The Power of the Holy Spirit

This past weekend, I was blessed with the opportunity to speak at the North Dakota KidCon. KidCon is for kids ages 3rd Grade – 6th Grade. There were really cool activities, such as; laser tag, blacklight dodgeball, snack shack (yes, this is an activity), putt putt golf, and 9-square in the air. And host of game room activities such as pool, foosball, and the like.

On the second day, kids had the opportunity to break out into ministry classes. I sat in on the Impromptu Object Lesson class. It was so cool to see kids coming up with mini sermons that would reach their friends with basic object that could laying around the house or classroom.

But some the best times were during the three services that were featured during KidCon. This is not because I’m such an awesome speaker. It’s because of the power of the Holy Spirit, and the North Dakota Team had definitely been praying leading up to this KidCon. In fact, this conference was supposed to happen in March of this year, but with Covid-19, everything was moved. What the enemy intended to stop, simply had more time to be bathed in prayer.

I was given the directive from the North Dakota District Youth Director (DYD), Aaron Pheonix, “We really want to hit hard with the Holy Spirit teaching on the first night. Most of the kids attending will have already accepted Christ as Savior, so we want to hit it hard, and grow from there!”

What a challenge! In the Assemblies of God world, we start with salvation and end with the Holy Spirit teachings. But I was excited to do this. I prayerfully chose Acts 1:8 as my theme verse for the weekend. The first night, we taught that the “Holy Spirit will come upon you.” The next morning, we talked about the power we receive, and learned about the Gifts of the Spirit laid out in 1 Corinthians 12. Our finale service focused on the idea that “you will be my witnesses!”

Right from the first night, the Holy Spirit showed up. From the ND team skit, to the praise and worship, to the teaching time, to the altar time. The Holy Spirit was present. about 10 kids accepted Christ as Savior that night. But then we asked kids if they wanted more of God. And they did!

Children flooded the altars for about 45 minutes seeking God, asking to be filled with the Holy Spirit. (As a side note: the Assemblies of God is a pentecostal demonination, and believes in a second work of the Holy Spirit.). There were children who were in tears, asking God to help them be closer to him. They were earnest in their prayers. And God didn’t disappoint. The Holy Spirit came in full glory. There was presence in this place like you wouldn’t believe. After some time, we felt it was time to close the service for the night.

The next morning’s service began with a personal time of devotion for the kids. The boys and girls were almost dead silent for 15 minutes, reading the Bible, praying, and pouring time into their relationship with God. Again, I can see that the churches in North Dakota have made it a priority for their kids to really know God, and not just know about him.

As the service began, we again had a fun skit, followed by praise and worship, the teaching time, and altar. We focused our teaching on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, specifically the supernatural gifts laid out in 1 Corinthians 12. When it was time for the altar, we invited kids who sought the Holy Spirit the night before, but felt like they needed more time. Again, the altars were flooded with kids seeking God. After about 20 minutes in prayer, we asked the kids to quiet themselves before God, and listen to his voice. We told them that God may want to use them in these supernatural gifts.

And he did… one person gave a message from God that the kids were to be set up and honored as chieftains, set apart to tell God’s message to their friends. Several kids drew pictures that they felt God showed them, and they related to their future callings. There were several who were called to be missionaries, one who said God wants to use him to pray for healing for people, and one boy who said God called him to be a mechanic, so he could fix cars for missionaries. Wow! God moved a so many special ways.

In our third service, we focused on the idea that we are to be witnesses. This was the closing service, and it was a bit shorter. We specifically challenged the kids to not leave what they experienced at the KidCon, but to take it with them, and be used of God to share his message to others. At the end, we asked the kids to stand and say, “Yes, I will!” in response to sharing God’s message.

Like I said before, the outcome of this KidCon had nothing to do with me, other than that I was obedient to God. The Power of the Holy Spirit hit this group of kids, because their leaders spent time preparing in prayer for this awesome event. And the kids were willing to open their hearts to Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Listen, this same thing can happen in your weekly services. Have you put the time in to prayer, in an effort to be prepared for the service? Are you expecting God to move in the hearts of your kids? Have you consistently taught the kids to obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit? I truly hope that you can witness the same amazing power in your church, that we did at KidCon. Remember, there is no Jr Holy Spirit. The same spirit that gives gifts to adults, gives them to kids, and there is no reason to not operate in those gifts on a regular basis.

Thank you for taking time to read this. Please let it speak to you by the power of the Holy Spirit. And remember, Aim for the Mark every time, because if we aim at nothing, we’ll hit it every time.