What this whole thing is.

I guess I'm to give some sort of run-down for this whole shindig, eh? I think I can do that. It's probably not going to be fiercely long, but I'll try to flesh out what this whole deal is going to be.

Here's the abridged version. It's basically a conference. I could probably find a slightly more exciting word than that, as conference implies guys in suits and things like that, but it's more like... well, a gathering of like-minded people and reaching out to other people.

Longer version: If you've ever been to (or heard of, for that matter) Acquire the Fire, it's supposed to be like that... but a lot bigger. And longer. That's about the best sort of initial description that I can provide to you. To elaborate a bit more, it's roughly a week-long event taking place in Alaska called Ignite, that will feature live music (from bands you may have heard of, which we're still getting figured out), speakers, human videos, and pretty much whatever else comes to mind.

This whole thing is designed to reach mostly teens and young adults. Now 'reach' can be an ambiguous word, and depends on what we're reaching them for. The whole goal of Ignite is to show the youth (and thereabouts) of Alaska not only that a god exists, but that the G-d of the Bible is Him, and that he cares about them, infinitely more than they may ever realize. We desire to show these kids G-d, in a more real and awesome way than they have ever done so before, and to inspire them to pursue Him with more than just some passing interest. To show them that there is something more to life than the next high, new drug, girl (or guy) to use to meet their own pleasures, than the next drink, than the next whatever they may be shoving into their life in a vain attempt to feel fulfilled.

We want to reach these kids with the message of the Gospel, the saving love, and saving grace, of Christ and His sacrifice upon the cross. Or, at the very least, show them what it is to us, and pray that it does something for them. We can't save them, and we know it. But we know that G-d can do some amazing stuff, and we can testify to that in our own lives. I feel that if even one life is changed for G-d, then it's all worth the effort. He may not immediately solve all their problems, and things will by no means be made better right off the bat, but it isn't for us to portray Christ as a simple method to improve one's life, but to show Him as someone that is a necessity to survive, like He is for us. For me. I know I'd be dead without Him.

Now, yeah, a date. The date for the whole ordeal is set to be May 8th-9th [EDIT: I apparently had the dates a bit off. The other applies if you would be looking to volunteer] of next year. Location... well, obviously Alaska. A small town known as Delta Junction (we're still getting the particulars of that hammered down, as we're working on a roof to have the opportunity of allowing us to go crazy under).

Who is doing all this? Well, right now, it's being organized by a friend of mine, and a handful of others. My friend is going to town on this, and doing her best to get the message out, and get people in on this thing. The groups involved so far are Teen Mania Ministries, Delta Christian Center, the peoples and churches of Alaska, and Joel's place, which is a local skate park. We're hoping to have some additional speakers and bands sign on, and get you some more information on that good stuff later.

The plan in preparation: We've got quite a bit of work to do before May rolls around, and we certainly realize that. It's not going to be cheap, either, so we're busy raising money for it. One of the parts of the plan is to have people volunteer to help out on this thing, and we'll get them out to Alaska, as well as getting the speakers out there. We realize that this is a tricky thing to pull off on our own, so, at least, I'm asking you to pray for this thing. You won't be alone in this, because we're praying for it to. Praying that this thing is going to do something fierce to the state of Alaska, that this is going to make the Earth shake, that G-d is going to move in this and through this. We knot that G-d provides, so we're not worried. We also know that He's going to tear Him up some demons if they get in the way. G-d is going to do some amazing things through this, and we'd like to have you be a part of it, even if it's just a passing mention in your prayers for the night.

I'll try to keep you all updated on what's going on with Ignite, with new information being passed to you as it comes to me. Beyond that, we'll see where this goes.

So yeah, I'll catch you crazy people on the flipside. If you've got any questions or comments or anything like that, feel free to email me or whatever you feel comfortable in doing to contact me. Hasta.

-Josh