Epicentre Concludes in Saskatoon

By Heather Sinamano

The quiet calm of the early-May night outside the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon was in sharp contrast to the loud music and high energy inside, as a crowd of 4,200 people sang and jumped to the tunes of Christian bands Fresh IE, Starfield, and Hawk Nelson.

It was on Saturday, May 9 that the excited crowd gathered for ignition, culminating the year-long, multi-phase Epicentre youth evangelism initiative in Saskatoon. Will Graham preached a powerful message – in the same central Saskatchewan city where his father Franklin and grandfather Billy preached together back in 1995.

This time, just like in 1995, listeners were passionately urged to find their purpose and destiny in Jesus Christ. When Will invited people to publicly accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, 474 or more than 10 per cent of the total audience came forward – some of them running.

“It was awesome!” said Kevin Stagg, director of donor ministries for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada (BGEAC) that has organized Epicentre programs in seven Canadian cities from coast to coast since the first in Barrie, ON, in 2005. “God really showed up. He honored the efforts of all the ministries, staff, and supporters of BGEAC who worked long and hard to see this event come to pass.”

More than 500 people made commitments to Christ throughout the whole process of Epicentre Saskatoon, including the earlier phases. The journey began in the summer of 2008, when BGEAC received an invitation from a coalition of Saskatoon churches and youth pastors to offer the Epicentre initiative in their city. A committee was organized, comprised of local youth pastors and business people, in partnership with supporters and with BGEAC’s youth ministry team.  The first of Epicentre’s seven phases was held on a weekend in November 2008.

The role of BGEAC in offering Epicentre is to come alongside local churches, businesses, and ministries, and together invest in the leadership training of local Christian youth. It deepens their faith in Christ, and teaches and encourages them how to share it with their families and peers.

Epicentre also creates an atmosphere conducive to evangelism through the local church, says Stagg. “Churches that have never worked together before are now united towards the same goal of seeing change come to the city of Saskatoon,” explained Dion Collins, BGEAC’s youth ministry manager

The ignition event in early May was about more than great Canadian bands, testimonies, and even the decisions for Christ that were made. It was also a night of healing for many families.

A troubled married couple came to ignition, having recently experienced some problems in their home. Midway through the altar call, the husband turned to his wife and made a simple statement. “We need to talk,” he said. “I need to get things right.”

They went outside to talk and it was later revealed by close family members that they went beyond the parking lot to a restaurant where they talked into the early hours of Sunday morning, long after ignition was over.

Indeed, the walls of hurt and defiance were coming down all over the arena. One “unchurched” man went down to the altar floor, not to make a decision, but to hug his child’s youth pastor and thank him for the good work he is doing. Yet another family rose up and came to the altar floor accompanying their two youngest children who had finally decided to receive Christ as their Lord.

Nearby, Karla, a single mother who had been trained as a counselor began praying with some of those who had forward in response to Will’s invitation. Before beginning her counseling, she asked friends sitting with her to stay with her 10-year-old daughter. A few moments later, she looked up to see her daughter coming towards her for prayer. The girl wanted to receive Christ. When her mother tried to find another counselor for her, the girl insisted her mother be the one to lead her to the Lord.

Few things in a youth leaders’ lives bring more joy to their hearts than seeing some of their own young people embrace the Lord right before their eyes.  An event like ignitionbrings out courage in some students who may have previously attended a youth group but were not very motivated to step up and declare their faith or lead others to faith.

“One of my students was really nervous about being a counselor – she had never done anything so bold before,” said Keith Pankratz, youth pastor at Pleasant Hill Mennonite Church and chairman of the Epicentre Saskatoon organizing committee. “When she got there, she turned around to find her friend, also from the youth group, coming towards her to recommit her life to Christ.”

Caroline, a youth leader from a local church, brought 100 students to ignition, most of whom did not know Christ and had never attended a Christian event before. To encourage them, Caroline asked Starfield band members to autograph some of their music CDs and posters so she could give to her youth group. Starfield’s members said they were honored by her request, and Caroline experienced the joy of seeing several young people come forward to receive Christ that night.

Epicentre stretched many of the 1,600 youth who participated in the program, including four teenaged girls who received special training in communications as they worked with BGEAC staff to advertise and promote the evangelism ministry in their community. The four – high school students Brittany Reid, Cheyenne Friesen, Samantha Ingram, and Rock of Ages Church youth leader Ehjae Chan – were called upon to represent Epicentre and BGEAC in radio interviews and at public events, encouraging other young people to bring their non-Christian friends to ignition.