Post 1: Sylvetta Mehuex My name is Sylvetta, and I live in Arizona. My first conference was in February 2011. My cousin at Bowie State University invited me. I found out about the conference 10 days before and by the grace of God I was able to make it. Before the conference, I was really starting to despise being a young believer (I gave my life to Christ in my room at the age of 17 in August 2007). I was disappointed that the young people I encountered either did not really have a relationship with Jesus or just participated in church activities for religious or cultural reasons. There were also people who lived a double life and I started to feel like I was the only one desiring to truly follow Christ. This began to take a toll on me and attending church services became somewhat of a routine for me. I lost my first love and I could tell that my heart was turning cold. On the bus ride to the conference, I was surprised by how serious everyone was about God. I could hear and see people praying, worshipping God etc. After we arrived and settled down in Ridgecrest, NC, we gathered together for worship. The praise and worship was powerful and captivating. It’s hard to describe, but my soul was lifted. This praise and worship session was followed by the first altar call of the conference. I thought to myself, “I don’t need to go up there. I’m already saved.” But I knew that I had strayed away in my heart and, even though I was keeping up with the routine of going to church services, I was a backslider. Then that night (Friday), in the second session there was another altar call. Ose Burnett led it this time, after another wonderful worship experience. Like the first time, I told myself I had no need to go up there because I had already given my life to Christ. Then I told God, “if this is You and you’re talking to me, she needs to say ‘rededicate’.” Almost immediately, she said, “is there anyone who needs to rededicate their lives to God?” At that point, I could not continue to be disobedient. I went up there and rededicated my life to God. Afterwards, I received prayer. Later on, I went to the counseling session, in which God showed up again. I had believed so many lies for years and the counselors were able to use the word of God (Bible) to show me the truth. I knew some of the scriptures in my head. But, I had not been applying them. At the end of the conference, I did not want to leave. I felt like I had received an experience from God that I had desired for so long. Little did I know, God still had more in store. On the bus ride back to Maryland, a young lady on the bus a few seats behind me was praying and I was getting very irritated because she kept repeating over and over again, “Spend time with Him and you’ll grow.” But, these were words I needed to hear. Going back to Arizona, I knew I could not keep comparing myself to those around me or keep getting angry with God because I was not seeing young people that genuinely loved Him. I had to allow Him to teach me how to be the change through spending more time with Him. At the Bethel Campus Fellowship National Conference, I saw young people who were hungry for God. I was blown away by the love they had for each other. I was especially surprised by the way I noticed the young men respecting the young women. I had grown accustomed to guys who would pretend to be saved in order to get certain women’s attention. I left the conference believing that there was hope and there were still young men and women who chose to live for Christ. I have been to the National Conference every year since and each time it keeps getting better. It is hard to put into words some of the things I have experienced. All I can say is come and encounter God for yourself. Nothing else in this world comes close to being in His presence.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 21:47:27 +0000
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