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A Review of Flames
of Fire 2004
Hello everyone!
My name is Rachel Milner and I'm 18 years old. At the
moment I am working for a year with Big Ideas on the
Ignite Cymru team. We're going to be travelling around
Wales working in the secondary schools, and giving them
the message of Jesus.
I have been attending the Flames of Fire conference
since I was 12, and each year I have been so blessed by
what God has done in my life, but also in the lives of
those around me. I had never in my life been to an event
where there were so many youth, wanting to be there, and
worshipping and praising God in such a real way. It was
amazing and such an encouragement to me, as I come form
North Wales where there aren't many young Christians in
my area. I also made very strong friendships with
Christians my age all over Wales, which was also another
massive encouragement. Maybe I would only see some of
them once a year, but we kept in touch throughout the
rest of the year, and knowing that I could turn to them
for advice or for prayer requests, and that they could
do the same to me, was just such a lovely feeling.
Although we were miles apart, we were all united in
Christ!
As some of you may know, the organisation that hold the
youth event are called Big Ideas, and the event itself
is called Ignite. Each year in the conference, the
amount of youth that attend the Ignite programme has
grown and grown. Praise God! This year, I, along with
the friends that I have made over the years at the
conference, were asked to be the new Ignite team leaders
for Flames of Fire. This was such a privilege for me,
and I know that it was the same for the others
too. It was a daunting task to take over from the team
that had been there right from the word go, from the
people that the youth had got to know really well over
the years. We spent a weekend together in January
planning and seeking what God wanted to happen during
the week, but, even though we had planned it, I know
that a lot of us were really apprehensive about the
week! But we all knew that God would be there with us
and help us through the week - and as ever, He did!
This year's conference was the best for me so far. There
were the ups and downs of being on the team, like
arranging things, getting up early for team meetings,
being tired most of the time. But the rewards were
amazing! Stepping back this year and watching what God
was doing in the lives of the youth around me was just
so mind blowing, and I can remember thinking throughout
the week, what an amazing, and mighty God we have! And
it wasn't just the youth that He was blessing either,
when I went along to some of the main meetings in the
main pavilion, and saw the Spirit of God falling on all
of the adults and the small children involved with
Messengers, I felt so proud to be a part of GOD'S SQUAD!
If there's anyone out there who doubts God, I challenge
you to come along to the next Flames of Fire conference
and then You'll see the power of God moving among His
people!
I know that in some Churches it feels like there is a
massive gap between the children, the teenagers and the
adults - it's all happened to us at some point. But in
Flames of Fire, there is no gap. Ok, we all attend
different meetings, but when we gather, it's like one
big happy family of God, all there for the same purpose,
to worship Him! There is so much support and love felt
between the different ages, and this year I felt it more
than ever. God has a purpose for all of us, however big
or small we are, and we all need to be encouraged by
each other to do His work, because at times it can be
really tough, believe me I know.
That's what's received from the Flames of Fire
conference. It has been such a big part of my life, and
I don't think that I would still be following God now if
it wasn't for that extra encouragement, prayer network
and friendships made with people of all ages in the
Flames of Fire conference.
God Bless.
Rachel
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