CEDE SPORTS STORIES: Planting Seeds for Sports Ministry in Chile & Brazil

In January, 2023, Jose Eyzaguirre, CEDE SPORTS Country Coordinator in Chile and Brazil, took an intentional trip to meet with several pastors, churches, and leaders to share the vision of sports chaplaincy and sports ministry in local churches. He held meetings in the cities of Jairus, Maringá, and Paranavai, establishing future connections with leaders and pastors who were interested in hearing more about the ministry, some of which expressed a desire to build a sports ministry with the help of CEDE SPORTS.

Jose had an especially noteworthy meeting with Pastor Jhonatan Paraná from the Decided Christianity church in Maringá. Pastor Paraná was very interested in developing a more organized sports ministry, because his church has a large space for recreation with 3 climbing walls and a green space for soccer and volleyball. Pastor Paraná then connected Jose with Emerson Arsizo da Silva, who owns the climbing walls and uses them for his business. Emerson is a former drug user who found his escape in climbing to overcome his vices. He was moved to tears when Jose challenged him to use climbing as a sports ministry. He said Jose's visit had been God’s answer to his prayers, hoping to give meaning to the sport that he loves but not knowing how. Jose will partner with and support Emerson on this new journey.

The last couple of meetings were with athletic trainers, ministry leaders, and more pastors to encourage sports ministry networking, the implementation of spiritual development in athletic training, and resources to support their ministries and efforts.

Overall, the trip marked the beginning of the work of CEDE SPORTS in Brazil and we give glory to God! We ask for prayer for deepening intentional relationships for the extension of the Kingdom of God and working to reach more chaplains and churches in Brazil.

Should Everyone Be a Winner in Kid's Sports?

Written by Bob Schindler, COO of CEDE SPORTS

Life is not fair

I would highly encourage you to read this article from Barnabas Piper.  It discusses the consequences of calling “everyone a winner” in sports.  If you know of someone who coaches kids–pass this article on to them.  Below are some excerpts followed by my thoughts:

Sometime over the past few decades a mindset of “fair” has developed, calling for everyone to finish in the exact same place and receive the exact same reward. Fair has become equity in the finish instead of equity in the process. This perspective says a reward is due just for showing up, not because it’s earned. It cheapens real rewards for actual successes, and as it creeps into different areas of life, it undermines valuable assets such as hard work or giftedness.

Naturally, accompanying this mindset is the idea that “everyone is a winner.” This is especially prevalent in teaching, coaching, and parenting younger children. I understand why this attitude prevails. Nobody wants a child to feel like a loser. Nobody wants a child to feel shame and sense that she is less significant because of a failure or because she was outdone. But saying “we’re all winners” doesn’t help much when the child eventually loses, and not keeping track of the score at peewee soccer or T-ball games can’t fend off reality forever. Everyone loses sometime.

My Thoughts

I agree with Barnabas–we need to teach kids how to win well and how to lose well.  We need to harness the lessons learned on the court/field to teach the kids (and prepare the kids) for life.  Amen on that, Barnabas!

In the midst of this though, we do need to consider a couple of things.  For example, should you keep score with kids who are say, 4 years old?  Are they really ready to cope with harsh realities of winning and losing?  Some would say, “Yes, absolutely!  It’s going to be hard to learn about winning and losing regardless of their age.”  Others would say, “The kids are too young.  We need to treat them like a young plant in a greenhouse.  They need nourishment before being planted outside.  In other words, kids need to be prepared in an encouraging environment before being thrown into the fire.”

One last thing to consider.  When teaching kids how to win well and lose well, we need to be sure to teach them about the power of sports.  Winning and performing well, like anything else, can be so intoxicating that it can become an idol.  In the midst of winning, we need to teach kids what place winning should have in our hearts.  Winning is a good desire but a bad goal.

Model Your Priorities

Guest Post Written by Ryan Borowicz

All of us have had good coaches, bad coaches, and those in between throughout our athletic careers, no matter how short or long those careers may have been.  We all know the important role that coaches play in shaping our attitudes towards competition, teamwork, and the game itself.  One constant remains true no matter what age your players are, whether you are a coach, or a developer of coaches:

Nobody is going to listen to a word you say unless you model the behavior or attitude you are seeking.

