Tiffany Mogaka – Loveland, Colorado … Campion students and visitors came together to Campion Church to learn more about the character of God through the theme ‘Who God is’ during the Northern Colorado Youth Rally, November 4-5 featuring Pastor Michelle Odinma as the guest speaker
Friday night vespers began with powerful and heart-warming worship music led by a student praise team and Pastor Leandro Bizama. The theme song of the event was “Our God”. Junior Phoebe Mamanua said, “The praise music promoted the message. There was energy, and it was really good to have all of us together just praising God. It felt like a bonding experience especially because it was upbeat like a campfire song.”
A recognized singer and pastor from Manhattan, New York, Michelle Odinma, shared the word of God on Friday night and Sabbath morning. She spoke about God’s forgiveness and a model of faithfulness through the story of David and Jonathan.
Samuel Walton, Junior student, commented, “The thing that impacted me the most about the message that Pastor Michelle delivered was when she talked of Jonathan and King David. I realized that God has a plan for all, but His plan [for me] could be building up others so that He could be glorified more. I think that’s so powerful. It really touched me to think that God could use me to build someone up and impact more lives for His glory.”
Sabbath afternoon was spent in outreach during which the youth visited people in the community to pray with them. Afterward, they participated in a series of workshops hosted by Pastor Mike Taylor from Campion and Brandon and Dawn Westgate from the Rocky Mountain Conference youth department, where they discussed topics like dating, finances, and God’s calling.
On Saturday night, Michelle Odinma shared her music in a concert, playing the guitar and singing original songs from her upcoming album, Stories to Tell. The album will be released November 11.
Senior student Melody Mambo enjoyed Michelle’s performances, saying, “I really liked the music selections from Pastor Michelle because it gave people a sense of community. It was especially fun to hear her sing because her songs gave me new perspectives of the Bible that I never thought of before.”
The youth rally ended with both Campion students and welcomed guests enjoying a fun ice cream treat and gym night games hosted by Campion’s SA officers. Musical chairs winner, Damaris Lopez, said, “I really liked the ice cream and the activities because everyone was involved. I also loved that the winners got prizes. But most of all, I enjoyed getting to know more people through this whole experience, especially the visitors who came from other places.”
The Campion church pastors plan to host a youth rally every fall and continue to grow the event throughout Rocky Mountain Conference.
–Tiffany Mogaka, Student news team. Photos from CA eNewsletter.
