July: Motion Conference

There is one story from Motion Conference that Brandon and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about.

It’s one of those moments that reminds you God doesn’t always move the way we expect Him to.

So, as a quick backstory, Brandon was helping lead a group of 13 boys, while I had a group of 7 girls. Motion is a huge student worship conference affiliated with our church, Church of the Highlands. We, along with several of our amazing "Dream Team" (church leadership and volunteers), loaded up hundreds of students onto buses and made the two-hour trip from our Shoals Campus to Birmingham, where we joined more than 17,000 students at the BJCC for an incredible weekend! The weekend was filled with powerful worship from amazing artists—including Josiah Queen this year—and impactful messages from pastors and speakers each day. Thousands of students, all gathered together with one purpose: to worship Jesus and grow in their faith.

Well, on day two of conference, one of Brandon’s students, sweet Jonah, started getting sick and as you can imagine, this was not the atmosphere where you would want to miss out on anything.

Jonah wasn't just a little sick… it was the kind of sick where you are pale, clammy, and trying your absolute hardest to push through.

If you’ve ever experienced Motion, you know the atmosphere. Over 17,000 students packed into one arena. Lights flashing. Music booming. The room is warm. The energy is incredible.

So poor Jonah was doing everything he could to stay.

Brandon was constantly checking on him, and we stayed in communication about how he was doing. Before long, here came Jonah again… pale and clammy, heading straight for the nearest trash can. Then again.

And again.

We went to the first aid tent. We went back into service. We came back out. More vomiting, dry-heaving really at this point. One of our Dream Teamers was fanning him with our big Shoals sign, one was holding cold packs on his neck, one was calling mom, I was holding vomit bag, and Brandon was there at his side for encouragement. 

Finally, we decided we needed to get him somewhere quieter and cooler, so we took him to the Dream Team Center hallway.

Now, this area isn’t really a place for students. It’s mostly for Dream Team members and church leadership. But it was quieter, less crowded, and gave Jonah a place to rest.

We sat with him for a while. We talked with his mom on the phone and kept her updated. As a mom, she was understandably worried being away from her son, but she trusted us to care for him.

At any point, Jonah could have decided he was done. He could have gone home early.

But he didn’t.

He told us he wanted to stay through the weekend.

Looking back now, I truly believe God was already stirring something in his heart.

At one point while we were still in the DTC hallway, Brandon decided he really wanted Jonah to be able to watch the message. He wanted him to hear the final message of the night and experience one of the last moments of conference the best way he could. 

So quietly, we slipped into the DTC room.

And honestly… this was not the environment most people picture when they think of a powerful worship moment.

The lights were on. People were laughing. People were talking. Some were eating. Dream Teamers were working. People were cleaning up and refilling drink tubs.

There was movement happening all around us. It was loud. It was busy. It was ordinary.

It was the complete opposite of the arena.

No 17,000 students. No dark room filled with worship. No loud music surrounding the moment.

Just Jonah, Brandon, and me sitting among the behind-the-scenes work of conference, watching Pastor Mark Pettus speak on a TV screen.

Around that same time, my phone buzzed.

It was Jonah’s mom.

She wrote: “Thank you so so much. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the communication. Plus the sweet care you are giving my boy. As a mama, I feel so helpless right now. It is very comforting knowing you will call me as needed.”

This. This right here is one of the many reasons why serving on the Dream Team matters.

Sometimes ministry looks like leading worship in front of thousands.

Sometimes it looks like welcoming people at the door.

And sometimes…

It looks like sitting beside a sick teenager with a blue vomit bag, loving on him, and making sure his mama knows he isn’t alone.

As I was typing my response back to her, I was honestly just distracted. I wasn’t paying attention to what Pastor Mark was saying.

I glanced over and saw Brandon and Jonah both staring at the screen, listening intently.

I went back to finishing my message.

Then suddenly…

I heard Jonah praying.

Out loud.

He was repeating the words Pastor Mark was praying, asking Jesus to come into his heart.

I immediately looked up and over to my left, there was Jonah— His hands raised, eyes tightly shut.

There wasn’t an ounce of hesitation in him.

Brandon and I made eye contact, both with tears filling our eyes. Brandon reached over and placed his hand on Jonah’s shoulder. A sweet lady sitting behind us softly said, “Praise Jesus.”

I was honestly startled. And if I’m being honest, I was a little embarrassed because I had been distracted by my phone and didn’t even realize we were in that moment.

But when I looked at Jonah I realized something. 

It wasn’t a child caught up in emotion. It wasn’t someone following a crowd. There wasn’t a dark room. There wasn’t a worship band building anticipation. There weren’t thousands of students surrounding him.

It was one student. In a brightly lit room. With people casually walking by. Background conversations continuing as normal.

And yet…

God met him right there.

Earlier, I had actually been a little disappointed that we weren’t in the arena. I knew Jonah wanted to be there. Brandon and I had other students we were helping care for. I thought we needed to be back where everyone else was.

But God reminded me… “No. You’re exactly where I need you to be.”

We love the powerful worship moments. We love the lights, the music, and the emotion that can come with those moments.

But God is not limited by any of that.

He moves in arenas. He moves in quiet hallways. He moves in ordinary rooms. He moves wherever hearts are open to Him.

And I will forever be thankful that God allowed us to witness Jonah’s moment. 🩵