Celebrating 50 years . . .

Of what you might ask? “You’re only 26, it can’t be your birthday, or wedding anniversary, or any other occasion like that.” And you’re correct, but Youth With A Mission however is fifty years old, and this year has been one of celebration for the mission.

Loren and Darlene, the founders of YWAM, have gone on four seperate journies over the past 11 months visiting YWAM centers around the world, from Costa Rica to Reykjavik, Tauranga to Mongolia. In less than one week we will have our final celebration here in Kona, and let me tell you it is going to be massive. A few thousand YWAMers from all across the globe will be coming to celebrate this year of Jubilee.

Over the past few months things have been renovated and prepared, but this last week has been full of even more activity. Final work is being done on several venues, a treehouse is being built, and a theater is being constructed in an old shed. That’s where I have been involved.

Our team has helped in several areas for the 50th, and I am helping plan our film festival that is running alongside the 5 days of celebrating. Each afternoon and night we are going to screen films that YWAMers have made or been involved in and it should be a lot of fun. We’ll do documentaries, full-length features, and a host of shorts. And this will happen in our newly constructed theater. It’s been so cool to see how God has provided to make this happen. It’s a legit theater. 88 seats (actual theater seats, with cupholders) surround sound, HD projector, it’s awesome! I’ve gotten to help manage this project. I’ve learned so much, and to be able to oversee the film festival with it has been a blast. And it’s been a unique opportunity to engage in other aspects of film while still moving forward with the other projects that we have been involved in.

One of my prayers as we complete this theater is that it too will be a place of worship. Not that we would worship films but that as we show movies, people’s hearts would be touched. That God would grab a hold of them and speak to them in a new way, and that people would even find healing as they sit in the theater. My personal vision for filmmaking is for people to walk out of a film saying “Wow I experienced God.” My hope is that it happens in our theater.

And it’s a lot of fun to say, “Our theater.”

If you’re coming for the 50th we’ll see you here! Come catch a movie with us!

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