The time is approaching, it is the night before we leave for the MOVE summer conference put on by CIY or “Christ in Youth.”
CIY has a very special place close to my heart. Believe it or not, the whole reason I even started this blog was so my family could keep track of me while I interned for CIY two years ago. They do some incredible things over at CIY. They stir up your soul, get your blood pumping, push you with hard questions, force you to spend alone time with God and of course take you out of your everyday environment.
I am really excited to head out tomorrow, but I am nervous at the same time. I don’t really know many of the kids except for two of them in my group. I also don’t know the campus that well. I do know that I am excited to hit these kids with an awesome week that I know they will have if they let their defenses down a little bit.
Before I head out I just wanted to give you a brief overview of my history with the MOVE event and that should show you a little bit of what it has meant to me.
MOVE 2004 – Two days after getting in huge trouble with the police I find myself in Johnson City, Tennesee with the youth group that I had only attended a couple of times. On the second day there I then decided to give my life away to something bigger, and was baptized that night.
Move 2005 – I had decided at this conference that I wanted to dedicate my life to full time youth ministry.
Move 2007 - I apply and am accepted to work as an intern for the move conference based out of Joplin, Missouri. I learned from some incredible speakers, awesome fellow interns most importantly my conference director Jayson French. We threw 6 conferences in Michigan, Indiana and Tennessee and traveled to MANY more states.
Move 2008 – I attended this move as one of our church’s main leaders in the time between youth pastors as the youth group. I had deep relationships with the students who went and was able to see many of them change their life that week.
Move 2009 – I will be spending this week as a high school intern along with 50 other leaders and over 400 kids on 6 coach buses to Chapman College on the California coast. I know it’s going to be incredible and I can’t wait to give you all an update when I get home!
CHECK OUT SOME OF MY FIRSTS POSTS FROM MY CIY INTERNSHIP HERE!
