While at Passion in Atlanta, I was only back with my laptop at like 2am and was too tired to blog. I thought I’d take a moment to share what God did at Passion ’07. From worship leaders like Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall, Matt Redman and David Crowder to speakers like John Piper, Beth Moore, Louie Giglio and my new favorite speaker: Francis Chan – it was one God-moment after another. God touched my heart, challenged me, encouraged me, stretched me, ministered to me and got my eyes back on what matters most through the words and music of the above mentioned servants.
As I mentioned before, this was my 3rd year serving with the Passion staff. It is an indescribable thing to see God moving among 22,000 college students. These students literally invade the host city and leave it changed for the better. This year, each student brought socks and towels which were given to Atlanta’s homeless. I go each year because God moves in my heart and it encourages me to see the next generation so fired up for Christ and making His name known among the nations. Students gathered from all 50 states and several countries around the world. As happens each year, many students committed their life to Christ for the first time and many dedicated their lives to missions and have committed to as Louie said “pack up the American dream” and move to a nation and work with a people group that has never heard of Jesus.
Personally, I always look forward to seeing what the Passion tech team does with media/video – they are always pushing the boundaries and taking things to the next level. This year was no different. Technology was utilized and pushed to the extremes especially this year, as for the first time, all the students couldn’t fit into one arena (like they had the last 2 years). This year there were about 18,000 college students packed into Phillips Arena (which is downtown, right beside the Georgia Dome). Another 5000 people were packed into the Georgia World Congress Center, which was across the street from Phillips Arena. The students rotated and each had time in Phillips and the GWCC. Each venue had LIVE worship led by the amazing Passion worship leaders. Regardless of what venue you were in, you would worship LIVE with your worship team, then you would join (through the gift of technology) with the students and worship leaders in the other venue and all sing together. Your worship leader would lead the other venue in worship (you watching live and they watching on the video screens), then they would switch and you would watch and worship with the other venue’s worship leader via LIVE video.
Louie Giglio would come out at the GWCC early on and do a welcome, which was seen via video in Phillips Arena. They would then go to a split screen and show Louie in one venue talking to the worship leader in the other venue – and they would talk back and forth and have their venue raise up a shout. After Louie’s welcome, the worship leaders in each venue would continue on leading worship for their crowd, while keeping their eye on a countdown clock which was on the ground in front of the worship leader. Both worship leaders wrapped up their set when the countdown clock told them it was time. Now it was time for the message, and Louie had walked across the street and came on to the stage in Phillips Arena, so the people in the GWCC watched him on the screen. As I said, they pushed the boundaries of technology and did it in a very professional and worshipful way, that wasn’t distracting.
I’ve been emailing back and forth with the Video Director in the main venue (Phillips Arena). He’s been telling me how they pulled some of the things off. I’ll write more about that in a future blog. For the record, they were using ProPresenter, which I blogged about 2 weeks ago and is my newest Charter Sponsor.
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