Missions Conference 2011 commenced with three speakers from three different parts of the world, with three very different stories coming together with one message.

Conference speakers deliver powerful messages

Mark Parker from YWAM New Zealand, Rev. JFK Mensah from Ghana and Kevin Humble from Indonesia brought the message of Isaiah 64:1-2, which partly states, “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would shake.” This year’s mission theme, Set Us Ablaze, was rendered from that verse.

With the band The City Harmonic leading the students in singing about the mountaintop and the glory of God, Thursday’s sessions were launched in a time of worship. The word was delivered by Mensah, who spoke on the power of God.

“You need power, you need passion, you need the anointing,” Mensah said. “You must be tired of a powerless Christian life. You must carry supernatural power and presence in your life.”

Alumni share mission experiences

The afternoon session was a special time, which brought four Biola alumni of different ages with individual degrees and varying mission experiences. The first alumni speaker, Myron Steeves, a graduate in 1979 from the School of Intercultural Studies shared of his experience as a lawyer serving missionaries with his experience and expertise of law. The next alumni speaker, another graduate from the ICS School class of 2007, Justin Wheeler, shared his experiences working with North Koreans through the missions organization LINK, which helps North Koreans escape the oppression of the North Korean government. The third alumni speaker, Julie Smith, 2007 graduate from the Crowell School of Business, shared her journey which brought her to work in marketing for Toms Shoes. After a brief video clip from missionary Tom Doyle and his wife, who are currently ministering in the Middle East, Arnold Humble, the father of main sessions speaker Kevin Humble, shared of his experiences of over 50 years in the mission field, winning the crowd over with his charm and wit.

Biolans repent of sexual sins

The highlight of the conference for many students was Thursday night’s session led by YWAM’s Parker. Parker spoke about the spirits of lust and religion, which leads to unbelief over the Biola’s campus. He preached on true salvation and true sacrifice, emphasizing the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.

“Today is the only day I can worship passionately,” Parker said. “I can’t do it yesterday; I can’t do it tomorrow. I have to worship radically now. It’s about worshipping him now.”

After speaking for over an hour, Parker invited students to come up to the stage and openly confess their sins. Over 20 people came out of their seats and began to openly confess sins of the flesh, as well as sins of the heart.

Both male and female students confessed and repented of lust, pornography, sexual impurity and masturbation, with one student confessing his struggle with same-sex attraction. Some girls came forward to confess self-hate and jealousy, while others shared their battles with fearing men and depression.

An hour and a half after the scheduled release time, the gymnasium was still full, with students packed up front by the stage, on their knees, praying for each other, praying for forgiveness and taking communion together. After a short time of silence, the worship band, who was visiting from Southlands Church International in Brea, Calif., ended the night with “Joyful, Joyful,” leading the students in singing and dancing.

Missions Conference ends with declarations of commitment

“Thursday night was the most beautiful night of my life,” co-director of the conference, Rebekah Peace said. “The prayer that went into it…the heart God gave us for Biola…came into being…[it] was truly the pivotal night were students were returning to their first loves…it was confirming and mind blowing…God’s love was extra strong in the gymnasium Thursday night.”

Missions Conference closed out on Friday morning with Kevin Humble, who addressed the question of “What now?” that was so predominant in the minds of the students who had been a part of Thursday’s meeting. Humble asked the students to share by starting with an “I will” statement. Some students declared their commitment to missions, while others committed to sacrificing personal desires.