IYC - Day three

Today is "mission project" day at IYC. Recent conventions have included a mission component which gives youth a real life experience in putting their faith into practice within the world. At 7am our group was scheduled to line-up to wait for a bus that would take us to our yet to be revealed location. "Impact Orange County" placed youth at variety of locations, including parks, schools, and to assist in the launching of a new church plant. Our bus took us to Wallace R. Davis Elementary School in Santa Ana, a school serving an underprileged and needy neighborhood. We were with over 100 IYC "Grace Agents" who descended on the property to spruce it up both on the outside and the inside. For over an hour and a half we picked up trash, swept up dirt and cleaned up rooms. The staff present where overwhelmed with our invasion. Before leaving they took the time to describe the community and the unique needs of the school, and strongly expressed their gratitude for the work we performed, which otherwise would not get done. I was especially impacted by the comment that they've had many church groups come around who just want to "talk" (i.e. preach) at them, but we were actually putting our faith into action. Before leaving they allowed us to pray for the school and the staff present.After an afternoon of free time, we reconvened in the arena for the evening service. Tonight's theme was on community, and featured speaker David Edwards. Chris Tomlin made a return appearance to IYC for the first time in four years, and led with his intensive worship style. The evening was capped off with the traditional "silent walk" (this goes back at least 30 years since my first experience with it) that led to a big "parking lot" behind the convention center and across the street from Disney and their evening fireworks display. Each group had the opportunity to build their community experience by celebrating communion.