.jpg)
“Legacy of faith…for our sons and daughters, we’ll drink the living waters. For future generations, all across the nations…you gotta live it to give it.” (Legacy of Faith theme song) After an action-packed two-plus days, the International Conference of Youth and Family concluded Saturday afternoon in Chicago.
.jpg)
Steve Saindon (Minneapolis/St. Paul) started off the day with a morning devotional called “A Prisoner of Praise”. Following a quick “energy boost” of coffee and pastries, the Chicago worship team led us all in song. The singing included the theme song of the conference, “Legacy of Faith”, with lyrics and music by Rick Biordi. Additionally, the Chicago teens performed a skit (see picture on left) to demonstrate the spiritual battle we all face.
HOPE Worldwide Director Randy Jordan then addressed the crowd and spoke about the important role HOPE Youth Corps and HOPE Volunteer Corps plays in sharing a Legacy of Faith with future generations. More than 30 slots are still available for upcoming summer HOPE programs. Please go to www.hopeww.org for more info.
The morning closed out with two sessions with gender specific keynote messages and classes. Barbara Porter (South Florida) spoke to the women about striving to be “Daughters Living the Legacy” while John Mannel (Los Angeles) and Adrian Hill (London) challenged the brothers to stand up and be spiritual men who are “Living the Legacy” in our families.
.jpg)
After lunch, John Porter (South Florida) preached a challenging and inspiring message entitled, “Joshua: Living the Legacy”. John emphasized biblically how Moses “created” Joshua by giving him a primary leadership role, letting Joshua be involved in his relationship with God, and being willing to do the “dirty work” and train Joshua from the time of his youth. John called on everyone to “have a Joshua” and to “have a Moses” in their lives so each generation can share a Legacy of Faith.
The conference came to a grand finale Saturday afternoon as evidences of faith were shared from around the world. We watched inspiring good news videos from youth and family ministries in Kiev, London, Dublin, Brazil, Santiago, Boston, Sydney, and New Delhi.
More than 700 brothers and sisters attended this year’s ICYFM in Chicago, Illinois. This is 200 more than the attendance we had in Boston two years ago for the first international youth and family conference. A large debt of gratitude is owed to the Chicago Church of Christ for hosting this year’s event.
Messages and classes from ICYFM 2009 are available at www.liveit2giveit.org.