Encounter Devo The WKND

Every year for the past 13 years, I have been attending an event similar to The WKND.

As a student minister, I absolutely loved this event. Every year challenged me creatively and spiritually.

On top of that, every year I would be blown away by what the Lord did whether it was in the midst of one of the three sessions or in a one on one conversation with a leader or volunteer.

The purpose of this event is two fold- to proclaim the gospel in hopes that the Lord might save some and to unify the student ministry together.

Every event looks different. The first one I did when I was here, we saw over 20 salvations. It was remarkable!

Then there was the year following covid- although there were no salvations, students claimed they were more connected to each other and the church than ever before.

I say all of that to say that when God has His way, it is an absolutely beautiful thing.

The mission was advanced in part to your partnership, like this!

Because of your faithfulness to support, give, and pray, we are able to see God work in the generation of our students. This truly pleases the Lord.

Owen and Austin have been putting more hours into this event than anything else. I know Owen has faithfully considered and prayed over the theme and passage for this weekend.

This weekends passage is actually the same passage used for the theme of the very first D-Now I attended. It challenged and changed me and I could not be more excited for our students to dive into this particular passage.

Psalm 63:1 ESV

1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

I won’t take the time to really break down this passage.

However, know this- in this passage students will learn who God is as creator, personal Father, and provider.

Let’s read the following three verses.

Psalm 63:2–4 ESV

2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.

The setting of this psalm is in the desert of Judah.

David is desperate, longing for meaning and satisfaction, recognizing that God is all he has and all he needs.

And because of this realization, he dedicates his life to praising and serving the Lord.

Throughout this weekend, students will engage in times of worship, the word, biblical conversations, meeting new friends, and having some of the most fun they could have.

Our prayer is that throughout the course of the weekend, students will long and thirst for the Lord, their God.

That those who do not have a relationship would taste and see that the Lord is good, and those who do, would thirst for righteousness...

At this time, we are going to pray for the WKND as well as the students who will be attending.