Awesome is a word that is frequently overused. It has as its root, awe meaning "an overwhelming feeling of wonder or admiration" or "fear: a feeling of profound respect for someone or something" as in "the fear of God." The suffix -some is merely the way some nouns are transformed into adjectives, as in "characterized by a specified quality, condition, or action." Hence, awesome is a word that should be reserved for an unusually tremendous occurrence or feeling, which has to do with being overwhelmed, particularly by an experience of God.

I just had an AWESOME weekend; I was at YouthQuake!

YouthQuake, is a youth event hosted by ACTS 29 (I am on their board) that is designed to impact the youth of this generation with the truth of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit. Hundreds of middle and high school students join up from all over America for a weekend retreat in the mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. This national youth conference combines high energy fun with high intensity ministry in an environment where youth can come from all walks of life and have authentic, life-changing encounters with Jesus Christ.

In a time when fewer young people are attending church, and the vitality that comes from being a church of all ages is diminishing, it was heartening to see almost 600 young people having an AWESOME experience of the Lord. It is our (ACTS 29's) hope that the enthusiasm and profound experiences of God received over the weekend will be transformative in the congregations to which the youth return. The importance of this kind of event cannot be overstated. Many churches experience a decline in their youth, fewer families enroll their children in Sunday School as they want their kids to have program to grow into, and the church begins a slow decline that ends with smaller numbers, no programming, music or staff.

Three young men from our parish, Kyle Berglund, Tanner Boebert, and Tristan Warner attended along with me, Rebekah, and Debbie Berglund. The lads will be reporting this Sunday at services about their experiences and, if you do not get a chance to hear them report, stop them after services and they, along with us adults, will be happy to share.

It is our hope that we might bring YouthQuake to the West Coast in the near future. If you are interested in helping make that happen, please see me or Clint Smith for more information.

Fr. Kevin