Story of Hope

Once a year, all of Indianapolis Young Life comes together for a worship night at 1st Baptist Church. It's one of my favorite things, not just because I love worship, but because I think it's so cool to have all of these different people. We have leaders from every school that have invited and brought along their kids, parents and committee members, siblings and faces brand-new to this group.

 

As people came in I got to sit with Lauren, Kate and Hannah, then go say hi to Malena and her family. Carmel kids that I used to get to lead came in together and some North Central girls we went to Wyld Life with. A group of my Camp Tecumseh girls came and all sat together. Little brothers and sisters ran around the room, I recognized YL staff from all over the area. More HSE leaders showed up with HS and Junior High kids in tow. It was beautiful chaos.

 



 

Ryan and Lauren led everyone in music tonight and Jon gave a message from the middle of the room. He reminded us that in the Bible God's message was often told through letters that were passed around, and now God's message of hope is told through us. The people in our schools, work places, and lives will hear this story because of what we do. That should be exciting.

 

Kaitlyn, Ellie and Malena are telling the story of Christ in the halls of HSE Junior High. They get to remind people that they all have a place to belong. Olivia, Katherine, Emma and Libby get to share the story in the buildings of Cathedral. They can stand up for people that need to be defended, choose to use their words to build others up. Sarah and Lizzy will live out the story at their schools in Lawrence. They get to bring a message of hope, a way of living that celebrates life. Hannah, Lauren, Kate and Jimmy get to walk the halls of HSE tomorrow and be a light. They get to live a life that says we are not defined by our past mistakes. They are all a message of hope.

Tonight Kylie stood up in front of all of these people and shared a verse. This little girl is a fireball and everyone in the room was taken back a bit by how incredible it was to hear those words coming out of her mouth and her heart. She's just one little girl but God can use her in big ways.

Jon reminded us of the story of feeding the 5,000 when they had just a few fish and loaves and bread to feed the whole crowd. It was a ridiculous idea. No way would it be possible. It was so little. But God took what they had that day and made it more than enough. He does the same with us.

When we offer up our not enough he makes it more than enough. When you think about how many people go to all of the High Schools we represented in this room tonight there was no way we could go back and make a difference. There weren't that many of us. We can't do it on our own. It's a crazy idea, but I know it's a possibility. If we offer up our not enough Christ will say we are more than enough in the halls of our school. We get to be the story of hope.