but only recently developed a heart for the lost and is considering a one-year mission trip to New Zealand. People like Ali and Jesse, who come from such diverse backgrounds and all walks of life, were brought together as a living testimony to the transforming power of God’s love.
On the third day of the conference, the students had the opportunity to take a step of faith by going into different parts of Indianapolis to deliver boxes of food and to share the gospel with low-income families, women in prison, and others living in the inner city. People across Indianapolis heard the good news about God’s love. A student named Devin led someone to Christ only a day after accepting Christ himself. That afternoon, 3117 people were spoken with. Of that 1479 heard the message of the gospel with 175 making decisions to believe in Christ. Later that night, the students had an opportunity to become a part of God’s worldwide work by giving and pledging more than $39,000 to Cru’s ministry in Mumbai, India; to its ethnic student movement in Chicago; and to its humanitarian efforts in Southern Africa.
Chris Sarver, Cru student ministry director at Ball State University, closed the conference by challenging students to live surrendered, poured-out lives. The conference concluded with a joyous celebration of Jesus, prayers for the world, and the ushering in of the New Year. The worship band brought the conference full-circle by leading the students in song and prayer, sending them back into the world as a multitude of beacons of God’s light.
We hope this gives you a good picture of what this conference is like for us. We love being a part of it and making it happen. If you want to get another picture of what the conference was like, you can download a copy of the program from this years conference. Praise the Lord that He allows us to be a part of His Kingdom work and all He did through Christmas Conference this year.
Please Pray
> Pray that the students who made commitments to the Lord at Christmas Conference wound continue to walk closely with Him this semester.
> As we prepare for our summer project this summer. Ryan will be leading the operations project in Indianapolis again.