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Six seeds sown eight years ago in Atlanta!

Posted on Friday 23 March 2007 by Greg @ 7:46 am
Filed under: Rants

It’s been eight years since we first came to Atlanta. I remember my first youth leader lunch here. Me and my buddy Larry Stair flew in from Denver expecting fifty or so pumped up youth leaders to attend our free lunch and preview event. The plan was to feed them and cast the vision for a Dare 2 Share conference in the ATL. But instead of a packed room of fifty we had six youth leaders show, that’s right six.

Now six is a fine number, but not for a youth leader luncheon. After the lunch I was so discouraged I went to see a movie with my buddy before we caught a flight back home. We saw Meet Joe Black. NOTE TO SELF: IF DISCOURAGED DO NOT GO SEE A MOVIE ABOUT THE GRIM REAPER. CHECK OUT A COMEDY INSTEAD.

But from those six seeds that were sown eight years ago the harvest has come forth! We are expecting somewhere between 4,500 and 5,000 teenagers this weekend in Atlanta! By God’s grace and through his divine blessing we have seen the Lord bless this event and bless this city through the teenagers and youth leaders who attend.

So whether you are in a youth group that is small (let’s say 6) or large (let’s say a lot more than 6) just know that God can take a handful of seeds and multiply it for his glory. Check out the words of Jesus in Mark 4:

He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."

44 Comments for 'Six seeds sown eight years ago in Atlanta!'

On March 23, 2007 @ 10:06 am Corey G. said:

This is such a confirming word as a youth director… Our youth ministry is the 6 your talking about and I know God has wonderful plans for us. We are keeping the faith to see the power of God consume our lives.. Thanks Greg and see you the conference! Corey Gibson - Youth Leader
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On March 23, 2007 @ 10:11 am Alex said:

Hey Greg. I have about 10-15 kids give or take. I brought 12 to D2S this year in Phoenix. (7 last year). It does get discouraging when the growth doesn’t seem to be happening. I tell you what really keeps me going. The payday you give all of us youth pastors at D2S on Friday night. As you were walking around the Dodge Theater on Friday night you came up to me and asked me my name, and reminded me and the entire crowd that what really matters to me is those kids glorifying God with their lives (loose paraphrase). I am sure you do not remember me since you see hundreds of youth pastors at D2D, but I was the good lookin’ overweight guy :-). I think I told Neva after the conference that the Pay Day you give us is really one of the most important things you do at D2S because there are days when I start asking myself why I keep doing this. You see a lot of us are like me. We volunteer our time and our family’s time to study, organize, and teach teenagers with sometimes very discouraging results. Once in a while it gets to be too much with our stressful "paying" jobs on top of the youth ministry, and trying to whittle out a few hours a week for our our wives and kids. I am not whining I am just letting others know that they are not alone in the quest for teenager’s souls and that discouragement is really normal. It’s what you do in response to the discouragement that really matters. Do you retire from ministry or do you turn to God for strength to carry on. Well Greg the "payday" at D2S really turns us to God for strength. Thank you and thank you for not letting discouragement stop you.
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On March 23, 2007 @ 12:27 pm Becky said:

That is exciting.I will be praying for you guys!!! ~Becky~
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On March 23, 2007 @ 6:35 pm Ashley Buckner said:

Why do you ALWAYS beat me, Becky? Well, I’ll be prayin’ for all of you guys! Good Luck! L8r. Signing off, Ashley
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On March 23, 2007 @ 7:25 pm bryce vaughn said:

thats pretty cool.
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On March 23, 2007 @ 8:19 pm Caitlin said:

I like how you put that and you won’t belive what I tried to do on Saturday last week. I tried to share my faith with two jehovahs wittnesses and they suddenly got in a hurry to leave… I waish now that I’d gotten more time to speak with them. Oh well, thats another date and time!
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On March 23, 2007 @ 8:31 pm AMBER REID said:

HEY GREG! My youth group came to d2s seattle… it was awesome… I dont know if you remember the two sisters from colorado… and then our friend brought up the fact of the kids on the gospel journey would have probably chased you with the knife if you had sacrificed the lamb… but yeah… our group had fun, and we had one at least come to Jesus… and Scottie… the one who made the knife comment, he said he decided to dedicate himself fully to Jesus… i was so happy when i found out. i prayed with scottie while everyone was hugging our youth pastor. so anyway… i didnt have a cell when you gave us the challenge, but one of the chaperones gave me her cell phone to use when you excused everyone out to the hall… i called winona, which is who i thought of first when i watched the drama… i called her, and i told her i was worried, and wanted her to go to church again [she used to be saved, but backslid when bad things happened, and she got into drugs alcohol and sex] so she agreed to come to church in the morning… she didnt show up, but i am still trying to get her to come! AMBER
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On March 24, 2007 @ 9:09 pm Sam Hunley said:

