Seventy-five members of this 200-strong group from Mississauga, Ont., attended the youth portion of the annual rally on Mar. 2 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Vyllana Nguyen, 15, has been attending the rally with the group for four years. “I actually go to a public school so I’m not able to express my faith in school and talk to other people about it,” she said. “By coming here I can meet new people and find people that actually like expressing their faith like I do. It’s just a great opportunity for everyone to learn about new things and how it’s going to affect their lives.”
More than 1,400 people attended the day-long youth portion of the 21st anniversary of the Lift Jesus Higher Rally, according to organizers. Presenters focussed on relating faith to real-life issues, from suffering and death to living away from family and on campus.
“It’s a great way to expand your faith,” said youth group member Evan Lu, 15. “Most of the problems that they talk about, topics they talk about, are related to our teenage real lives. So it’s easier for us to connect to them, rather than let’s say a Bible passage.”
Rally presenters related Scripture to everyday life as they shared personal stories of suffering and salvation.
Sean Breeden, 26, was one of the presenters. He shared the story of his father who became HIV positive after a blood transfusion and the impact his father’s death had on his life.
Referring to the youth, he said, “If they leave knowing that they are loved and they have someone to turn to in the difficulties they face in our culture, then I say we’ve done our job.”
They could turn to the Lord, said Breeden, as well as to those they trust at church and their youth ministers. When they encounter problems “they can’t get past, they can turn to the Lord in prayer and know He is there for them.”
Lexie Breeden, 24, attended the rally with her husband.
“My hope for the youth today is that they leave having encountered, in a personal way, Jesus Christ in a world that’s so anti- Christian and so difficult right now for the youth to stay on the right track,” she said. “They can go forward from here, having met Christ, maybe for the first time or maybe in a deeper way, and move forward in a relationship with him.”
Doan Nguyen, 15, of the Vietnamese youth group, may have experienced just that. Because of this rally, he feels spiritually closer to God, he said. “Whenever I feel lost, every year, I come here.”