Deeper, ICMC East

Last year in Chicago, when the locations for both the ICMC East and ICMC West were announced, Athens received polite applause, and the western conference going to the mountains of Colorado elicited a roaring cheer. And why not? Athens is a beautiful little city with a great university, but the majestic mountains of Colorado are known throughout the world! And hey, I know that the ICMC West is going to be amazing! Our brothers and sisters in Denver have been working hard to bring a conference to the students on the West Coast that will forever impact their lives and inspire them to take their relationship with God higher!  But I don't think it would have mattered where this year’s ICMC East had been held – the key to our success was the collaboration of the leadership team that worked with such a unified spirit to plan this great event. And, the leadership teams of the co-sponsoring congregations, And let me say that in my estimation Athens Church of Christ and North River Church of Christ put together one of the most spiritually inspiring Campus Ministry Conferences we have ever had! 

The ICMC East challenged us to take our relationship with God Deeper and I truly believe it succeeded in doing just that.

The conference was kicked off with the Leadership Program Thursday, July 7th as Kevin Miller and Ed Anton gave us a Clearer Vision and inspired us to Dig Deeper as brothers and sisters who aspire to lead in God's Church. That evening, the main session prepared our hearts and set the tone for the entire weekend with awe-inspiring singing and worship led by Chase Mackintosh and Andrew Lombardi followed by a heart-moving message delivered by Kevin Thompson entitled Deeper Love.

One of the highlights of the conference was the three-part Bible Exposition on the book of Ephesians taught by Sam Laing. I have heard Sam over the years teach the Bible, encouraging brothers and sisters to go deeper in their study of the Word, but I have never heard him deliver a lesson like this. His passion and delivery reminded me how amazing it is to devour God's Word in such a way that enables us to not only understand the lessons that God is trying to teach us through His Word, but also how to correctly handle the Word of Truth as we present it to others.

In the classes that were taught on Friday afternoon, there was something for everyone who wanted to grow Deeper in their character. From Discipline to Purity, Courage to Wisdom, the brother's classes were designed to help us dig down deep into our inner being and grow in our character as men. An array of classes on women in the Bible were presented to the sisters, highlighting characters like Mary Magdalene, Abigail, Priscilla, Ruth and Naomi to inspire the sisters in their walk as women of God. The Friday session closed out with Kevin Miller preaching a grand slam home run on having "Deeper Convictions".

Saturday morning, over a thousand campus students came together on the campus of the University of Georgia to take part in one of the largest organized 5K runs Athens has ever hosted. The HOPE Worldwide Run For Their Lives 5K Run. Students, campus ministers and many Athens community runners ran together to raise money for three important causes: HOPE Worldwide Africa, HOPE Worldwide Haiti and HOPE Worldwide Gulf Coast.

Saturday afternoon continued with great workshops and bonding fellowship. There was also a campus ministry alumni program for brothers and sisters who had previously been in campus ministry to come back together to help current students who are close to graduating prepare for life in the “real world.” Areas such as business and finance, education, law, media & entertainment, medical, non-profit and technology were highlighted. Dr. Kevin Broyles from Durham, North Carolina was the keynote speaker for the Alumni General Session. After a successful medical career, Kevin retired this year and He and his wife will be moving this summer to Bolivia to help strengthen the church and serve the many needs of that country.

The conference closed out on Sunday morning beginning with part three of Sam Laing's exposition on Ephesians followed by a worship service for the ages! The singing and worship of close to 2000 brothers and sisters in the Classic Center Theater brought tears to my eyes. The Athens Church, together with the ICMC participants, lifted their voices loudly in worship as we were all reminded of how deep God's love for us truly is!Troy Kriss of Gainesville, Florida shared as we took communion and then Damien Jean-Baptiste from Barbados closed out with his sermon, Digging Deeper, Building Higher.

Having been converted in campus ministry in Athens, Georgia over 17 years ago, and to be standing in the Classic Center where Stacey and I had our wedding reception almost 15 years ago, it was all so surreal. Having over 1400 students and campus ministers from all over the East Coast come together for the International Campus Ministry Conference singing, worshiping, fellowshipping and digging Deeper into God's Word has truly been the highlight of my year. The spirit of this conference was unlike any I have ever been a part of. I truly believe that God is reigniting the spiritual fire of Campus Ministry in our churches and inspiring us to take our relationship with him and with one another DEEPER!