An earlier version of this article mentioned Jeremy Willet’s son and daughter were adopted from Cambodia and Ethiopia. This is an error. Willet’s son and daughter were adopted from Ghana and Ethiopia. The Chimes regrets this error and is committed to correcting all errors of fact. Readers are urged to notify the staff of such errors as soon as possible.
Amidst the fog, high up in the stands of the Intuit Dome, the sight of thousands of people gathered in one space to worship overwhelms me. Psalm 34:3 tells us to “Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together,” and that is what happened at the Elevation Nights ‘24 concert on Sept. 28.
BEAUTIFUL PRAISE
Elevation Nights is a three-and-a-half hour long concert featuring Elevation Rhythm, Elevation Worship and speakers Jeremy Willet and Steven and Holly Furtick.
“Sometimes the most beautiful praise comes from the ugliest places,” Steven Furtick said.
I don’t know what the people around me were going through that night. Maybe some of them were in ugly places, but over 10,000 voices joined together in beautiful praise.
Elevation Rhythm opened the concert with “Fake Love,” warming up the crowd for about three hours of music, including performances from Elevation Rhythm as well as Elevation Worship.
Elevation Rhythm performed songs such as “Praises,” “This Is The Gospel,” “Over & Over,” “At The Altar” and “GOODBYE YESTERDAY” throughout the night.
Tiffany Hudson’s performance of “At The Altar” was especially moving. I had not heard this song before attending the concert, but it is now one of my new favorites. The lyrics Hudson and the band sang spoke deep into my heart.
“Fear and anxiety cannot live here. There’s no waste at the altar.” This is a lyric from the song “At The Altar” that struck a chord in me. In the midst of school, anxiety is a constant enemy that torments me. As Hudson sang those lyrics, I felt a peace wash over me as I was reminded that God can remove all fear and anxiety.
When Elevation Worship took the stage, they began with a powerful performance of “LION.” The stadium was filled with flashing colors of red and white as the music overtook the vast space. The screens hanging from the ceiling displayed the word “roar” in large block letters as the voices of the band and the audience surrounded me like a hug. People raised their hands in unison and swayed to the music, their movements seemingly choreographed.
Elevation Worship played popular songs such as “Jehovah,” “See a Victory,” “Rattle!,” “O Come to the Altar” and “Praise.” They also performed “When Wind Meets Fire,” the namesake of their new album that was released earlier this year on July 12.
My personal favorite from the evening was “Blessings.” White lights illuminated the stadium, reminding me of a starry sky, and as soon as the first lyrics rang out, chills ran down my spine and goosebumps crawled up my arms. I was overwhelmed by the feeling that the Holy Spirit was with us at that very moment.
NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE
Interspersed between the musical sets, different people came up on stage to give a message. Jeremy Willet spoke first. He told the audience about his son and daughter whom he and his wife adopted from Ghana and Ethiopia. Upon finding them abandoned, his children both tested positive for HIV — today, at 11 and 12 years old, they now test negative for HIV.
Willet segued into the World Vision ministry. He is currently sponsoring 11-year-old Soephia in Cambodia. Soephia is an orphan living with her grandmother after both her parents abandoned her. Willet played a video in which he was asking Soephia about her story.
When asked about her mother, Soephia said through tears, “Mom left for work and never came back.”
Willet also shared the incredible story of Phanet who was sponsored when she was 10 years old. Now, at 19, Phanet teaches Thai at the same school she attended as a child.
Willet encouraged the audience to sponsor a child in Cambodia through World Vision. He hoped to have 1,000 kids sponsored by the end of the night.
“Nothing is impossible,” Willet said.
PACKING OUR PRAISE
Steven and Holly Furtick were welcomed on stage with roaring applause. Furtick passed the mic off to Holly Furtick who expressed her excitement at being in a space filled with so many Christians ready to worship together.
“I feel like when we come into a room like this it’s God’s way of reminding us that he is alive and at work right here in LA,” Holly Furtick said when she came on stage to give a brief message.
Holly Furtick spoke about her family’s tendency to overpack when they travel. She used this as an avenue into the story of Miriam, sister of Moses and Aaron, in Exodus 15:20-27. When Pharaoh let the Israelites go, they had to pack quickly. While others may have focused on packing clothes and food, Miriam packed timbrels, or tambourines, to lead them in worship while they were in the wilderness.
Holly Furtick encouraged us to pack these moments of worship at the concert into our souls because we don’t have to worry about packing light.
“Your praises today will feed your soul in the wilderness tomorrow,” Holly Furtick said.
THE RIPPLE IS COMING
Steven Furtick gave the main sermon of the night. His energy was palpable and he captured the audience’s attention quickly, often moving around the stage and yelling passionately into his microphone.
Furtick told the story of a woman who came to an Elevation Worship concert a couple years ago. She didn’t want to attend but her husband insisted. Even though she didn’t feel God moving during the concert, he started to work in her life. After that day, her depression began to lift and she became more present in her children’s lives again.
“One moment in the presence of God can set a ripple into effect in your lives,” Furtick said.
He took us into Joshua 3-4, where the Israelites crossed over the Jordan river to enter the Promised Land. As the Israelites carried the Ark of the Covenant through the water, God dried up the river long enough for them to cross. God commanded Joshua to choose 12 Israelites to gather 12 stones from the river so that they would never forget what God did for them and how they could not have gotten across that river without Him.
Furtick used this story to remind us that we are not enough on our own. We need God to step into our lives and create a ripple.
“If you’re in a dry place, [God] can be a rock that brings forth water in a weary land. If you’re hungry, he can be the bread of life,” Furtick said. “If you’re running out of joy, he can be the new wine. If you’re running out of ideas or if you’re running out of strength or if you’re running out of wisdom, he can be for you what you have ceased to be for yourself.”
I walked into that concert thinking I would simply be there to enjoy the music and worship. But I walked out with a renewed sense of trust in God and the powerful feeling that he was making ripples in my life at that very moment.
As Furtick said in his sermon, “If you’re not dead, God’s not done,” and I have never been more sure of that truth.
