Passion 2017 got started as I spent my time at the resource booth selling shirts, CD’s, DVD’s and other merchandise. It was weird at first not being out in the seats listening to the worship music and sermon, but I knew God was using me so these college kids could be used by God. Ten years ago that was me out in those seats for the first time. Once things got underway, I was able to step out and listen during slow periods. I was blessed to have a great team of people to work with. The Passion Band got things started off with some new songs. Sean Curran introduced a new song called “Worthy of Your Name” which was powerful. Louie Giglio invited Dr. Charles Stanley to come up and open Passion with a prayer. Christine Caine spoke a powerful word on endurance. Crowder closed the session out and brought out special guest Carrie Underwood to sing with him on stage. It was an amazing night to kick off Passion 2017.
DOOR HOLDER – One who takes great pleasure in opening the door for others to experience Jesus.
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere: I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
Psalms 84:10
Door Holders at Passion Conferences have been on the inside and have experienced God’s glory, and therefore consider it a privilege to stand on the outside and hold the doors for others to come and experience Jesus. In fact, they would rather hold the door than be anywhere else because their heartbeat has shifted away from themselves and is set on preparing the way for others to have a powerful experience with Jesus.
I attended my first Passion conference ten years ago and it changed my life. I’ve been to quite a few since then and felt it was my time to give back to this movement that has shaped my life over the years. It was Passion’s twentieth anniversary and the last one in the Georgia Dome. I signed up to be a Door Holder (or volunteer) for my last conference.
Arriving in Atlanta
Georgia World Congress Center
Door Holder Meeting
New Mercedes-Benz Stadium next to Georgia Dome
Downtown Atlanta
CNN Building
Ready for Passion 2017
The Calm before the Storm
Atlanta
Atlanta
Passion Resource Station
I took a red eye flight to Atlanta and arrived on a cold and rainy morning. The good thing is that it will keep me awake for the day. We had an early morning Door Holder meeting in the Georgia World Congress Center. Atlanta has become a home away from home for me. I was assigned to the resource team and would be selling books, music and videos to the students here at Passion. My team lead was a pretty cool guy named Josh Sorensen. We set up and stocked our shelves in the Georgia Dome in preparation for the first session that evening. I enjoyed getting to know many of the people on my team who came from all over to help serve this big event.
“Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.”
Isaiah 26:8
Passion held its first conference in Austin, TX on January 1-4, 1997. That event drew around 2,000 students. Louie and Shelley Giglio are the founders of the Passion movement that seeks to see spiritual awakening on college campuses and to see many students to come to know Christ. Several national gatherings, OneDay events and tours would follow along with worship recordings and DVDs. I was introduced to Passion in 2007 (their 10 year anniversary) by the Pastor of my young adult group at that time. He flew over 30 of us to Atlanta, GA for their 4 day gathering at Philips Arena and the Georgia World Congress Center (over 22,000 students in attendance). I was newly single and just went on my first mission trip to Belize. I was pondering God’s will and direction for my life after my 9 year marriage ended. After participating in the “Do Something Now” campaign which raised $1.5 million dollars for global ministries on six continents and listening to Louie Giglio’s message about a party for the nations, I started to see some clarity in God’s calling for me. Passion ’07 absolutely change my life forever.
Fast forward to 2017 and it is now the 20th anniversary of the Passion conferences. In that time I have attended gatherings in 2010, 2013, 2015, a regional gathering in 2008 and a concert on the Take it All tour. Each one of these events were special to me and contributed to me following God’s will for my life. Passion 2013 in the Georgia Dome (over 60,000 students!) was life changing because of the launch of End It MovementX – an awareness campaign that seeks to abolish modern-day slavery and sex trafficking. I am so incredibly thankful to the faithfulness of the Giglio’s and their staff for pouring into me through these amazing gatherings. I prayed about it and made the decision to attend one more gathering in the soon-to-be demolished Georgia Dome. This time I felt I needed to give back by being a door holder. Door holders are the hundreds of volunteers that serve on different teams such as community groups, logistics and registration. They are the glue that holds these Passion gatherings together. I’m not only excited to being a part of serving these students but also being a part of this 20 anniversary gathering of Passion.
“Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”
Psalm 84:10
Passion ’07
Passion ’97
Above is a photo taken at the very first Passion gathering in 1997. It’s amazing to know that a gathering of 2,000 students would eventually grow to over 60,000 in a twenty year span. Below are some videos describing the heart behind the lyrics of the worship songs that will be sung at this year’s Passion gathering.
Today is Shine a Light on Slavery Day. This is the target day for End it Movement to reach the masses about the 27 million people being held in modern-day slavery and sex trafficking. This movement started in January at Passion 2013 and has made a lot of noise since. Everywhere college students and young adults are finding creative ways to talk about this issue. Many celebrities have jumped on board to use their star status to raise awareness. Awareness is doing the work and End It exists to help educate us about this injustice. We are the generation that can be a voice for those without one and put an end to slavery. Indifference is not an option. Draw a red X on your hand and talk to people about this. Go to EnditMovement.com and sign the pledge that says you are in it to END IT!
