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IRVING—The third annual Empower Student Rally rocked the fourth floor of the Irving Convention Center Sunday evening, drawing more than 600 students and leaders from nearly 100 churches from across the state.
Students packed the room to hear Christian rap and hip-hop artists Dillon Chase and Zeke Garcia, experience worship led by the Cross City Euless praise band, and to be challenged by Chip Luter, senior associate pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans.
Hip hop and rap with a message
Drawing from his work in Japan with RAGE Ministries (Reaching a Generation Endangered), Chase taught the crowd to say hello in Japanese: “Ohayou,” pronounced like “Ohio.” It was a preview of what was to come, as he later performed an interactive version of his song, “That’s Right,” in Japanese and English, calling on the audience to respond with a Japanese phrase meaning “There is no doubt” at key moments.
Students stood, waved their hands, and danced in the aisles or at their seats as Chase urged them to “make some noise for Jesus … the Savior of the world!” before introducing fellow RAGE artist Garcia.
As the stage lights burned red, Garcia announced that the “Word of God is the power of God,” and began a rousing version of “Not That Guy,” again with heavy audience participation.
“Every song has a message. I want you to hear the message of the song,” Garcia proclaimed, describing his own salvation in which, “The old Zeke who used to exist has died,” referencing, as Chase had done, trials and suffering.
“Following Jesus is not easy. … The reason I struggled so much is that I was not ready to surrender my life,” Garcia said.
Ryan Fontenot, RAGE Ministries founder and lead evangelist, followed Garcia, explaining a simple way to share Jesus using a four-emoji bracelet each guest had received.
“I believe everyone who is a follower of Jesus is a fisher of men,” Fontenot said. “It’s one thing to know you ought to be sharing Jesus, but it’s another thing to do it. You can do this.”
The bracelets students received featured emojis of a heart, a division sign, a cross, and a question mark. Fontenot explained that the heart emoji represents God and His love; the division sign indicates sin; the cross symbolizes Jesus; and the question mark calls for a decision.
“You can learn to share Jesus anytime, anywhere, with anyone,” Fontenot said.
Chip Luter challenges students while preaching from Acts 9 during the Empower Student Rally on Sunday, Feb. 23. SBTC PHOTO
‘I promise He can save you’
Luter preached a message from Acts 9, which traces the life of Saul of Tarsus from being a persecutor of Christians to becoming a Christian himself and being renamed Paul.
“Saul thought he was persecuting Christians,” Luter said. “He was persecuting Jesus, but Jesus doesn’t lose a fight.”
Later in the historical account, Saul becomes a follower of Christ on the Damascus Road—a radical salvation not only because of the transformation in Saul’s life, but because of what Jesus did for everyone when He died on the cross. “Jesus loves us and saves us radically,” Luter said. “No matter what you’ve done, no matter where you’ve been, Jesus saves.”
“You may be thinking, ‘God can’t save me,’” Luter continued, speaking to those in the crowd who had not trusted Christ. “If Christ can save Saul, I promise He can save you. … You’ve got to yield and say yes to Jesus.”
Luter issued an invitation for students to be saved, but also challenged those who had already trusted Jesus. “Tonight it’s not just lost people who have a decision to make, but it’s also the found people,” he said, calling for believers to be “willing to be sent” and “go to the Sauls of the world.”
When prompted, a sprinkling of hands rose across the room signifying those who responded to either the gospel invitation or the opportunity to surrender their lives to God’s plan.
Luter ended with a final challenge: “Even if we can’t see what’s going on, God sees the heart. Don’t just leave it up to [people on] the stage to do the ministry. You know people who need Jesus.”
“Tell somebody,” echoed Grant Byrd, SBTC student ministry associate. “It’s a life-changing decision.”
Chase and Garcia closed the evening by introducing “Do It Scared,” Chase’s new song.
“Even if we have fear,” Chase proclaimed, “we should go all out for Jesus.”
“Our student rally was incredible,” said SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick, who praised Byrd for his leadership of the event. “Students from all over came to lift high the name of Jesus. I am praying God will use this night to spark a revival in this generation. I believe the best days for this generation of students are in front of us.”