Hey Greg, i kno this has nothing to pertain to the article, but it needs to be said. My girlfriend needs some prayers. she has been goin through trouble praying and she has felt unworthy of God, so please keep her in your prayers, thank you.
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On March 24, 2007 @ 9:25 pm Kimcando2 said:

Hey Greg! I am a volunteer youth leader at Rolling Hills Baptist Church in Buford, GA. I was at D2S tonight when you challenged us to call a friend. I found myself overwhelmed with the conviction to call my Dad. I was not raised in a Christian family and have procrastinated for 20 yrs. about talking to my Dad about his eternal whereabouts! That was the hardest the thing I have ever done in my life!!!!!! He told me he was sure that he would be in Heaven, but I made certain that he knew exactly how to get to Heaven before I hung up. I just pray that if he really hasn’t prayed for forgiveness (He said that he has) that this conversation will at least get him to thinking! Thanks for the challenge! God actually had him be at home when on most days he would have been at work, and he actually answered the phone when on most occassions my Mom would have answered and given me the chance to stall. Awesome weekend! Thanks for your willingness to teach and train! Kim
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On March 24, 2007 @ 10:31 pm China_Girl said:

hi! my name is hillary, and i’m 17. i came to dare 2 share this past weekend! i remember you said to come here and leave a comment to tell you about my experiance with witessing. so, here it goes……well, i did the cell phone challenge tonight!!! (i’m glad i had some minutes left on it!) and called one of my friends…..you see, i was thinking of this one friend i have, but i didn’t have his number, so i was scrolling through my contacts, and saw the name of one of my firends (we’ll just call her "J" ) and i just really felt the Lord telling me she is the one i needed to call! well, i was like but she says she’s a christian. even though a lot of things she does tells me she’s not…..but i called her up anyway and just started telling her all that i had learned and honestly i don’t remember everything i said. God really just put the words in my mouth. and after i finished talking to her about it, she was just really quite, and i was like "welll, what do you think" and she kept saying was "yep" and "mhm" so eventually i had to go, but i’m really hoping that it made an impact on her life….i’m going to call her tomorrow, and talk to her again about it. i also took the 48 hour challenge! when i got home i looked on IM to see if my friend who i wanted to call was on, and sure enough he was! (that was so the Lord right there!) i told him i wanted to talk to him about some thing, and told him about God and how much i want to see him in heaven…..we talked for a really long time, i’ve witnessed to him twice before but he still refuses to except Jesus. it makes me so sad, to know that the key to living eternal with God is right there for him, yet he wont take it! but i will still try and keep praying for him! this was my first time ever coming to dare to share….i came last night, and was only able to come from 7pm-9pm tonight. (algebra once again got in the way of things! : P ) but even so, i got a lot from it! just about being totally sold out for God! around november of 2006, i was watching a tv show called "china rises" and they had this guy on there, that lived in the village in the moutians. and he told his story….when he was 17 he left his village to go work in the city, in order to go to school. well one day a micheine malfunctioned and cut off his hand! well, the company refused to pay for his hospital bills, and so he had to use his school money. he returned to his village, and married, and had a son of his own. i remember seeing him holing the two year old saying he they wanted to get some good schooling for him when he is old enough, but they didn’t have any money. and when i saw that, God just really layed it on my heart to be a teacher over there! going to dare 2 share really helped me see even more clearly about my future with china! i can’t wait to see what God has in store for me! well, its is 12:36am! but i really wanted to comment you! lol, i’m going to go to bed now…..DARE 2 SHARE ROCKED! and i will deffinatly try to come again next year! keep the faith! God’s Girl, ~::*Hillary*::~
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On March 24, 2007 @ 11:39 pm Chris McCravy said:

Yea hey, I was at the conference this year, and the one message( about walking out your faith in everyday life) was great. Everyone (teen or otherwise) needs to hear that message. =). It just made me realize (again….) that i still have some fear i need to get out of me so i can completely just trust in God, and do the actions, without thinking about it. Thanks for the great conference, SCM
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On March 24, 2007 @ 11:47 pm Amanda Hughes said:

