There are many conferences that evangelical Christian's should attend today. This past weekend I was reminded why the Living Waters "Deeper" conference is one of a kind.
Aside from gathering together for worship and teaching, "Deeper" sets before the believer the challenge that makes the conference worth it, action! The "Deeper" conference does not only emphasize the need to learn new information or biblical principles, it urges us to put these principles into action by engaging the culture with its only hope, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
There is a particular blessing that attends gathering with so many Christians that are focused upon the great commission. During the Saturday morning worship (lead by Scott Krippayne and his drummer Charlie) I stood in the back of the Chapel and my eyes scanned across the hundreds of attendees. Some had their heads bowed down in solemn worship, others had their hands raised up as high as they could go...tears streamed down my eyes as I watched all the attendees worshipping to the glorious hymn, "In Christ Alone" and with one voice we all sang, "In Christ alone my hope is found He is my Light my strength my song". I could hardly compose myself. I was undone as I thought about the mercy of God and His goodness in all of our lives and that He saved us and now is using us for His Glory. After the a couple songs, Kirk Cameron came up to the center stage and read prayers out of the "Valley of Vision".
One attendee joined us all the way of Zimbabwe another from Denmark, others from Canada, Australia and several folks flew in from the UK. The ministry received this message Saturday night after the event was over, "I think everyone is awesome and really feel like family with you all. I understand to have that longing for the brethren. Hope to see you all next year!" Another wrote, "I attended my first Deeper Conference at FBCW this weekend...just wanted to say, THANK YOU...what a great challenge."
There were many familiar faces, many I recognized from Deeper 2008 and these folks were back for round two at Deeper 2009. Did I mention that Todd Friel has grown a few feet since last year?
On a serious note, Deeper is like a little slice of heaven. It's always a blessing to connect with believers that have one thing on their mind - seeking and saving the Lost. This singleness of focus, this zeal to illustrate God's glory through preaching and proclaiming Christ crucified causes a contagious passion to emerge in the hearts of all who attend. I am grateful for the speakers (Kirk Cameron, Ray Comfort, Emeal Zwayne, Mark Spence, Todd Friel, Ravi Zacharias, Greg Koukl, Johnny Hunt, and Mark Cahill), who though they come from various backgrounds are intent on the same purpose, seeking and saving the lost.
