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IRVING—For the first time in the history of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s Empower Conference, students will have their own event where they can worship, pray, and hear the gospel.
The inaugural Empower Student Rally will feature illusionist Brice Harney, praise and worship led by Jimmy McNeal, and a message from Shane Pruitt—who serves as national NextGen director for the North American Mission Board. The rally will be held Tuesday, Feb. 28, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Irving Convention Center.
SBTC Student Ministry Associate Brandon Bales and Ryan Fontenot, an SBTC evangelism consultant, said the Student Rally was birthed from a deep burden to deliver Jesus’ Great Commission to students, their leaders, and volunteers and “a simple desire to reach students with the message of Christ.”
Bales said the rally is designed to be a tool for student ministries to present the gospel to teenagers outside their normal mid-week gatherings. He added that he is praying the event will provide a springboard for gospel conversations among those who attend.
“We are praying student ministries will have a lot of stories to celebrate at their normal mid-week gathering: celebrations of students professing salvation, proclaiming baptisms, or a surrender to a life of ministry, missions, or leadership,” Bales said.
Bales and Fontenot are encouraging students to invite their lost friends to the rally, as the gospel will be shared at the event.
“We want nothing more than for students to know and go for Jesus in their lives,” Fontenot said. “The gospel will be proclaimed, students will be encouraged, and leaders will be reminded that student ministry is an amazing calling and that they are not alone.”
Bales said he is praying God will use the Student Rally to ignite a gospel movement among the next generation.
“Lord willing,” he said, “the Student Rally could be a means for God to spark revival among students in Texas in the same manner revivals are popping up on college campuses around the nation.”