HEY! well wen you challenged us to call a friend the one person i was really thinking of was sitting right beside me. But then came two others to mind. One i talk to all the time about God, but he just doesnt wanna listen. He thinks he is right. But, now, since you said what if your wrong…maybe he’ll listen. Another, me and two others called on speaker phone, and he knew everything. And I said if you die tomorrow…are you going to heaven or hell. and he said im not sure..and i said well dont you want to know? and he said yeah, and so i talked to him about it, and he says he trusts in God alone, but he won’t talk to me now. I’m not sure what to do.So pray for jerry, and tyler. please. BTW…this D2S rocked!!! and at D2S Blaze 05, I was saved here…and i pray that my friend i brought with me will think about this…and decide over the week!!!
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On March 25, 2007 @ 6:48 am Ginny said:

D2S was absoluetly AWESOME. It was my first year and it won’t be my last. I’m pleased to say, my friends and I in the youth group that were there will DEFINETLY be pushing for an evanglism team. And I’d like to mention that after y’all built us up, when we went witnessing, I wasn’t in the least bit afraid. Which, if you knew me, is a pretty big deal. And now that I’ve done it once, it’s not going to stop - wether I do it with a friend or with the youth group. Pray that we can pull it off! Our youth leaders talk big, but don’t always follow through. We’re hoping this one will pull through. From EVERYONE that was at D2S to you and everyone who helped pull it off - THANK YOU! It’s so incredible to know what God can and does do everyday and that we can be a part of changing people’s lives, just by collecting cans and asking to pray with you. It should fire up everyone to know that we can really do some amazing stuff, even if we are young and (sometimes… a lot of the times) immature. Thanks again! It was so much fun.
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On March 25, 2007 @ 11:40 am Brianna said:

Hey Greg! When i read this it made me think of my church. When i first started going there, there was over 10 kids there maybe even 15(it was in 04) but soon some graduated and moved on and before i knew it there was only 4 of us. Me my sister and my two cousins made up the youth group. I couldnt go to church every Sunday or Wednesday bc i didnt have a ride and my parents wouldnt let me call anyone to pick me up bc they didnt like that church and they didnt want me going there. Well my aunt was the one "supplying" the youth. (she would pick me and my sister up) well my sister quit going after a while so it was down to 3. My cousin started dating this guy and she soon started going to his church. it was then down to 2. Well my aunt got tired of "suppyling" the youth. soon she stop going to church and my other cousin didnt go anymore either. well i was the only one left that wanted to go to our church but i never had a ride. so i ended up not going to church for almost 6months. it almost killed me i missed church soo much! Ive only been a couple more times since everyone stop going but i miss it. A couple of weeks ago my cousin(the one that went to the other church with her bf) asked me to come with her to her new church. so i did and i loved it! so we planned for me to start going to that church. so i kinda forgot about the church we started in. but what you wrote made me think about our church we started in. your right it doesnt matter what size the youth is but as long as there are some to plant the seed in. so it didnt matter if there was just us 4 as long as the seed got planted. So now that i can drive im going to try(if my parents let me) and start going to my church again. Even if im the only one in the youth. God Bless Brianna p.s. please pray for me!
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On March 25, 2007 @ 12:00 pm Emily said:

Hey I really enjoyed the Conference this year it was my first time. I am know reading your book Dare 2 Share so I can learn to share my faith w/ these boys in my class who are Mormon. Please pray for my so that I will have the courage to tell them the truth.
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On March 25, 2007 @ 12:04 pm Brianna said:

Hey Greg…I forgot to update you on my friend JB. He is doing very well. The other day he took his first steps. He wrote his name and the word football. He also watched a Atlanta Braves game! They are sending him to a hospital in Atlanta so he can recover and learn how to walk & talk again. So thanks for all the prayers. I also have some more great news! Over 50..almost 100..maybe even more!! people have come to Christ these past two weeks. Over 40 people were baptised last sunday. Many are waiting for JB to come home and see them get baptised! Please keep everyone here in your prayers! Thanks it means a lot!! Prasie our wonderful God!!! God Bless Brianna
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On March 25, 2007 @ 2:13 pm aussie said:

