Last Sunday night through Tuesday night (of this past week) I was in Iredell County, in the town of Statesville, North Carolina. I went with a team of three other people from AIM to the Bonfire Crusade. The crusade was an event put on by a group of local churches. The goalof this event was to reach the youth of Iredell County with the message of Jesus Christ. To see more about this conference check out their website at www.bonfirecrusades.com.
Our team, from AIM, went looking to share the opportunities that AIM has for students to participate in Missions around the world. Our prayer was that we would be able to help students explore opportunities where God might be leading them to serve in the summer of 2008. We met a lot of great people many of them students that were interested in mission trips, some that weren’t (they were interested in our candy), and some that had gone on AIM trips in the past. Our team had a great time getting to know the great people of Statesville, NC. I was grateful that they allowed us to participate in what God was doing in their community.
The event that lasted over 3 nights and estimates on attendance were over 3 thousand people. Organizers of the Bonfire Crusade reported that over the three nights they saw about 300 people come into a relationship with Jesus Christ. 
On the second night a call went out for students that felt like they were being led into full time ministry. It was on that night after the invitation that we saw a number of students come and talk to us. Many of them very interested in going wherever we could send them. A number of the students that we spoke with stated that they just wanted to follow God’s call on their lives. It was very exciting evening to be apart of.
We are now trying to mobilize many of the students that expressed interest in serving this next year on the mission field. I know that at an event like this it is very easy to get excited about serving God. I am praying that many of the students that felt God’s call on their lives will have the strength, courage, and perseverance to follow through in the months to come. Please be praying for those students that are trying to follow where God is leading them and us as we try to come alongside these students.
