I recently saw some Facebook friends post about a conference called Passion 2013, which was held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA last weekend.
Made me go:
Didn't really know what it was until I looked it up this past week. Seems to be about empowering young, Christian people (especially of my age) to make a difference in the world by bringing Jesus' name and renown to the forefront of our lives and to the world. Sounds cool. The focus of this year's Passion conference was to end human trafficking and slavery. They raised just over $3 million in 4 days during the conference.
I would imagine (since I didn't go...and correct me if I'm wrong) that there were a lot of talks, lots of praise and worship music, and plenty of quality time to get to know fellow like-minded friends.
Since I didn't know much about it, I went to the Google to find out more. Read a few testimonies via the blogosphere, went to their own website itself, and hey!...even some local news stories popped up about it!
News stories:
Passion 2013 Tackles Sex Trafficking And Slavery
Huge Beam Of Light Was Part of Passion 2013
...and I would also imagine (since I didn't go...and didn't do too much Google-ing)...that these stories only capture
I learned that 60,000+ were in attendance. Impressive! And I think it's cool that such a movement/gathering garnered some media attention, because you typically don't see mass media covering these sorts of things. Since local media covered it, this helps in bringing light to the cause.
But what's more impressive is that 60,000 young people care enough about a cause ...and that by being Christ-like to others, and shining His light on the terribleness of human trafficking and slavery, we can hope to end the evil of human exploitation (again, I apologize if that slightly misses the mark or is not fully encompassing the point of the conference). Deep down is the recognition that the dignity of the human person is worth protecting and yes, human exploitation in these ways are ultimately against the dignity of the human person.
Anyway, I think it's cool that 60,000+ Christian people around my age gather together to focus on certain matters. When in a relationship with Jesus Christ, one does not simply do nothing...my response to His love is to love others. What can I do? How can I help? What is my focus? Do I do things because I get benefit out of it or is it because doing these things is what I ought to do? Do I take what I've learned back home with me whenever I go to events?
I hope to one day experience a mass gathering for a cause. :-)
- JD