Hi Greg!! I went to d2s this weekend in Atlanta. I also went last year but this year made me much stronger than I was. I have a penpal in France and we started talking on msn about religion. She doesn’t believe in God or Jesus because she doesn’t have any proof that Jesus really existed. I asked her if she knew whether she was going to heaven or hell when she dies, and she said that she doesn’t believe in heaven or hell but that she would most probably go to hell because she is not a believer. Then she said she had to go but she wants to talk about it later. What can I tell her about Jesus that proves He really existed? It would be great if you could help. I really appreciate it. I also want to say that you have this way of motivating people to follow Jesus. I loved the story you told about how you wanted to make your Grandpa proud. That makes me desperately want to make Jesus proud of me. Any kind of help will be very much appreciated! GOD BLESS YOU!!!! ( and your family) from emily
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On March 25, 2007 @ 5:20 pm godsgirl15 said:

I was at the Atlanta Dare 2 Share conference this past weekend and i have got to say AWESOME job the glory of the Lord shines through you big time buddy! The message you gave was awesome and the whole confrence got me pumped up to share the Gospel with my friends and even complete strangers. I had thought about not coming to the confrence but i am so glad i did i would’ve missed out on a blessing if i had not come. You are a wonderful servant for the Lord and keep it up. I have to say that the highlight of the weekend was when we went and shared the Lord in the neighborhoods and collected canned foods. It was out of my comort zone but you have to go out of it to bring the message of Christ to the world of lost souls. I found it really hard to share the first time but after my first time i was in awe of how God just gives you the words to say and comforts you when you get rejected. I graduated P.U least some kind of huge degree because we were rejected so many times, but ya know thats okay God is proud of us because we did serve him with a grateful and joyful heart. Wonderful job this weekend and keep shining the light for Christ! In Christ, Chelsea
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On March 25, 2007 @ 6:54 pm Rissa said:

Hi , well I was at dare 2 share and it was awsome I learned alot it really gave me the courage to tell others how great the father really is. It’s made a huge impact on my life. When I called my friend from India she is not allowed to get saved or babtized because she is a hindu, but she knows God and prays to him and she is a very sweet girl and I would love to see her in Heaven so I’m going to keep praying for her and influinsing her and talking to her. She says shes going to heaven but I know diffrent. What do you suggest I do? I really believe if god can walk on water that he can change this young girls life forever. Also I have some friends that are in the popular group in school and they say they are christians but they don’t act like it. They have two totally diffrent lives one act for Word Of Life and one for school and cool friends. Well, I think that our faith is like a person at a concert. If you were judged by that would you be on the front row or way in the back. God is like the band singing our life song, calling out our names. So, will you here his voice or stay in the back with all the good things that satan has made bad. JESUS LOVES THE WORLD AND EVERYONE IN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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On March 25, 2007 @ 7:27 pm R. Todd Wood said:

Hey Greg, WOW, I don’t know wher to begin. I am a youth leader at our church and the Atlanta D2S was my first conference. I thought it sounded like a great way to get my kids motivated and I was partially correct. Turns out the conference was great for me aswell. I am telling you I have never been so motivated as a youth leader. I have struggled with the size of my Jr. and Sr. High but now I know that I need to take the quality of the students and trust in God to increase the quantity at His leisure. I just wanted to say Thanks to you and all of your staff!
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On March 25, 2007 @ 8:25 pm Jessica Lee said:

Hey Greg! I was at the Dare 2 Share Conference this past weekend. And I’m reading your book Dare 2 Share. This was my 2nd year, I was the Adult Sponsor. I took the 48 hour challenge and shared the gospel with my friend Julia through e-mail but I don’t know if she has read her e-mail yet. Sincerely, Miss Jessica
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On March 25, 2007 @ 9:14 pm Julian said:

Hey guys, I was at D2S this year with my Church’s youth group. I was blown away. The whole thing was just amazing.To be honest, our collection group wasn’t able to collect very much, and we didn’t meet anyone to share the Gospel with, but when we got back to the Arena and I saw just how much everyone had gotten, I was like "Wow. That’s a lot of cans." Then I went inside and found we got 13 TONS. That just blew me away. In those hours, we had been able to get that much food. And then we heard the stories the people on stage told, and it was really moving, and I felt so good that I was able to help be a part of all this. I’m taking the 48 hour challenge, and I haven’t had a chance to talk to him yet, but tomorrow when I get home I’m calling my friend and I’m going to tell him about the Gospel.
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On March 25, 2007 @ 10:02 pm atlxbraves said:

Hey Greg,I was at the conference in ATL,and it was my first time. I can tell you it won’t be my last. You are so awesome(and i must say funny). Right now I’m working on your 48 hour challenge with an athiest,so please pray for me! thanks
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On March 26, 2007 @ 7:33 am Denise Hyatt said:

