Every weekend that Glowing Heart has the opportunity to serve at a DNOW, I walk away in complete awe of the power and work of God. Without fail, every weekend, He absolutely goes above and beyond what we expect and hope for, and demonstrates His love for us in a way greater than we could have ever imagined. Once again, in Pottsboro, TX this weekend, God showed us a glimpse of his glory through the incredible movement of Georgetown Baptist Church’s youth, as their hearts were stirred and propelled to take a stand in their faith and bring the good news to the lost in their community.

Georgetown’s D-Now isn’t our typical D-Now. Instead of staying in our host homes on Friday night after our group sessions and hanging out or going to bed, the whole group meets up at the church for an event called Midnight Madness.

Midnight Madness is exactly what it says – madness.

When we arrived to the church around midnight, the boys and girls were split off into separate groups (which later I learned was for good reason) to go play our own separate games. While the girls were in one room dancing to Disney songs and playing jousting racing games, the boys were in another playing tug-of-war and steal the bacon with 60-pound cement bags that they wrestled each other for. Each group had a blast. When we were done with our own individual games, we all came together and got to participate in the wild cement bag game that was so infamous from last year (yes, even the girls!). We then played several games that ended in a dance party to Miley Cyrus’ Party in the USA.

As you can see, there was a whole lot of fun, excitement, and craziness that started off this weekend, but that wasn’t even close to being the best part. On Saturday afternoon, each group had a unique opportunity to participate in service projects around the community. My group had the privilege of visiting a homeless shelter. While there, my eighth grade girls and I helped organize and clean rooms, sort the pantry, and even got the chance to visit with some of the residents. We concluded our time by making Valentine’s cards to pass out to some of the people staying there.

One of the things that I will remember so clearly from this weekend is what some of the girls in my group said after our visit to the homeless shelter. As they explained to the whole youth group in our share time afterwards, they were very uncomfortable at first in the homeless shelter. On first impression, they felt like it was not clean and that it smelled, and they were expecting the people to be strange. After spending some time there, however, the girls said their eyes were really opened and they realized that just because someone is homeless doesn’t make them any different than us. My heart was so warmed as I watched the girls interact with people and show genuine love and kindness to them. I also was so touched by the simple messages of Jesus’ love that each girl incorporated, on her own initiative, into her Valentine’s card creation.

But God did not stop there. Saturday night’s worship service was one of the most impacting and life changing services that I have been able to be a part of. As I stood on stage with the Glowing Heart members to lead worship, I remembering looking down at the flooded alter and seeing the brokenness of dozens of students in their desperation for reconciliation with God. Although I knew that Henry had delivered a great message, I also knew that there was absolutely no way that it was his words that brought these students to where they were on their knees at the altar. That kind of movement in their souls and the work in their spirits that I witnessed is only something that can happen when God shows up. And did He ever.

Even though we didn’t know exactly what was going on in each of those students’ lives as they came before God at the altar, we did get the chance to see a little closer into their hearts as they shared their testimonies on Sunday morning. Once again, the strength, dedication, and passion of the Pottsboro youth just blew me away. There were students as young as eleven or twelve who stood up and cried because their hearts were so burdened for the lost in their schools or in their community. I was absolutely amazed at the work that God has already been doing in their youth, growing them and maturing them in Him, and was so blessed to be with them through a small part of that journey of growth.

God has clearly been working in the hearts and lives of Georgetown’s youth for a long time now. After observing the students’ faithfulness and obedience to the Lord in just a few short days, I can only imagine and wait with great expectation to see the incredible ways in which God will further use them and change people’s lives through His faithful servants.