Think about it…Jesus didn’t just talk the talk and not walk the walk.  He backed up his big talk with the miraculous things he did because he knew those he was with had hard hearts.  The same is true of athletes today, young and old, amateur and professional.  The days of being revered and respected as a coach just because you have a whistle around your neck are gone.  Today’s athletes, and parents, want to see that you can do more than just talk X’s and O’s.  They want to see their son improve his jump shot, their daughter improve her weak hand…and maybe, most importantly…they want to know you care about them as individuals, whether they would admit that or not.

The best coach I’ve ever had was a basketball coach named Dick Bennett.  He was my college coach for just one year at Green Bay, before he moved on to the University of Wisconsin and took them to the Final Four in 2000.  He is a legend in the state of Wisconsin, and highly respected in the coaching fraternity around the country.  And though I only was able to play for him for one year before he moved on, I learned one valuable lesson: You have to model your priorities in your everyday life, not just talk about them. 

Coach Bennett was a passionate coach who sometimes let his emotions and competitive nature get the best of him.  But never did one of these episodes pass without him sitting the individual or the team down and speaking to them face to face and apologizing for any of his actions that were not consistent with the rest of the man you knew.  He modeled his faith in God through his actions, not just his words.  On Sunday’s when we were on the road or had an early practice for some reason, he would invite anyone on the team to his office for a Bible study time and share with us what God was teaching him.  And though I wouldn’t even say I was a Christian at the time, this prioritizing of his time showed me that there was more to this man than just his knowledge of great man-to-man defense.  This small gesture of matching his actions with his words has stuck with me for over 15 years, and continues to challenge me today.

So as each of us are given the opportunity to coach a team, or develop coaches in any way, remember that they are not going to listen to what you say until they see that you care about them beyond the sport, and that you are being consistent with what you do…as well as what you say.

REACHgathering 2023 Recap

Written by: Aubrey Coleman

REACH is a movement made up of sports, recreation, and fitness (SR&F) leaders in local churches. REACH desires to catalyze the movement of God in their becoming more gospel-centered and more reproductive disciple-makers. At the REACHgathering, the intention is to inspire, affirm, equip, and connect SR&F leaders toward this end. 

The REACHgathering typically holds two main sessions and a wide variety of track sessions. There is also a forum called “Wrestling at REACH”, where a current issue in sports, rec, and fitness is brought up and wrestled with through panel presenters, tabled discussions, and audience participation. In addition to the planned sessions, there are multiple activities and opportunities to connect leaders with one another.  

The 8th REACHgathering took place this year March 28-29 in Houston, TX. CEDE SPORTS was there as a Foundational Partner and Sponsor. To give you a window into how sports, rec, and fitness leaders have been spurred on and encouraged by their time at the REACHgathering, we reached out to a few attendees.

Don Weyrick was one attendee and his involvement with sports, rec, and fitness ministry looks like currently running a Parachurch sports ministry named P4E (Playing4Eternity) on a volunteer basis, working towards full time ministry opportunities, and involvement with REACH teams. After past REACH attendances, Don says he will be at every REACH possible from here on out. He was most encouraged by making more SR&F ministry connections and having conversations with people from different ministries. At this year’s REACHgathering Don made particularly memorable connections with Chris from England, Vitaly from Kazakhstan, Bhim and Ryan doing refugee ministry in Syracuse, as well as reconnecting with Aimable from Brudan, and meeting Trevor from Truitt Seminary who was so eager to talk about God.

One of Don’s takeaways from the REACHgathering was, “do not get in God’s way.” He explains, “I usually try to avoid speaking in big public forums, but after being a part of Wrestling at REACH, I was strongly encouraged by many people afterwards to do more [public speaking] in the future.” Additionally, he took to heart a phrase from Pastor Trammell, “God’s grace will keep pace with everything you face!” For anyone who is interested in attending the REACHgathering next year, Don shares, “REACHgathering is a safe place to come and get exactly what you need–refreshment, knowledge, wisdom, networking, prayer, ideas, and encouragement. The connections you make and the conversations you have will be life changing and go way beyond just one gathering. Being around so many like-minded individuals is amazing and something I need every year.”