Dear Greg, Wow, This past weekend with Dare 2 Share has been so amazing!!!!! This was my First time coming to Dare 2 Share…Well this Conference Has changed my life forever… well Friday, we got to school and i was all excited bout the day ahead of me. well, we got to school and every one was crying. I asked what was going on. and one of my friends looked at me and said " I’m Sorry Denise, But Kristen is Dead."… well i started Crying my eyes out.. i was like well what happened. and she said she wreaked last night. i was like how. they said she was changing her CD in her Car going down the road, she ran off the road and swerved to get it back on. it spun with her and she hit a tree. well they got her out and she was telling the emt’s where she was hurting… her daddy got there and she said "I love You" and then she died on the way to the Hospital……… She was one of my friends……. its so hard going to school with out her… well every one was so hurt that They school canceled all sports after school for the day. I play Softball and we had Tournaments that night so… since they was canceled i figured i could go to the Dare 2 Share thing… but i was only going to get my mind off of things… we was talking about her the whole way up there and no one knows if she was saved. and that hurts so when ya’ll was asking Friday nite wat would we do if we lost a friend and not knowing if they were saved…!!!!!!!!!!! our whole group started cry.. cause it hurts not to know.. ya know… and i promised my self not to not know again.. so i am trying to get every one on the path with Jesus.. i am hoping and Praying that she was saved.. but only God knows if she truely was… and i wish that you could just pray for our school and her Family………… this is the second accedent involving students at our school in 3 years. the first time it was speed.. and it killed 2 and permanantly damaged 2…. just please pray for us Thank you, Denise Hyatt, Woodland, Al Big Spings Baptist Church
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On March 26, 2007 @ 7:58 am youthdude365 said:

Greg,I have been coming to D2S for the last 7 years. I started as a youth minister in Brunswick, GA. and brought my students to the conf in Jacksonville, FL. Now I am in Birmingham, AL. and just wanted to say that the conf in Atlanta this year was the best I had ever been to. I have to admit that when you asked us to stand up on Friday night and pray for our students out loud, I started to sweat; but as I began to pray, I heard my students begin to cry uncontrollably. Then I started to cry. As I made my way to the aisle I had students grabbing me and thanking me for praying for them. I have been praying for a breakthrough for a whole year for our group and I believe this weekend they really got it. Thank you so much for all you do. God bless your ministry and family. By His Stripes, Brett Self
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On March 26, 2007 @ 8:35 am Allyson said:

I came to the Dare2Share conference this weekend in Atlanta and had a blast! I am really pumped to tell my friends about Jesus and I wrote a note to my friend Bety today and am waiting for her to reply back to me. If I hadn’t came this weekend, I probably would still be wondering how to tell her without being "persecuted". "PU!" But now I don’t care as much. I really can’t wait for the Survive Tour next year! Thanks! Allyson
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On March 26, 2007 @ 9:04 am Jonathan Kiokee said:

Greg! It is PAYDAY! I brought 25 Students to D2S in Atlanta last year and 42 this year! 2 of mine made a profession of faith this weekend and my students are getting rooted deeper and deeper in the GOSPEL. They are excited and purposeful in sharing their faith. They are buying into the fact that this is "Gameday." D2S has played a big role in us staying God focused and Cross centered! We are taking 26 students this summer to the slums of Brazil for our "Ultimate GameDay Event" where we will share Jesus with Brazil’s poorest and forgotten. Keep up the great conferences in Atlanta. God is using D2S to keep the Gospel alive in the Dirty South! Jesus is unstinkingbelievable! Jonathan - Youth Pastor - "Doctrines of Grace"
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On March 26, 2007 @ 11:05 am lovelife012 said:

hey this year year my youth group went to dare2share in Atlanta and s many of us recommited our lives and it was amazing…
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On March 26, 2007 @ 1:42 pm Alysha Thomason said:

HEY GREG! I was at D2S in Atlanta this past weekend and it was so amazing! This was my second year going and I loved it! Thanks for doing this for us! I can’t wait till next year!!!Have fun on the rest of the tour and keep safe!!
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On March 26, 2007 @ 2:10 pm morgan said:

hey greg!!! this past weekend my youth group attended d2s in atlanta! it was my first year going and i was a little nervous about going but i got over it! and the drama! omg! i couldn’t help but cry! because i never realized that that will happen to me oneday and not just me but everybody! but that night after the drama we had 1 of our friends get saved and a lot recommited! it was just awesome to hear everybody’s testimony back at the hotel and to just be able to fellowship with everyone! and our youth pastor and all of us just prayed about us starting a e-team down here in the little ‘ol town of cochran!!!! and we still are praying about it…but i truely do think that we are so just keep us in your prayers! but i*m really looking forward to going next year! but it was just really hard going back to church yeserday and everything just being normal…when we just left a place surrounded by people our age and for us to just be free and act crazy but to still be able worship God at the same time!!! but i just wanted to say thank you for this weekend! and i can*t wait for next year!!! keeping all of yall in prayer and praying for the other students that will be attending the other tours to just get such a blessing out of it, just like i did!!! ~% JEREMIAH 33:3%~
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On March 26, 2007 @ 2:16 pm Heath said:

