Slideshow image

When I was a teenager I was blessed to get to go all the way from Detroit, Michigan to Gatlinburg, Tennessee to Winterfest.  Since then, as I figure it, I have been 23 of the last 29 years.

I have seen Gatlinburg grow and change a lot in that time.  I have seen styles of singing at Winterfest change.  I have seen styles of dress at Winterfest change.  I have seen the technology used go from a microphone and a couple of screens to cutting-edge sound, lights, and even an APP!  

But what hasn't changed is the moment in time when thousands of teenagers realize that hundreds of adults gave up their weekend, their comfort, and their SLEEP to bring them to that place and teach them about God.  

Don't hear me wrong.  You do not have to GO to WINTERFEST to find God.  He inhabits every inch of this earth and every molecule that makes up your body.  But there is always a moment at Winterfest when the monumental amount of effort that goes into making it happen becomes clearly seen as a testimony to the importance of reaching the students who are there.  What I mean by that is, you can't help but go there and think... They did all of this just to tell me the story of Jesus!  It must be important. I must be important.  

And it is important.  It is the most important story in the entire world.  It is the most important story in the history of man.  It is the most important story in all of eternity.  And whatever it takes to get one person to sit up and listen to that story....... it is worth it all.

 

 

Ministries
Church Life