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TEENAGERS want challenges, says Colwood Pentecostal
youth pastor Ira Parmenter, and he aims to give them one.
Parmenter is organizing the church’s sixth annual
‘Live the Difference’ conference for youth, scheduled February
22 – 24.
He is casting the net for attendees over all of
Vancouver Island, though he also expects a few from Alberta, the B.C.
mainland and Washington State.
“This isn’t an event for people on the edge
of coming to the Lord, or who are looking to have fun and to meet girls (or
boys),”says Parmenter.
“This is for young people who are experiencing a
call to a seriously deeper faith.”
The conference’s goal is to present a challenge
to attendees, to change the way they live their lives.
“If we could impact just 10 students from Comox
with the idea they could make the world a better place, I’d be
satisfied,” says Parmenter.
In fact, the young man from Newfoundland (via Vanguard
College in Edmonton) expects upwards of 250 to show up for the weekend
affair. When he started the event it drew 40, but it has grown steadily
since.
“I’d be happy with 20,” he insists,
“if they were serious.” Though 250-plus is more likely, most
will come with strong intent, he believes; and many will be repeaters.
“People seem to like how we do things.”
What Live the Difference provides, says Parmenter, is
passion, prayer and scripture.
There will be passion in the worship music, scripture
in the preaching and personal one-on-one prayer after services. A lot of
the passion will probably come from Parmenter.
“Too often we give a lot of energy to sports or
music or the boyfriend- girlfriend thing. But when we come to church, so
often . . . our youth look around and see people who are bored. My belief
is that the story of Jesus is the most exciting story on the planet: what
he has done and is doing. So I’m going to be pumped; for me, this
conference is the combination of the NBA and NHL playoffs.”
But for all the high energy, there will be time for
quiet experiencing of God, much of that through prayer.
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“We may preach generally on loving your
neighbour, and then issue a challenge afterwards for any individuals who
are facing people in the family or their school they cannot love to come up
and pray with us.”
Parmenter says most attendees will come in groups with
youth pastors or leaders, and organizers will try to team them up for
prayer with these individuals. “Prayer can bring miracles, but
it’s good to couple it with practicality: with someone who can be
there for them over the long haul.”
The theme of this year’s conference is
‘More’ – as in “more serious” and
“more difference,” says Parmenter.
As he sees it, being a Christian means living
differently, and the longer a person has been living in Christ, the more
change people should see in their own lives – and the bigger a
difference they should make in the lives of others.
“I am a believer that we should be able to bring
great change to our world. Now maybe our world is just our home, maybe
it’s the whole province.”
But if youth go home from the conference having
surrendered their preoccupation with themselves, and focused on living for
others, that will be change enough.
Contact: livethedifferenceonline.com.
– Steve Weatherbe
February 2009
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