WOW! D2S was amazing this year. I was in Atlanta this weekend and saw amazing things happen. Friday after the Drama 2 students from our group accepted Christ as their savior. One was a student that had been comein to our church for just a short time and the other was a student that had said she had got saved just like the girl in the drama that said she was saved just to please a friend. Then saturday night after the cell phone challenge one of our students called a friend of hers and led her to christ that night over the phone. Thanks D2S I cant wait till next year. Heath Walraven Youth Minister Bethesda Baptist Church Calhoun GA
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On March 26, 2007 @ 4:29 pm Thomas said:

Hey Greg i went to d2s atlanta it was awsome. I took the 48 hr. challange my friend is a liberal athiest and i gave him a bible and told him to read it he said he would do it eventually he also said the bible is wrong and full of lies and so i took the defesive side and i think he is loosening up to the idea My best friend Cody became a christian too Kiokee Baptist Church
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On March 26, 2007 @ 4:44 pm Nicole said:

hey. oh wow i was at dare 2 share this past weekend! it really changed my life. and the really cool thing is that i go to a christian school. and in bible class my teacher is having us teach the class about something biblical! i knew right away what i was doing. im doing the G.O.S.P.E.L :] . if it changed my life i know it can change somebody else`s! God Bless! <3 Nicole.
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On March 26, 2007 @ 6:50 pm Ian said:

Dudes, The Atlanta conference was awesome! A bunch of people got saved, Over 13 tons of food was raised. I am going again and again and well u get my point.
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On March 26, 2007 @ 10:32 pm Mandalynn said:

I was at Atlanta and it is the high lite of the year. Last year my church took 20 high schoolers and had so much fun we brot 45 high schoolers and 20 middle schoolers and had more fun then last year. G2G to bed! Mandalynn
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On March 27, 2007 @ 9:13 am Robin said:

I’m a 44 year old pastor’s wife and this was the first D2S I’ve been to. My husband has taken teens for the past 3 years and I’ve heard he and my 16 year old daughter talk about it for the other 11 months of the year! Anyway, it was fantastic! I had to write and tell you that even though I’m 44 I’ve always been quiet and have never REALLY shared my faith. So this was one nervous Mom on Saturday about 3:15 in the afternoon! My daughter and I went from house to house and we were not having a whole lotta luck because most of the houses had "no solicitation" printed on their doors! Finally we came up on this man who was cutting his grass and we asked him about donating cans. He said he would and that "everybody needs help now and then." He went into the garage, that was open, and told us to follow in there. While we were waiting I started noticing pornography centerfolds all over the walls, ( I was praying that my daughter would not notice….and she didn’t!) I really began getting more nervous and uncomfortable seeing those pictures on the wall. The man came back and gave us a lot of canned food and I asked him if there was anything we could pray about for him and he said, "No thanks, I was born alone and I’ll die alone." Well, we left the house and he stayed on my mind. Finally, about 30 minutes later, I went back to talk to him, feeling that I needed to show him the "GOSPEL". He was very nice and we talked for about 15 minutes, but he still was not convinced. He believes in God, but is one of those people who doesn’t understand why bad things happen if God is loving. I tried to explain the whole "Adam and Eve/Garden of Eden/sin" thing to him, but he wasn’t interested. Before leaving I asked if I could pray for him in the future and he said I could. I thought about getting his address and sending him any info I could find about the questions he had, but my husband wouldn’t let me do that……he didn’t want the man who had centerfolds up all over his wall and blood shot eyes to know where I live! I wanted to send this to tell you THANK YOU for teaching me, a 44 year old, stay at home, mother of three, pastor’s wife, how to show people the "GOSPEL"!! I WAS nervous, but the nervousness gave away to excitement while I was talking to the guy! One more thing….my daughter has been sick for the past 8 months and the doctors don’t know why. She is weak, has extreme pain, and nausea much of the time, but she has only grown in her faith in God. She has been too sick to go to school so she has had to do school at home. During this time she has written some devotionals for teens. She didn’t let her sickness keep her away from D2S this year! She was pretty sick on Saturday, but still went to collect food and share the GOSPEL. I just appreciate so much your, and the whole D2S group, dedication to youth. So many times people look down on teens as "no good delinquents", but if we don’t tell them there is more to life, who will? THANKS!!!
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On March 27, 2007 @ 1:09 pm Becky said:

