Students Urged To Live “A Life That Counts”
By Priscilla Sapp
December 2009
Nearly 450 students from across Kansas and Nebraska gathered recently at Webster Conference Center for challenging messages, authentic worship, relevant workshops and late-night entertainment.
The students came from 15 campuses and filled the Webster chapel. Hutchinson Community College, Hutchinson, Kan., and Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., attended for the first time. And a group came all the way from the University of Wisconsin.
Built around the theme, “A Life that Counts,” Max Barnett, the keynote speaker, encouraged students to make an eternal difference by knowing for sure that they had a personal relationship with the Lord.
Building on that foundation, the students were encouraged to make God’s Word a priority in their lives by having a daily quiet time with the Lord and memorizing key verses. And as they grow in their faith and walk with the Lord, they should choose to live in obedience, faithfully sharing their faith and passing on what they have learned to others.
Barnett served as collegiate ministry director at the University of Oklahoma from 1967-2004. He and his wife Sandra continue to serve as State Collegiate Ministries Director in Colorado as well as teaching at two seminaries and other speaking engagements.
One freshman attending said, “Max was an encouraging speaker who is passionate about getting our generation to be passionate about Jesus Christ.”
The Anthem Band led the worship for the weekend. Coming from Ames, Iowa, this group writes music and leads worship that targets the next generation. Students singing of their faith and commitment to the Lord inspired and encouraged those attending.
One student stated, “I came to Fall Conference to meet people and grow a stronger relationship with those I already knew; however, I didn’t realize that I would be moved by the worship and convicted to start becoming a disciplined believer.”
River Community Church Training Program, Wichita, provided dinner on Friday night and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary provided ice cream that evening.
Workshops were led by a variety of both collegiate ministry leaders and others who have a heart for students.
Across the Webster campus students met with God every morning and throughout the day gathered together to discuss what they had heard and learned and how to make practical application to their lives.
During the last session on Sunday morning as Max shared about eternal life with God or eternally living separated from God, one student sat and spontaneously shared both the Romans Road and the Bridge illustration with a fellow international student. What a picture of a life that is choosing to make a difference in the lives of those around her for eternity!
As these students consistently live a life that counts, they will impact their campuses, their communities, Kansas and Nebraska, and the world.
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