‘Empowered By Jesus’: Over 11,000 Students Attend Motion Conference in Alabama
More than 11,000 students representing 230 churches from 31 states and six countries attended a worship event in Alabama aimed at equipping them to live for Jesus.
The annual Motion Conference, organized by the Church of the Highlands, took place on July 27-29 at The Legacy Arena in Mobile, Alabama. Attendees consisted of middle school to college students alongside their youth leaders.
In an emailed statement to The Christian Post, Mark Pettus, president of Highlands College and associate pastor at Church of the Highlands, shared that the goal of Motion is to encourage students to live out Ephesians 2:10, which states, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
“It provides an environment where students discover their identity in Christ and set their faith in motion to do the good things He planned for them,” Pettus said.
Pettus added that students could attend sessions featuring speakers and worship band members before splitting into community groups to discuss what they learned.
“Motion is more than a conference and more than bands and speakers,” Pettus continued. “It’s about a generation of young people empowered by Jesus, equipped to make a difference and living out their faith.”
Since its inception 15 years ago, Pettus shared that Highlands Senior Pastor Chris Hodges and the church’s youth ministry team wanted to create the conference toward the end of the summer so that students would start the school year “enthusiastic to live their lives in motion for God.”
Although students have to pay a fee to enter the event, they also offer scholarships from the Church of the Highlands, which comes from donations by church members.
“This generation of students is on fire for God. Students are seeking the love of Jesus, and it’s inspiring and motivating to see how they want others to know His love, too,” Pettus said.
He noted that this year’s Motion Conference saw an 18 percent increase in attendees from last year. Hodges described the increase in attendees as “encouraging.”
“Our heart has always been focused on raising up young leaders, and I’m convinced more than ever that this generation will change eternity by changing the world,” Hodges stated.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/James Coleman
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for Christian Headlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
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