The sound system pumps bass into a ballroom crowded with almost 1,000 college students. Energy is high as the worship band whips the crowd into a God-glorifying frenzy. The stage goes dark as the crowd roars with anticipation of the coming week. This is Big Break ’08. Big Break is Campus Crusade’s spring break evangelism conference in Panama City Beach, FL. The conference lasts one week, with 4 conferences back-to-back. It’s the first night and the students are ready to soak up all the week has to offer.
The emcee takes the stage and introduces Ben Rivera, outreach coordinator for the week, who tells them something that will most likely frighten the entire room at once. Ben tells them that they will be spending the week going out, onto the beach, talking to other people about how they can have a personal relationship with God.
Some knew this was coming, but to some, this news no doubt carried with it a lot of fear.
But this is where the conference gets good.
Sure, Big Break is about worship, community, fun and even getting a break from the grind of college studies. However, the primary thrust behind why this conference even exists is evangelism.
Students get to experience God in a radical way as they talk to people about Jesus all week long.
Just a few days after Ben first tells them that they will be having conversations about God on the beach all week, students – once terrified by the idea of talking complete strangers about their faith – line up on both sides of the stage by the dozens.
They’re lining up to participate in what we call “sharing time.” It’s kind of like God’s show-and-tell from the previous 4 days. Sharing time testifies of what God does when our students trust in Him, take steps of faith and leave the results up to our Maker.
After three conferences in three weeks, God has used the students involved with Big Break to lead over 725 people to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.
It’s incredible to see how these timid students have been used by God to usher other people into the kingdom.