Another attendee, Jed Roberts, is a youth sports ministry pastor in Phoenix, AZ. At the REACHgathering, he hoped to grow in his ability to help train and support other leaders and he was encouraged to connect with other sports ministry leaders across the country. One of his greatest helps from the gathering was having conversations in between sessions–hearing about the successes and struggles of others. Jed shares that the REACHgathering is a, “great opportunity to network & connect with people who “live” in your world,” as many times sports ministry can feel isolating. He adds that the REACHgathering provides a space to, “ask questions and gather free resources.”

Lastly, we hear from Neil Muniz, who serves his church in a full-time vocational capacity as an Associate Pastor over all the Sports, Rec & Fitness Ministries (the SportsLife Pastor). His ministry runs youth leagues, has over 25 group fitness classes weekly, has adult softball and has Tae kwon do ministries. After his first REACHgathering in 2021, he was certain he would be a regular attendee. His expectation and hope for this year’s gathering was to build on relationships made and to stay sharp in how to do ministry. One takeaway for him was appreciating the first-class leadership and gospel-centeredness among the CEDE SPORTS and CSRM leadership. He was encouraged to model after that and to go back to his roots of establishing a strong prayer ministry. He was reminded that the enemy does not want this to happen, which is exactly why he needs to keep at it. 

Neil also hoped to continue sharing his SR&F ministry passion to those he was able to bring along with him. He was grateful to have his REACHgathering invitation accepted by another local sports minister in his community. They can leave with all that they learned and were reminded about in SR&F ministry with hopes of spurring one another on locally. Neil’s encouragement to anyone who might be interested in attending REACHgathering next year would be: “We do enough on our own. We need to lean on others in the SR&F community who have been where we are and who can encourage us to keep the faith and to press on. REACHgathering provides the space to do that. Just make it happen.”

If you are interested in hearing more about next year’s gathering in Charlotte, NC you can click here.

CEDE SPORTS Stories: Noi Festival in Italy

Micheal, Nina, and Max serve as CEDE SPORTS country coordinators in Italy, particularly in Milan. They bring the wonderful news of salvation in Jesus to all people through means of Bible Study, preaching, events open to the community, and sports. Offering a welcoming environment, where people can feel included and discover God’s love for them, is fundamental to their ministry.

Two years ago, The Schaafsmas were part of a team that was formed with the leadership of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association International Field staff to plan an evangelistic event that would be called the “NOI Festival.” The festival would feature worship music and a gospel message from Franklin Graham.

Noi can mean “we” or “us.” The name is most fitting considering over 500 churches in Milan joined together for this event with the hope of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ at the 12,000 seat Mediolanum Forum. It started with contacting national church leaders and local pastors to hold training sessions in each church called Christian Life & Witness. The training  equipped Christians to speak of the hope they have in Jesus Christ and many of those trained served as counselors at the Noi Festival. Micheal Schaafsma was able to carry the role as Coordinator of classes and found great encouragement in hearing stories of people talking to their friends about Jesus and praying for people to attend the Noi Festival.

The festival was initially scheduled for early 2021 but delayed due to Covid restrictions. The event finally took place in October 2022 and had an amazing turn out of over 13,200 people! So many prayers were prayed and answered at this incredible event. The Schaafsmas held different roles along with others in their church to help make the event successful. Max Schaafsma was responsible for getting tickets into the hands of every person and making sure everyone fit without leaving a single seat empty! Micheal S. was responsible for coordinating the counselors and the follow-up of all the people who made decisions at the event to follow Jesus. Nina Schaafsma worked to translate so much literature, communication and music for the event with her favorite being the Kid’s bookPO, “Jesus Loves Me!”

So many were blessed richly by the event and churches are still talking about it! We ask that you would pray for the many who gave their life to Jesus, that they would connect with other Christians, and they would continue to pursue Him with their lives.

When is it Right to Argue with Referees/Officials? Part 3

Written By: Tim Briggs

Part 1 and part 2 have provided such thoughtful conversations, so let’s continue with our final part of the series and may it only continue the conversation to encourage exercising more wisdom in sports!

When is it right to argue with referees/officials? My answer was never.  As you can imagine, not everyone agrees.  I’m so thankful though for the feedback and response.  I think it’s great when people wrestle with these topics. 

Below are some reasons I’ve heard regarding appropriate times to argue with referees/officials followed by my response.  As always, I would love your feedback.

4.  What about the safety of my players?…

Should you address the official if you are truly concerned about the safety of your players?  Yes, I think so.  Of course, this “exception” to the rule could be abused.  You could argue for the safety of your players on almost any play in sports if you wanted to.  I think you could very easily address this topic with an official without arguing.

