Countless lives were changed at a youth rally hosted by Chilton Baptist Association April 20–21 at Bell Lane Baptist Church in Clanton.
More than 350 youth from 15 youth groups were represented at the rally. By the end of the event, one person accepted Christ and numerous others rededicated their lives to the Lord.
The rally kicked off Friday night with music videos, which were followed by 45 minutes of praise and worship led by The Church at Brook Hills Praise Band from Birmngham. The rally concluded with a pizza blast.
Clanton native Jarrod Jones delivered an inspirational message about proof of faith, explaining how big God truly is and the passionate plan for His children.
Through his message, Jones impacted students such as Verbena High School 10th-grader Jodi Denham.
“Jarrod knows youth and really relates to us. He told us we aren’t just here. We were put here by God for a purpose,” said Denham, a member of Bethsalem Baptist Church in Billingsley.
A graduate of Samford University in Birmingham, Jones is now attending Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.
Jones left a business career in 1997 to pursue ministry opportunities. Through his work with students, Jones has developed a philosophy about teenagers based on Acts 17:23.
“Teenagers worship something. Some of their hearts have an altar to an unknown god. They long to worship the true God, so they search. They want something to live for, stand for and die for. My calling is to proclaim to youth the One they are searching for,” Jones said.
As a way to continue ministering to the students who attended the rally, each youth who made a decision was asked to fill out a card. After the rally, the cards were given to the respective youth ministers for follow up. If a youth did not list a home church, the card was given to a youth minister in the student’s area.
Barry Rowe, minister of music and youth at Bethsalem Baptist Church, was pleased with the success of the rally.
“The rally was an incredible life changing experience for the students of Chilton county,” Rowe said. Rowe serves on Chilton Association’s youth team and was instrumental in organizing the event.
The rally was aimed at attracting the youth of Chilton county as well as those in the tri-county area of Elmore, Autauga and Shelby counties.
The youth team promoted the event in several ways.
Jones visited eight Chilton County schools and talked to students about the importance of the rally. Students also promoted the event at their schools by distributing fliers.
Denham distributed fliers at her school because she wanted to make a difference.
“We will be the church of tomorrow,” Denham said. “We need to work now on our friends who aren’t Christians. Teenagers can make a difference.”
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