Conference Theme

Across our country, eighteen different times this summer, thousands of teens are gathering at Steubenville Conferences to reflect on the theme Illuminate which comes from John 1:5.  In this verse  we hear, “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” Jesus Christ came to bring the light of God’s love into a spiritually dark and dying world where we can often get lost. By allowing the Lord to bring light to our lives, we can shine that light to one another through love.

Tonight, Katie Prejean McGrady led us deeper into this  idea of Illuminate. She started by asking for all to trust in what the Lord has in store for us. Katie said, “In this world that has convinced us that we are only as good as what we can give, God is not asking us to do anything but receive what He has to offer.” God didn’t need any of us. He wanted us! God said, let there be light, not because He needed to see anything but because He wanted us to be able to see everything. Let us walk in the light together this weekend!

Ministry Team

• Host: Katie Prejean McGrady
• Worship Leader: Kyle Huelsing
• Team Priest: Fr. Brian Fallon
• Keynote Speaker: Jackie Francois Angel
• Keynote Speaker: Brian Greenfield

Keynote: God Illuminated

Brian Greenfield began our weekend talking about our desire to be free, but our inclination to be guarded out of fear. He challenged us all to take the moment that we have been given right now to come to know God more. He asked us to reflect on three questions:

1. Are you willing to believe that there is a God bigger than your sin?
2. Are you willing to trust in Jesus and his love and call for you personally?
3.  Are you willing to respond to that call?

From this, Brian recounted the story of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar from Jericho. In Mark 10, we meet Bartimaeus as he sits on the side of the road. Bartimaeus called out to Jesus, knowing this was his opportunity to bring his desires to the Lord. Despite people around him telling him to be quiet, Bartimaeus cried out louder saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus calls him closer and we are reminded of the fact that Jesus desires to give us the longing of our hearts. He wants to bring light to the darkness in the same way that he gave sight to Bartimaeus. Fear is the opposition to encounter. Instead of reaching out to Jesus like Bartimaeus, fear makes us fall back. But we must take courage and get up, because Jesus is calling us. Brian closed with a powerful message, “Sometimes we have to let go of the things that we hold onto, to be able to hold the things that we need. Let’s give our all to Jesus, and see what he can do!” This moment is our opportunity to respond to Jesus’ call.

Click here to watch the recorded live stream of this session!