5.  Poor officiating affects players’ desire to play the sport…

This particular comment was focused on a coach who coaches kids.  I would agree with their assessment, poor officiating does affect players.  Most of the time, it affects the players because a coach is making a big deal about it (like arguing with the official)!

I addressed in part 2 that there is a place for a constructive conversation with an official about his/her job performance.  What I would like to emphasize here, especially when coaching kids, is the opportunity to leverage poor officiating and use it to teach about life.  As adults, we all know there are many things out of our control.  We all experience unfairness and deal with people who ultimately fail us.  In light of this, teach the kids this lesson through officiating.  Use it to prepare them for adulthood.

Some closing thoughts:

As I have said, there is a place to address an official during the game and after the game.  To be God-glorifying though, I don’t think it ever involves arguing.  As always, we must be sensitive to our hearts when we do this.  Ask yourself, why do I want to address the official?  Is this about glorifying God or is it about me?  Is this about wanting what’s best for the official or wanting to win?  Don’t assume you have good motives because the Biblical story tells us that we often don’t.

When is it Right to Argue with Referees/Officials? Part 2

Written By: Tim Briggs

We’ve had such great conversations surrounding this topic, so let’s continue you on with part 2 of When is it right to argue with referees/officials?  My answer in my initial post was never.  As you can imagine, not everyone agrees. I’m so thankful, though, for the feedback and response.  I think it’s great when people wrestle with these topics.

Below are some reasons I’ve heard regarding appropriate times to argue with referees/officials followed by my response. As always, I would love your feedback.

1.  It’s the job of a coach to fight for justice…

This by far has been the most popular exception to my “never” rule.  It’s also one I’ve heard in the past.

I think most coaches fool themselves when they say it’s about justice. Here’s why: Justice, by definition, has to be blind. It can’t be prejudiced or biased. If a coach really cared about justice, then he/she would not just argue with referees about calls that went against his/her team but also calls that went for his/her team? Make sense?

Say for example that you’re coaching baseball and one of your players is called “safe” at first base when clearly they are out. If you are truly about justice, then you would argue with the umpire about that call. Even at the expense of your own player, and your team’s own performance, you would just as adamantly complain about that call as you would a call that went against you.

I’ve never seen a coach come even remotely close to this. This is why I don’t think most coaches’ motivation is justice. I suppose you could call it selective justice but, again, that’s not really justice. I know from my own heart when I’ve coached that it’s not been about justice for me. It’s about how the call an ref/official/umpire makes impacts me and my chance of winning or performance.

Think about this as well–how much true injustice happens on the field/court?  Is a missed call at first base injustice?  Perhaps.  Think about the type of reactions missed calls often elicit though.  For coaches who argue with referees, do you think justice issues like poverty, sex trafficking, or abortion elicit the same reactions?  If coaches are honest, I think most would say that the level and passion to which they argue with officials is disproportionate to other issues of injustice in their lives.  And, if that’s true, then you would have to admit that there’s more to the issue than just injustice.

Theoretically, could justice be a valid reason to address an official?  Absolutely.  I don’t think it would require arguing though.  And I don’t think the anger and excitement would accompany it like often is the case when coaches argue with officials.

2.  Arguing with refs/officials is a part of the game.  It’s a strategy to improve your team’s chances of success…

I’ll agree that arguing has very much become a part of sports.  It doesn’t mean it’s right.  Can arguing with an official improve your team’s chances of winning?  Sure.  Would cheating improve your team’s chances of winning?  Would having your players take steroids improve their chances of winning?  The answer is yes on both accounts.  As you can see, this is not a good argument.

Arguing may prove to be a good strategy to win the game or even have your team perform better.  However, we need to be careful to not let pragmatics drive our coaching.  The question shouldn’t be, “does it work?”, but rather, “is it right?” As a Christian, the job of a coach is not to win but to glorify God.

3.  Shouldn’t we want the referees to do the best possible job that they can?…

Absolutely, for the glory of God an official should work hard at being the best referee he/she can be.  Should arguing be a part of helping an official reach his/her potential?  I don’t think so.  As I’ve said, I can see a place for a calm and collected conversation with an official about their job performance.  I don’t think it requires arguing though.  This type of conversation would look and sound far different than arguing.

