Jonathan and Destiny Vandeput were asked to be the main speakers at a Filipino youth retreat that involved 4 different churches.
The theme of the conference was "Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone" and the Ninth Hour team definitely has been living that the last year. Prayerfully they went into the weekend with high expectations that the Lord was going to pour out his Glory on these young people.
As always, God did not disappoint.
The first night Jonathan shared a bit of his testimony about how he got to where we are today and challenging the kids to think big and not put God in a box. That God could come in at any time and change the course of your life and to be prepared, but also be willing.
The next day Destiny taught a workshop to the kids about finding vision and establishing goals for your life. She based it on Nehemiah rebuilding the walls and challenged the kids to find the thing that they are passionate about, bring it before God in order to define the vision, then set goals to get there. The kids then spent time writing out vision and goals and shared them with the group. Destiny had girls coming up to her after the workshop and asking specific advice and direction and she was able to really share with them.
That evening Jon led the kids in an annointed time of prayer and warring over their futures. We prayed that God would come in and mark the young people with His fire and His annointing. God was thickly there and invaded their hearts. The simple truth that God is Good rushed into these young people and broke down walls. It was amazing.
Jonathan then spoke about what a comfort zone is and why we need to always push outside of them.
The kids were really touched that night. A young lady even came to their room after midnight wanting to talk with Destiny about a word that the Lord had given her and how it affected her spirit and to get her contact info so that she could talk more later.
The next morning Jonathan brought an incredibly powerful word about stepping out of the box. Using Peter as an example when he stepped out of the boat and walked to Jesus. How to step out, you had to put away fear and trust in He who was calling you forth. He then led a time of specifically praying for people who struggle with fear and anxiety. There were kids whose lives changed that morning, the tears were flowing and God came and set many people free from fear.
What a privilege it was to be able to pour into these young people's lives and to be a part of seeing God mark them as world changers.