Refuge Youth Ministries hosts ‘Absorbed ’06’ youth events

The vacant field beside First Baptist Church, Lowrys, was transformed Saturday, Sept. 30, into a spacious outdoor concert venue in an effort to transform lives as well.

Refuge Youth Ministries hosted the first annual youth event, Absorbed ’06, which featured contemporary Christian bands and high-energy speakers.

Approximately 140 people attended Absorbed, and 16 made decisions to follow Christ.

Refuge leader Christopher Eifert said, “The purpose of Absorbed was to provide a place where young people could come together to worship God, not only with their friends, but with people from out of state.”

Pastor Den Parker of First Baptist, Lowrys, said that Absorbed was a success because “above all, God was glorified.”

Parker added that it was good to see Refuge put the money they raised back into the community.

Absorbed was not the only youth event of its kind to take place in the area. West Chester Baptist Church held a youth revival Sept. 16 that featured food, music, skits and a message.

Andy Logan, one of the youth leaders at West Chester, estimates that more than 180 people packed into West Chester’s sanctuary. He said that probably 25 to 30 of those people made decisions to dedicate their lives to Christ.

This was West Chester’s second youth revival in two years. Logan said that the youth group started preparing for it about three months prior to the event.

The youth group participated in skits which conveyed messages dealing with issues such as teen pregnancy and peer pressure.

For Absorbed, two trailers were parked beside each other to create a 30-foot-wide by 16-foot-deep stage, which was nearly too small for the Zero youth band that had 13 members.

The Zero youth band is from Hickory, N.C., and is led by Brooks Clary. Drew McGuffin, Spencer Neal, Jennifer Welch and Angie Horst make up the band One Step Closer of Calvary Baptist Church, Rock Hill. Both bands encouraged audience participation, which was generally not a problem for the energetic crowd.

Speakers for Absorbed were Wesley Smith from Spindale, N.C., and Joel Gilchrist from Greensboro, N.C.

Eifert said, “I’m extremely proud of the youth group for putting this on and allowing God to work through their lives to host Absorbed.”

He said the atmosphere at Absorbed was dynamic in that once the audience got comfortable, the enthusiasm picked up and things flowed more smoothly.

Parker said, “We’ve seen churches in two counties and two states that were impacted, and churches will be changed from what happened.”

He said, “All in all, our entire church supported Absorbed. Senior citizens to infants were there.”

Eifert said that Refuge plans to host the event once, or perhaps twice, a year in the future, and he foresees it getting better each year.