FWB National Youth Conference

We had a great time at the Free Will Baptist National Convention and Youth Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina this week!

Fifty people from our church were able to attend this year and we had kids compete in Bible, music and art competitions.

The Junior Youth Group was awarded the "Youth Group of the Year" award. They received this honor because of their faithfulness and outstanding service in our church and community.

Jeremy Moore and Joseph Summerlin represented our church at the student leadership program, Truth & Peace. It was Jeremy's 4th year and Joseph's 2nd year to receive this honor.

Caleb Patton won 1st place in the Senior High Truth Quest competition. He was awarded scholarships to Gateway Christian College and Hillsdale FWB College.

Joseph Summerlin placed 2nd in the piano competition and was chosen to be a member of the 2012 Youth Evangelism Team.

Our Vocal Trio (Aiden Taylor, Tannah Lee, and Erika Allen) placed 1st in their competition.

Karson Camp placed 3rd in the vocal solo competition.

The Sulphur Springs Children's Choir placed 2nd in their competition. The choir was directed by Amanda Taylor. Joseph Summerlin played the accompaniment for the choir. Aiden Taylor, Erika Allen, Michaela Kimbrell, Dylan Stocks, Brady Sanford, Karson Camp, Jacob Summerlin, Landon Camp, Garrett Sanford, Santanna Marquis, Meagan Camp, Kristen Moore, Nicholas Tucker, Brady Gregory, Tannah Lee and Kaylee Camp were in the choir.

Landon Camp, Kaylee Camp, John Ellis Kuykendall, and Nicholas Tucker competed in the Bible Millionaire competition. They placed 3rd in their round. Meagan Camp was the team alternate.

Jacob Summerlin won 1st place in pitched percussion.

Dylan Stocks represented us in the photography competition.

The Girls Ensemble (Tannah Lee, Kristen Moore, Meagan Camp, Michaela Kimbrell and Karson Camp) placed 2nd.

The theme for this year's conference was Awaken! The theme verse was Romans 13:11, "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed."

Be Prepared

A few weeks ago, I started teaching a Dare To Be A Daniel class to the 4th - 6th graders at church. Dare To Be A Daniel is an evangelistic study that teaches tweens how to effectively share the Gospel of Christ.

Each week, we learn one new principle about being a witness for Christ. This week, the lesson was on being prepared.

We studied how Daniel spent time with God by reading His Word and praying to Him and how that prepared Daniel to face hard things like the lion's den.

Daniel had a strong relationship with God, and because of the time he spent with God, he was prepared to be a bold witness for Him.

As Christians, we are all called to be witnesses for Christ (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8). In 1 Timothy 4:12-15, Paul told us to "be an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine... Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them that thy profiting may appear to all."

If we want to be effective witnesses for Christ, then we have to be prepared. That means we have to spend time with God - in prayer and in His Word.

We never know when God is going to give us the opportunity to speak to others about Him, so we have to constantly be ready.

God proved this lesson to me this morning at our Upward Basketball game at church. During halftime of each game there is a devotion time, led by volunteers. This morning, when it was time for the first devotion of the day, we couldn't find the person that was supposed to speak.

Since we didn't want to skip the devotion part of the game, and since I don't mind being the center of attention, I volunteered to speak. It was completely impromptu and I didn't even have my Bible with me to read from.

God used that devotion to show me and my class how important it is to commit Scripture to memory. I used the Gospel outline that I will teach the kids at the end of the Dare To Be A Daniel class and some other verses that I have memorized.

I don't want to sound like I am bragging, but it was because of the time I have spent committing Scripture to memory and studying God's Word that I was able to do that devotion on such short notice. Just a few years ago, I would have never volunteered to do that devotion at the last minute. Back then, I wouldn't have been prepared. It was only because of the time I have spent with God that I was able to step up this morning.

Even now, there are days when I am more prepared than others. It's a daily battle to stay in God's Word and dedicate time to prayer. It's a battle that I win sometimes and lose sometimes.

This morning, thanks to God, I won. This morning, I was prepared. And I am thankful for that.