I got an early morning surprise this morning – the new Passion CD. Earlier this year I attended Passion 2013 in Atlanta. After every conference, Passion releases a new album with all the new worship songs. The new album is called Let the Future Begin. The theme of Passion 2013 was this whole issue of modern-day slavery/sex trafficking and how this generation can abolish it. Passion launched End It Movement after the conference – a movement to raise awareness about the 27 million people being held in modern-day slavery. The songs that were sung at Passion 2013 are songs of hope and freedom. I loved last year’s White Flag and this one will be no different. It will always be special for me knowing I was in attendance singing along with 60,000 of my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Track Listing
1. God’s Great Dance Floor – Chris Tomlin
2. The Lord Our God – Kristian Stanfill
3. Jesus, Only Jesus – Matt Redman
4. Once and For All – Chris Tomlin
5. Burning In My Soul – Brett Younker
6. Revelation Song – Kari Jobe
7. Children of Light – Kristian Stanfill
8. Whom Shall I Fear [God of Angel Armies] – Chris Tomlin
9. We Glorify Your Name – Chris Tomlin
10. Here’s My Heart – Crowder
11. Come to the Water – Kristian Stanfill
12. My Delight Is In You – Christy Nockels
13. Shout – Chris Tomlin
14. In Christ Alone – Kristian Stanfill
“all too many have been more cautious than courageous and remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained-glass windows.” -MLK
Today was a pretty memorable day for me. It is Martin Luther King, Jr day. I started my day off fasting and praying by partaking in the Daniel Fast. I’m doing this 10 day fast with members of New City Church. It’s a fast that was done by Daniel in the Old Testament that included a diet of fruits, nuts and water. I do this fast for spiritual cleansing and to draw nearer to my heavenly Father so I can stay in tune with His will. I went and saw the movie Lincoln again earlier this week. It’s an incredible movie about how President Abraham Lincoln fought to pass the 13th amendment in 1865 after signing the Emancipation Proclamation to abolish slavery. I am always encouraged by those who fought so hard for our freedom today. Today I celebrate the life of a man who stood up to injustice and changed the world today because he had the courage to be a voice. How ironic that today is the Inauguration of our President (who happens to be African-American) and that it is the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 50th anniversary of the MLK march in Washington. Yet today we are still dealing with the topic of slavery. Just a couple of weeks ago, I stood with 60,000 young adults in Atlanta to shine a light on the 27 million held in modern-day slavery. We launched End it Movement, a cause to raise awareness on slavery and to help fund the organizations that are putting an end to it. I am thankful to call myself a child of God and to lend my voice to this injustice because of the grace He has bestowed on me. I pray that all the efforts of those who stood up to injustice in the past will continued to be carried out by this generation and by future generations to come.
Shining a light on Modern-day Slavery
My amazing African-American friend and sister-in-Christ Candace sent this to me today. These are some excerpts from a letter that Martin Luther King wrote while sitting in a jail cell in Birmingham.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
“Negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice..”
“Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”
“We will have to repent in the generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.”
“So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary’s hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime — the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth, and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation, and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr – Birmingham Jail, 1963
Passion launched End it Movement at the end of Passion 2013. #EnditMovement is a movement to raise awareness of the 27 million people that are being held in slavery around the world. There are resources and facts on the site that are there to help educate us on the growing issue of modern-day slavery. It’s an opportunity for this generation to use their voices to fight this injustice through outlets like social media. It’s also a way to donate to the coalition partners that are out there in the world today rescuing those being held in bondage.
END IT MOVEMENT – USA TODAY AD
On February 1, End it Movement will be officially launching nationally with a full-page ad in the USA Today.
International Justice Mission’s Stand for Freedom week. Sign up to stand for 27 hours for the 27 million slaves. This started with a group of passionate university students and has grown to a national anti-slavery movement.
SHINE A LIGHT ON SLAVERY DAY
April 9 is Shine a Light on Slavery day. Details of what this is all about will come out as the day approaches. Join in and sign the pledge at www.enditmovement.com to be a part of this growing movement to make a difference in the world.
“You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know” – William Wilberforce
One of the most incredible moments I had at my first Passion event was to spend time in the Kneel room. I was with my friend Shauna and her and I must have spent a couple of hours in prayer and taking time to journal our experiences. It was an incredible moment and to see all the young adults in silence praying to God was an awesome sight. Kneel is the Passion 2013 prayer journey room where you can spend some quiet time with the Lord. You can posture yourself in any way that suits you before the cross. There are eight stations with different scripture verses and suggestions of things to pray for this generation and for the Passion movement. I wrote pages and pages in my journal of how God was speaking to me. It was a fitting way for me to end my journey here at Passion 2013. I am so thankful to God for bringing me here to be a part of all this.
Living a life that Matters 