All too often, I see players/coaches addressing a referee’s job performance after a game, calmly criticizing the calls that were made.  Rarely, is it a winning team’s player/coach having this type of conversation.  Almost always it is the losing team’s player/coach.  This tells you that it’s often not really about the job performance as it is about something else.

See Part 3 of this series when we address other exceptions that I’ve heard…

When is it Right to Argue with Referees/Officials? Part 1

Written by: Tim Briggs

Before I answer that question, let’s define some terms. When I say “argue,” I mean to complain to the referee/official about a call they’ve made. This is not just intellectual disagreement but a voiced complaint (which is usually accompanied by anger and frustration).

So, with that in mind, let me answer the question: When is it right to argue with referees/officials?

Never.

I don’t expect everyone to agree with my opinion but please do keep reading because I would love your opinion and feedback in the comments section below.

I have heard lots of explanations on why coaches think this is a necessary part of the job and all of them are flawed. Perhaps I will deal with them in a later blog post. The question I’ve always asked coaches in relation to their arguing with referees is this:

 A question I’ve always asked coaches in relation to their arguing with referees is this:

How does your arguing bring glory to God?

I have yet to hear a good answer to that question. I’m not saying that arrogantly, I’m just saying if a good answer exists to that question, it has yet to be brought to my attention. I have racked my brain trying to think of a good answer myself and I haven’t come up with one.

To understand this better, lets break down the concept of glory. What does glory mean anyway? 1 Corinthians 10:31 commands us to do everything for the glory of God (which includes sports). Bob Schindler offers this explanation of what glory is:

When it comes to God, the Scriptures show us his glory has two components:

• The inherent nature, the internal possession, the inner quality of his magnificence, his absolute unparalleled greatness – the glorious splendor of his majesty

• The outer recognition of this inherent greatness

We will call the first component – His flame. The second – His fame.

We can’t add anything to God’s internal majesty but he does call us to make him famous by what we do (His fame). We should strive in our coaching to make God famous by how we act and think.

Is there anything glorifying to God in arguing with a referee/official? When I reflect back on my own past when I’ve argued with an official, I can attest that glorifying God was not at the center of my desires. My own pride, selfishness, and idolatry was. My arguing was ultimately about ME, not about GOD. Obviously, this does not make God famous.

This is not to say that there isn’t a place for having a calm, collected conversation with a referee about rule interpretations (or even poor officiating). It’s rare, I can tell you that. The question still becomes, what is on your heart as you have this conversation? You can be calm and collected on the outside but still have sinful/idolatrous motivations. Remember, God is concerned just as much about our hearts as he is our actions.

I would love to hear from you though. Is there any way arguing can bring glory to God? What are your motivations when you have argued with a referee/official?

Keep a look out for Part 2 and 3 on this topic!

What is Your Passion?

Finding The Answer

As I have searched myself and helped others along toward the answer to this “burning” question, I find it is important to know at least three things:

1. What is passion? Or to put it another way, “What exactly are we looking for?”

2. Where does passion come from?  Or “Where do we go to find this passion?”

3. How do we get this passion?  Or once at the source “How do we take ownership of what we have found?”

To begin our search, we will start at #1 – we have to know what we are looking for.  We have to know what passion is.

But that pursuit can be a little muddied.  Here is how one business coach put it:

We often talk about passion, but we tend to use it very loosely.  We usually refer to passion in passing – it is rarely the primary focus of discussion or analysis. I am just as guilty of this. A couple of months ago, I posted a manifesto for passionate creatives and never explicitly defined what I meant by passion.  In talking with people about this manifesto, I discovered that passion has an infinite variety of meanings.

Defining Our Search

Without clear definition, we see the word “passion” thrown around more and more these days. Just search the phrase “A passion for….” and here is some of what you find:

• A passion for jazz

• A passion for pipes

• A passion for paws

Then there are companies that use this word in their motto or slogan:

• Our passion is building

• Our passion is excellence

• Our passion is engineering

It seems that almost anything can be an object of passion and we are left even more confused.

So What Is Passion?

Look up the word and you find that, in a broad sense, passion is any strong emotion.  More specifically, passion is an intense emotion, compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something.  Very specifically, some people would limit this emotion to a strong love or sexual desire.

