Fourteen hundred students from across Alabama and the southeast gathered in Tuscaloosa for a weekend of interdenominational praise and teaching, hoping for a “deeper encounter” with God. The middle and high school student “encounter” was held Feb. 23–25 at First Wesleyan Church in Tuscaloosa, an evangelical Methodist church.
The event was a ministerial hybrid of sorts, combining the format of Disciple Now weekends with the teaching of David Nasser, one of the most highly sought after Christian youth speakers in the country.
The format of Disciple Now weekends, a ministry concept with close Baptist origins, involves small groups of teens breaking up into the homes of church members to discuss in detail the concepts presented during the large-scale teaching and worship services, then reconvening for a final night of spiritual challenge.
The Tuscaloosa event was the brainchild of Doug Fulton, youth minister at Calvary Baptist Church, Tuscaloosa. It is the first of its kind to officially extend across denominational lines to include Christian churches outside the Baptist spectrum, as evidenced by the host church’s Methodist affiliation.
“It’s gotten our community on one page,” said Fulton, “but it is still a very Baptist event.” The “Deeper Encounter” theme was one Nasser, who works with Franklin Graham, has specifically developed for his Deeper Encounter Ministries, in which students are challenged to a 40-day fast from the world and a 40-day feast on God. When asked to elaborate, Lee Davis, a 17-year-old high school senior and member of Whitehouse Fork Baptist Church in Bay Minette, replied, “His idea is to take away something like your favorite hobby for 40 days and spend that free time with God in prayer and meditation.”
The focus of Friday night’s service was salvation while Saturday, Nasser drove home the point that sacrifice brings the ultimate glory to God. Reflecting on Paul’s admonition in Romans 12 to be “living sacrifices” to God, Nasser repeatedly threw down the biblical gauntlet to take a stand for Christ. Illustrating concepts from his own book “A Call to Die,” (all who attended received a copy) he wove a dynamic tapestry of humor and gospel truth, punctuated by a Generation X wit familiar to his target audience of technologically charged teenagers.
“Christ on the Cross was the ultimate sacrifice in history,” said Nasser. “Let’s log on our modems to power up that sacrifice!”
Backed by a powerful worship band, Nasser succeeded in reaffirming the power and benefits of spiritual concentration for today’s youth in an increasingly secular and distracting day and age. And Fulton’s dream of a multidenominational devotional event was more than fulfilled.
“It’s just a Christian thing,” Davis said jokingly. “I mean, we’re all here for the same reason. These conferences show us a path and a way to go. They show us our options but they tell us point blank it’s going to be hard — but it’s worth it and I’m willing to try.”
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