Thursday Night— On Independence Day, the doors opened at 5:30 pm. The room was filled to full capacity by the time Kyle and Kristin Eastman, from the Gainesville Campus Ministry, welcomed everyone. They immediately had to invite all of the disciples that were standing against the back wall of the room to gather around the front of the stage and sit on the floor because all the seats were taken; it was crazy! It was all the more encouraging and exciting for A.T. Arneson (evangelist from the Chicago church) who preached a powerful message! He shared personal stories that moved our hearts and inspired us to always remember that our God is “King of Kings and Lord of Lords”!
Later that evening the singers and dancers took to the stage for HOPE worldwide's Celebrate Freedom Benefit Concert. Breeze Ministries and HOPE worldwide decided to dedicate the proceeds from the concert to support Chance for Africa, an organization that provides educational opportunities for the children of disciples in Africa. The concert allowed us to raise $3,200, all of which will help educate over 180 children. It was truly a great opportunity to give praise to God and give back to bring God glory. Rap artist Josiah King (Jeff Bois), and recording artist Breeźe (Fabrice Clerger), rocked the crowd with their incredible songs before the concert ended with some awesome dancing! Friday Morning—We got deep into God’s word as Ed Anton (evangelist/teacher from the Hampton Roads church) took us on a roller coaster ride through the book of Revelation. Considering he only had about three hours, he did an amazing job taking us through apocalyptic literature with finesse. The careful handling of God’s word left everyone convicted and inspired to understand the kind of spiritual battle we’re up against, especially on our college campuses. Ed’s exposition of Revelation was intense and practical, but very inspiring. Be sure to listen to it.
Friday Evening—We got to hear from four young ministers from the East, as we had a split session entitled “Conquering my City.” Anselm Beach (Boston), and Kyle Eastman (Gainesville) called the men to dream big and pray continually, like Nehemiah, in order for God to use us to conquer our city! Meanwhile, Jasmine Hope (North River), and Amber Lafever (Boston) moved the hearts of the women in a powerful way. The women walked away inspired! Some said it was the best womens' session they had ever been a part of.
Saturday Afternoon—Tony Fernandez (Fort Lauderdale) lead us in “Preparing for Conquest.” It was a time of singing beautiful songs about God’s goodness, faithfulness, and His home in heaven. It was also a time of prayer and scripture reading. Volunteers got to share what they imagined heaven would be like, inspiring the room and bringing many to tears as we all shared in a celestial experience, just a taste of what heaven will be like for all of us one day. See a glimpse of it here in a video of "Hallelujah," a song written by Morgan Williams (Boston).
Later that day we all got to see the premier of the Bent on Conquest movie, directed and produced by David Mattox (Orlando). The movie depicted the battle between darkness and light, and the struggle with temptation to give in to evil. We learned that in the end we are victorious because we stand ground against all of the enemies' temptations. Right after we saw the movie, Glenn Petruzzi (evangelist from Portland, ME) went up and preached a powerful message about being bent on conquest! He reminded us of the overwhelming tasks before us, and to never forget that Jesus has already won the battle! We are more than conquerors because of he who died and rose from the dead for us. He challenged all of us to take the 2HR Challenge, which is spending two hours a day with God, in bible study, prayer, singing and devotion to the one that gives us the victory. Overall, Glenn poured his heart out and inspired us to be men and women BENT ON CONQUEST!To close out our Saturday session and get us thinking about next years ICMC, Tim Schmidt (evangelist from St. Louis, MI) previewed the first promotional “Epic-er” video for 2014’s "UNSHAKEABLE" International Campus Ministry Conference that will unite campus disciples from all over the globe in St. Louis, Missouri!
Sunday Morning—We had two baptisms! Tyeisha (St. Louis) and Lamar (Gainesville) were baptized before the service began. To end this spectacular weekend, we joined disciples from all over Florida and Louisiana, totalling more than 4,000 disciples worshipping together! What a beautiful sight to see. We got to hear Scott Green (evangelist/elder from Seattle) preach on “Conquering Grace”. This was the perfect message to end an almost-perfect weekend of inspiring preaching, expository teaching, and incredible fellowship!
All of this is simply a taste of what happened during this past 4th of July weekend! There’s so much more I could share, like the great work that Douglas Jacoby and Guy Hammond did with their tracks, as well as the “Flash Mob” of hundreds of students in the hotel lobby signing “Men Who Dream” at the top of their lungs. Please "like us" on Facebook at ICMC East Coast - Orlando, and view the comments, pictures and videos from the conference that are sure to get you BENT ON CONQUEST!
See you in St. Louis!