My definition of passion is a little broader:

The emotional response to an attainable object of pleasure or desire that moves the possessor to pursue that object

There are several key words

• emotional response – Passion is not self-existing.  Passion comes from the presence of something or someone else

• attainable object of pleasure or desire – Passion comes from seeing something I can obtain, possess, interact, engage with that is pleasurable.  Hence the desire.

• that moves the possessor to pursuit – Passion is an intense and moving emotion.  Passion energizes.

In this light, there is another aspect of passion that is important to consider when you are looking for your passion.

The English word passion comes from Middle English, Old French, and Medieval Latin to describe Christ’s sufferings on the cross or any biblical accounts of these.  From there, passio in Late Latin came to be used for suffering and submission.

With this in mind, Barb Elyet says this about passion

On the surface, the word “passion” can stir emotions in us that inspire, motivate, and elevate us to live life at a higher, more exciting, fulfilling level. But just as the core of an apple cannot be separate from the apple itself, “suffering” is always at the core of passion. We cannot have one without the other.

Will Shipley, designer of Delicious Library, says this about passion –

“Passion is easy to define; you care so deeply about something that it wounds you if it’s done poorly.”

Here we find what we are looking for, this definition of passion – something we want, very deeply that moves us to pursuit and wounds us when not achieved. Wounds but not deters.  Passion may bring suffering but it also empowers us to press on – to persevere in our pursuit, as long as we see it as attainable.

Let's Talk Preseason Coaches Meetings

Guest post by Jason Miller

Preaseason meetings: A crucial aspect or a waste of time?

My wife and I have been doing Sports Ministry for over 10 years and we have always believed that coaches meetings are crucial to the ministry. One way to do this is to have a preseason coaches meeting. Believe me when I say that we have been educated many times over the years when it comes to having an effective preseason coaches meeting. I say educated because I don’t believe we failed.  Failures should be nothing more than education. I believe we were learning for the next time. So, if a preseason coaches meeting is so important, then how should it be done?

Usually, there are so many things that ministry leaders want to share with those who will be doing battle and carrying out the vision. So, you start to think “I can do this here, and I can say this at this time, and they need to know this stuff, etc.” Before long this vital time has been filled up with information and logistics, and has squeezed out mission, vision, training, passion, relationship, and equipping. Information is important. Logistics are important. However, they are not what will ultimately accomplish the mission. They are not necessarily what gives coaches what they need in order to be equipped to go to war. I have been guilty of conducting “informational preseason coaches meetings” many times, and so coaches knew where to get balls from or what key goes to what, etc. However, many of them weren’t equipped to do what really matters…to use sports to further the Kingdom of God. What did I do then to change my mindset and the mindset of what these “meetings” were supposed to accomplish?

I decided to make these “meetings” more mission and vision driven. I also decided to make these “meetings” more about training and equipping coaches to do the work that is before them. Our preseason coaches meetings were titled just that…coaches meetings. I decided to rename our “meetings” to be called our Coaches Summit. We are preparing for more than 10 weeks of “doing life together” and getting ready to do “battle” side by side. To just have a “meeting” doesn’t seem to fill anyone with excitement, purpose, passion, power, etc. To take coaches to the top of the mountain and have them look over all that is before them…to have all of us as one body, one unit, commit to fighting together for an eternal purpose…now that is more like it!  That is what I will strive for in my Coaches Summits.

At the beginning of our youth basketball season that year, I decided that we were going to begin to make our Coaches Summit look like what I talked about above. I think we took one step closer to that! I scheduled our Coaches Summit to be three hours long in the morning. I scheduled the majority of the time to be spent on mission, vision, athletic training, and our specific guidelines, while just a small portion was devoted to logistical information. I imagined all the coaches creating “Jason dolls” to stick pins in and hanging up my picture on their dart boards when they found out it was three hours long. My coaches were gracious enough to spare me from how they really felt, at least prior to the Coaches Summit, until I received an email from one of my coaches. He said that when he found out that it was going to be three hours long that he was thinking about not going. He proceeded to tell me how he thought it would be a waste of time and how it was way too long to sit there. At the end of his email, he stated that it was the best preseason coaches “meeting” he has ever been to and that he was so glad he went.

God will do amazing things whether we are a part of it or not. It is rewarding, though, to do things that allow us to be a part of His plan. When we prepare the way for God’s Holy Spirit to move, we get to experience His power!