Rise of The Young Generation

By   Ruby Hwang
ChristianityDaily Reporter

▲Prasie

▲Performance of hip hop competition

LA Korean Berendo Street Baptist Church this week became the center of an overwhelming amount of energy overflowing from scores of students this past Saturday, April 19th of 2008 for the annual E-Crusade.

13 local churches took part in this year’s E-Crusade totaling about 350 Jr. High to College students. Everyone together worshipped God and shared the Gospel message to the non-believers through praise, Hip Hop dance, Body Worship and skit.

The event featured a praise band, hip hop, skit competitions with the theme “Better Together.” Many groups signed up to show their presentations but due to the limited time, only a few were chosen to perform and compete on stage. The preliminaries started at noon and the whole gym was filled with excitement. The praise band competitions of the Youth Group students surprised the audience with their talents. The judges watched in awe as a powerful gospel voice belched out of the young students.

Those who made the preliminaries joined the worship competition that started at 3 p.m. at the main stage. The 1st place for the Praise Band competition went to Downey First Church, 2nd place to New Hope Church, and the 3rd place went to LA NamSeoul Grace Church. For the Hip Hop and Skit division, the first place went to LA NamSeoul Grace Church, and 2nd place tied between LA Berendo Street Baptist Church and Wilshire All Nation Church. The winners received a gift and a prize of $300 for the 1st place, $200, for the 2nd place, and $100 for the 3rd place.

Various KCCC worship teams also performed, not as part of the competition but to encourage other students. The KCCC Impact team performed a Hip Hop dance with a gospel message. KCCC Enact team did a drama skit and Hosanna team did body worship. KCCC’s worship team, Undignified lead the main praise into a time of jubilee.

Pastor Josh Cornelius gave a passionate message which not only consisted of his personal testimony but also about how God approaches the students as a loving shepherd. He actually works part time as a police officer and also as a bridge that naturally connects the troublemakers to church. The church that he serves is in Carson City and they provide many opportunities for the students to get involved. They have a boxing ring in the worship hall and a stage with spotlights for the students’ to express their passion and talents.

There also was a separate booth where students could come up for counseling during the event. It was provided so students could share their worries about their future, family and friend issues, and it was a time where they could receive advice and help.

As the program came to a close, E-Crusade seems to suggest that the bigger picture of the young generation coming together to become the foundation of the healthy church, healthy campus culture, and healthy family life will be completed as God stirred the hearts of the participants with His Vision and His Heart through such events as these.

More churches are expected to take part in next year’s event. The preparation team for next year’s event is planning to have the event for 1 night and 2 days in order to have a chance get to know the students on a deeper level. The team is also planning to hold seminars that will help the students for practical things in life such as college application process and even inviting parents to come and take part.