More than 1,300 teens converged on Briercrest College and Seminary in Carponport, Sask., for a weekend of faith and fun..YouthQuake began April 28 and concluded Sunday 30. The event included worship services and concerts, some optional seminars, and fun events to choose from to fill in the free time..Angelie Bolen, a 16-year-old Grade 10 student who attends Rosewood Park Alliance Church in Regina was at YQ for the first time..“What I enjoyed is really just the connection that I felt everybody had with God. It was just very powerful and you could really feel it,” Bolen said..Activities included go-karts, a mobile escape room, a climbing wall, inflatable castles, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, disc golf, spike ball, “extreme keep away,” and more..Ashlyn Wilder, a friend of Bolen’s, sang karaoke at YQ. It was the first time the Grade 9 student was old enough to attend..“I liked that there was a lot of people who are open about their faith and are able to practice their religion openly in like a safe space without being judged,” Wilder said..“I really liked our main speaker. I think the things that he talked about were able to speak to like Christians who are new to Christianity or people who were really sure about their faith, but there was also things that people who had been in the faith for a long time could take out of his sermons and reflect on.”.Brent Brussee, a former student at Briercrest College in the ‘90s, is now a youth leader at Fort McLeod Alliance Church. He said the weekend was impactful for his group..“God was moving in amazing ways during the services…We had quite a few kids from our group that just have gone through a lot of a lot of bad things in life. And I think God really met with them tonight.”.The theme of the weekend was Psalm 23. On Saturday evening, the speaker focused on walking through the shadow of death, but not being afraid because God was with them..“There was a calling tonight for people that had had suicidal thoughts in the past and things like that, and just had them raise their hands. And then everybody prayed over them, but then it continued on into the small groups,” he said..“Tonight, my wife took one of the small groups. They're mostly girls, and 12 of the 13 were all moved and crying at the same time.”.This was the sixth year Brussee brought his youth group to the event. Every year, he says, stories of how YQ changed teenager’s lives, trickle out in conversations..“Week after week, once we get back, we find out the full understanding of what happened while they're at YouthQuake. And it's just amazing to see God working and in each of their lives, and just meeting them where they're at,” he said..The pandemic aside, YQ has been an annual event for 60 years. Coralee Schultz has helped with 20 of them, and is now part of a core team who work for months to pull off the event..“Probably the biggest challenge is keeping up [with] previous years in terms of expectation. So when they come here, what do the kids expect? And can we keep adding things to cause them to come participate and go away going, ‘Man that was even better than last year.’”.The annual event used to be held at the end of February, but has permanently moved to the end of April. This accommodated safer travel for teens who come from as far away as BC, Ontario, and the northern US to attend. .New child protection rules would not permit high school students to stay with Bible college students. That forced the event to be held after the school year ended, with youth leaders and volunteers who had had background checks to supervise the more than 1,300 teens in attendance..The second annual junior high YouthQuake for Grades 6 to 8, happens in two weeks.
More than 1,300 teens converged on Briercrest College and Seminary in Carponport, Sask., for a weekend of faith and fun..YouthQuake began April 28 and concluded Sunday 30. The event included worship services and concerts, some optional seminars, and fun events to choose from to fill in the free time..Angelie Bolen, a 16-year-old Grade 10 student who attends Rosewood Park Alliance Church in Regina was at YQ for the first time..“What I enjoyed is really just the connection that I felt everybody had with God. It was just very powerful and you could really feel it,” Bolen said..Activities included go-karts, a mobile escape room, a climbing wall, inflatable castles, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, disc golf, spike ball, “extreme keep away,” and more..Ashlyn Wilder, a friend of Bolen’s, sang karaoke at YQ. It was the first time the Grade 9 student was old enough to attend..“I liked that there was a lot of people who are open about their faith and are able to practice their religion openly in like a safe space without being judged,” Wilder said..“I really liked our main speaker. I think the things that he talked about were able to speak to like Christians who are new to Christianity or people who were really sure about their faith, but there was also things that people who had been in the faith for a long time could take out of his sermons and reflect on.”.Brent Brussee, a former student at Briercrest College in the ‘90s, is now a youth leader at Fort McLeod Alliance Church. He said the weekend was impactful for his group..“God was moving in amazing ways during the services…We had quite a few kids from our group that just have gone through a lot of a lot of bad things in life. And I think God really met with them tonight.”.The theme of the weekend was Psalm 23. On Saturday evening, the speaker focused on walking through the shadow of death, but not being afraid because God was with them..“There was a calling tonight for people that had had suicidal thoughts in the past and things like that, and just had them raise their hands. And then everybody prayed over them, but then it continued on into the small groups,” he said..“Tonight, my wife took one of the small groups. They're mostly girls, and 12 of the 13 were all moved and crying at the same time.”.This was the sixth year Brussee brought his youth group to the event. Every year, he says, stories of how YQ changed teenager’s lives, trickle out in conversations..“Week after week, once we get back, we find out the full understanding of what happened while they're at YouthQuake. And it's just amazing to see God working and in each of their lives, and just meeting them where they're at,” he said..The pandemic aside, YQ has been an annual event for 60 years. Coralee Schultz has helped with 20 of them, and is now part of a core team who work for months to pull off the event..“Probably the biggest challenge is keeping up [with] previous years in terms of expectation. So when they come here, what do the kids expect? And can we keep adding things to cause them to come participate and go away going, ‘Man that was even better than last year.’”.The annual event used to be held at the end of February, but has permanently moved to the end of April. This accommodated safer travel for teens who come from as far away as BC, Ontario, and the northern US to attend. .New child protection rules would not permit high school students to stay with Bible college students. That forced the event to be held after the school year ended, with youth leaders and volunteers who had had background checks to supervise the more than 1,300 teens in attendance..The second annual junior high YouthQuake for Grades 6 to 8, happens in two weeks.