The first session of Emerge 2012 was a night to be remembered. Young hearts were stirred and their passion reignited as they worshiped in the presence of God.
By Michelle Heng
CN PHOTOS: Daniel Chong.
The highly anticipated 2012 Emerge Youth Conference kicked off heartily with a Revival Night on July 27. Themed ‘Evolve’, City Harvest Church’s youth conference is open to all members aged 25 and below.
And what a night it was! Bringing together creativity, talent and deep worship, the Revival Night was only a sneak preview of what one could expect over the next two days.
Opening with an exuberant praise item was a brand new praise and worship band made up entirely of youth. To Safar, 20, a first-time Emerge participant, the praise and worship session was something he was greatly looking forward to–and the band exceeded his expectations. The crowd grooved with simple dance moves alongside the praise song “Today is The Day.”
Student Tong Wei Jie, 19, one of the volunteers in the mass dance item, said, “We have been practicing daily for the past week, and we just want to serve God with all our hearts! I am looking forward to a revival of faith and passion among the youth.”
The congregation was then treated to a talent showcase by three semi-finalists of the Your Best Shot competition–a singer-musician brother duo, Amante Brothers, beat-boxer Terence Tan, and the MJ Zone Girl Band, all of whom wowed the audience with their exceptional voices, boldness and desire to shine with their God-given talents.
Renowned Japanese hip-hop dance crew DAT also made a special appearance that entranced the audience with their fluid dance moves.
A video testimony featuring the conversion story of Koh Meng Kwang was next. He shared his heartfelt story of how his life had changed for the better after he got to know Christ, and decided to make his life right with God by choosing to stay in church, instead of leaving to have fun in the world. His turning point came when his pastor Aries Zulkarnain asked if he wanted to leave church so that he could sin–that question woke him up and he made the decision to commit his life to God. His story resonated with the youth in the audience, many of whom could identify with the dilemma Koh was once faced with.
The icing on the cake had to be the time of deep worship. As the entire congregation lifted their hands in heartfelt worship to God, the presence of God fell. The atmosphere was taken to another level when prophecies were shared, and Kong Hee, senior pastor of the church gave an altar call for those who had other kings in their lives, encouraging them to place Jesus as the only King above all else. SIM student Charmaine Wong, 21, said: “I expected the night would be about the youths coming together with a pure heart to worship God, but I was deeply impacted when all of us knelt down to worship. It has been a long time since we did that in church.”
Indeed, though there was no sermon preached, the simple act of dedicating their lives to God left the youth deeply touched and impacted. Calvin Teng, 18, a visual communications student, was one of them: “Though there was no preaching, we spent time worshipping God and I believe we had an encounter with Him, finding back our first love, passion, visions and dreams that God had planted in us.”
As all the youth came united together to pray before the service ended, hearts were reignited with love and passion for Him.
At the end of the service, the hall was still buzzing with excited voices and cell groups eager to take photographs with one another. The movement has only just started—the next two days will bring even more spiritual renewal and increased passion for God among the youth of City Harvest Church.
For more information on upcoming events, log on to www.emerge.sg.