This is such a comforting post because i’m just starting out in youth ministry, i’m an intern so not yet out of school oficially and i brought a group of 9 to the conference. Now for just being here for about 8 months and will be leaving in 4 months i think its great. but i’m doing the comparing game and that gets discouraging. i had kids in my group asking are we the smallest group? or saying wow there are a lot of groups that have tons of kids in them i wonder if we’ll ever be that big. now i dont know if they will but to be perfectly honest 9 kids was enough. And the thing is they had a great time, i didnt hear any complaining and there was just so much enthusiasm in them. they made a sign so we could always find our group and then in the middle of the conference they made another sign on the back of it that said E.S.P.N. Eternal Salvation is Peace Never-ending. They were so proud of it they brought it with them to do the outreach, they made up a "rap" to share the GOSPEL (ps they are the whitest kids around, but they were so proud of it). I was just so pleased with how they responded to this past weekend. i knew it was either going to go one of two ways, they would sit and complain to me the whole time or they would totally love it and they loved it. i had all my kids raise their hands to be on the e-team (granted some were probably doing it just cuz everyone else was) but many i know will be good leaders. i just love my group and i’m totally going to miss them next year. i have to thank you so much for lighting that spark that i knew they had in them. This Sunday at youth group we are going to start the Gospel Journey curriculum and then very soon get an e-team up and running. you have a great ministry and i thank you for all that you do! you are an amazing witness keep up the awesome work that your ministry does!
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On March 27, 2007 @ 3:25 pm Leigh said:

Well, I’m not really sure where to begin…I am a youth leader with a church in Rome, Ga. This year was my frist D2S and I wish the next one was this weekend. We had a total of 19 that attended and everyone of us have a new light shing around us. I had the most awesome feeling the whole time, and couldn’t get enough. Our youth reached out to God like never before and moved in many of their lives. You, my friend, have the most awesome calling on ur life and I know that u will reach out to so many more teens that need God in their lives. D2S rocks and we will be back next year!!!
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On March 28, 2007 @ 2:35 pm deedee said:

OH MY GOD IS SOOOOO GOOD!!!!!!!! THE TOUR WAS SOOOOOO AWESOME AND LOOVED IT!!! STARFIELD WAS SOOOOOOOOO AWSOME AND SOOOO WERE YOOOOOOUUUUUU AND YO-HOSE(THAT’S MY NEW NAME FOR HIM! LOL AM I ALLOWED TO DO THAT??). ANYWAYS THE GIRL I CALLED AT THE CONFERENCE STAURDAY NIGHT NEVER CALLED BACK, BUT I WAS AT THE LIBRARY THE MONDAY AFTER AND I WROTE A NOTE TO THIS I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT CHRIST AND THE BASIC SYNOPSIS OF CHRISTIANITY. THIS IS THEY WERE GANGSTER LOOKIN PEOPLE SO I DECIDED TO "RUN OFF" BECUZ "MY MOM HAD TO PICK ME UP EARLY" (WINK-WINK-KNUDGE-KNUDGE). I HAVE NEVER THAT FAST IN MY LIFE, BUT I DO NOT KNOW WHY I WAS SO SCARED. I WAS KINDA IN SHOCK THAT I HAD ACTUALLY DONE THAT. ANYWHO I GOT YOUR BOOK AND FROM READING THE FIRST WHAT 3 PAGES YEAH YOU ARE DOING GREAT!!! JUST KIDDING I AM ON PAGE 17…NOT MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE, BUT U C I GO TO A "CLASSICAL CHRISTIAN SCHOOL" WITH "CLASSICAL CHRISTIAN HOMEWORK" IN OTHER WORDS WE HAVE AT LEAST TWO LOGIC REPORTS TO WRITE A WEEK AND A TEST OR TWO A DAY. IT MAY SOUND BAD BUT IF YOU EVER DECIDE TO PUT YOUR KIDS IN ONE OF THOSE TEACH THEM THE LESSON OF WHY YOU SHOULD NOT PROCRASTINATE ON LOGIC REPORTS, BIBLE EXAMS, DEBATES, AND BIG KILLER LATIN TESTS. AND IF THEY DONT WANNA GO TELL THEM IT IS WORTH IT THE TROUBLE AND MONEY AND THE TOUGH HEART WRENCHING, BRAIN WASHING(NOT REALLY ) HOMEWORK IS ALL IN LOVE. ~DEEDEE FROM THE BIG ATL P.S. HOLDING THE HAND THAT HOLDS THE WORLD/LOSER4CHRIST
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On March 29, 2007 @ 12:50 pm Daniel Peavy said:

Greg! I just wanted to let you know. My name is Daniel Peavy. I was a youth member of one of the 50 churches chosen to come to Billy Graham’s Evangelical Training Center 6 years ago (Shirley Hills Baptist Church, Warner Robins, GA) to be trained as an E-team. Now this year, I just brought my Youth Group to the Atlanta Conference! It was incredible! I can’t thank you enough for asking the students to encourage their Youth Pastor’s, that was incredible. It was a pay day for sure! Not only that, the 8 youth that we took came back and lit a fire under the other 30 or so, youth that didn’t go. This past wednesday night we showed the Go Wide Strategy DVD, and I gave each of the youth in attendance a copy of your Dare 2 Share book. It was incredible. Our youth, even the ones who didn’t go, are pumped up about going wide with the gospel! In fact, last night after youth, I had a group of 4 middle schoolers call me saying they were going to their principal today (Thursday) to talk to him about letting them put posters up at school inviting them to our Youth Group, and not only that but to ask him if they could have a student led after school thing once a week where they could share their faith to anyone who would come, and occasionally ask teachers, youth leaders, pastors in the area to come and speak. I was so excited to see my middle schoolers taking charge like that. It is incredible! Thank you so much for what you are doing. Keep it up! It is a blessing! Daniel Peavy First Baptist Church Swainsboro
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On March 29, 2007 @ 8:55 pm Kasey said:

Hey! I just wanted to thank you for allowing God to use you to gather in the harvest and train the workers. i was @ D2S in atlanta,where I prayed for God to let me see people through LESUS’ eyes.Now I veiw people as a mirical in the makeing.I have been reminded of the fact that tomorrow may never come,and i can’t take yesterday back.God is showing me that He can use me.For too long i wanted to sit in the stands and cheer on God’s team,but He told me to get out on the feild ! He is such a good caoch ! I don.t want to get flattened by the evagalism linebacker!!! The world needs Jesus so I can’t keep Him to my self. i want my Daddy to be proud of me.(do they have ice cream in Heaven?) i will be praying for you and your ministry. pray that God will give me boldness to share His truth with my grandad. Thanks .in Christ,kasey<><
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On March 31, 2007 @ 6:28 am Kristen said:

Hey Greg! I totally loved Dare 2 Share! This was my first year attending and it was awesome. My youth group was probably one of the largest there with about 100 kids, which is awesome in and of itself. But when i got there i thought i would just be listening to some speaker and some bands…That changed when I walked into the arena and listened to you speak. You are an AMAZING speaker and I can’t wait til next year. On Fire for God! Kristen
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On April 1, 2007 @ 9:39 am Casey said:

Dear Greg, I attended Atlanta’s Dare2Share conference this year and was completely and utterly changed. Your conference gave me something I had been lacking in my faith for a long, long time — and that’s confidence. But not only have I grown wiser about sharing my faith, I’ve also grown in my faith. I’ve come to talk with God more, not just pray. But mostly the reason why I wanted to leave you a comment was to THANK YOU. Because of the Dare2Share challenge, after I returned to school - I’ve been witnessing to a friend all week…and last night, she was SAVED. Praise God! Thank you so much for your amazing conference of life-changing events and unforgettable fun. You’ve not only changed my life, but given me the confidence to let God use me and to make a profound difference in my friend’s life. Her name is now written in the book of life. thank you.
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On April 6, 2007 @ 9:30 pm Brad Simpson said:

Greg, I attended the Atlanta conference and I just wanted to say GOD bless you brother. Reading these comments stirs my heart. You are making an impact on some many lives. Keep up the great job. We will be back next year!
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Six seeds sown eight years ago in Atlanta!

Posted on Friday 23 March 2007 by Greg @ 7:46 am
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Six seeds sown eight years ago in Atlanta!

Posted on Friday 23 March 2007 by Greg @ 7:46 am Filed under: Rants

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Posted on Friday 23 March 2007 by Greg @ 7:46 am
Filed under: Rants