SGI 2012 Not Ashamed of the Gospel

      For those of you who are not familiar with SGI, it is a missions conference for college students and young adults held every other year at Inter-City Baptist Church in Detroit, MI. SGI stands for Student Global Impact. Part of the purpose for the conference is to encourage and motivate us as young adults to be on fire with the light of the gospel and to share it with the world. Motivating the leaders of the conference is the knowledge that some of the greatest awakenings in our history started on college campuses.

     The men were housed in the gym on the church campus and the ladies stayed with families in the church. The daily schedule included general sessions, workshops, meal times and times spent in what is called the "Global Cafe".

      The Global Cafe was a place to meet and mingle with the other conference attendees and, most important of all, to get coffee (Starbucks!)! I'm pretty certain some of us would not have survived without the caffeine. The first general session was Tuesday evening - the day we arrived - and things started bright and early Wednesday morning at 8am and finished around 9pm. This was also the case for Thursday's schedule, with the conference ending after the 8pm session.

     The speakers included Steve Pettit, Dave Doran (the pastor of Inter-City), Dan Brooks (pastor of Heritage Bible), along with a missionary from a restricted access nation. Workshop teachers included some of these speakers, along with missionaries, representatives from Bibles international and church members there at Inter-City.

         Some specific thoughts taken away from the conference: a) We were saved because Jesus was willing to undergo humiliation and a death that was taboo to even refer to in polite society (Steve Pettit), b) The only possible explanation for our involvement in ministry is the mercy of God (Dan Brooks), c) Boldness in sharing the gospel is not brash and obnoxious behavior - it is an openness, plainness, freely given and confident presentation of the truth.(Dave Doran), and d) I should not be ashamed of the gospel because I have experienced its power for myself. (Steve Pettit).

     It was a blessing to spend so much time with fellow missions-minded people and to glean from the wisdom of those involved in full-time vocational ministry. I hope many of you are able to attend in 2014!

Lynnette Jones