CWE365 LEAD Students take part in Antioch

From June 25-27, eight members of CWE365’s LEAD program attended the Antioch program at Fellowship Bible Church in Lowell. Fellowship’s Antioch program teaches high school students about discipleship, the guiding by example of how Christians should live.

The lectures and activities were focused on Christian missions, the history of how Christianity has spread throughout the world and how to apply the past to the future. It was enlightening for the students to hear how their own lives have been affected by the lives of those in Christian history, “They went so far back to explain where missions originated and the people who were dedicated to doing that. So while I didn’t really like history in school, learning about that it was really cool… it takes a lot of dedication to get into that. I really admired all the people who we learned about. Its something I’m going to look more into learning about, and how to send people [to be missionaries]. It spoke to me and inspired me,” Abraham of Bentonville shared.

Pauline of Springdale shared a similar sentiment, “Having the teacher talk about the history and share with us how the missionaries spread the Gospel… you never really think about how the Gospel got to us, but realizing what they went through, all the pain and suffering and sacrificing they had to do to spread the gospel, and without them we never would have gotten the good news of Jesus. Realizing what they did and knowing there’s still people who haven’t received the gospel, we can be like them and maybe one day people will be talking about us being the radical missionaries!”

The nine students and four Ozone directors were refreshed through perspectives shared bye Fellowship Church staff. One of the reoccurring themes mentioned was the difference between purpose and passion. While passion may be intense at first, it’s easy for it to burn out quickly, an instructor shared. However, when a person understands his purpose for being and living, passion will follow and both will be stronger. Brett of West Fork reflected on the statement, “Our purpose is to be a disciple and make disciples, spreading the word of God. If you don’t have that in your mind, it makes you burn out and your passion is going to be very temporary. Your passion will follow your purpose if you keep purpose in mind.”

LEAD’s time with Antioch built a firm foundation for students as they enter new and unknown territories in the fall. With the majority of them heading off to college, this was a wonderfully purposeful opportunity for growth in the knowledge of how to be a light for Christ on their campus.