SOAR 2009

Click Here for Photo Album.  This was our first year to attend the SOAR student conference, and I was pretty impressed with the outcome of it. They brought in some awesome bands, and youth pastor/speakers from various parts of the states. This year’s theme was “FELLOWSHIP” focusing on connecting, unity, and oneness. The conference was a 3 day event held at the fabulous Gaylord Texan Hotel in Grapevine, Texas. The hotel alone was worth the trip. It was a gorgeous facility with beautiful trails and scenery. Room rates were affordable, and the service was five star.

The conference was very organized, and you can tell a lot of hard work was put into the planning of this event. I would like to thank Donnie Parish, Steven Carroll, and everyone else who worked so hard to make this event happen. On day 1 we arrived, checked into our rooms, and registered just in time for the welcome and session 1. Solace Found kicked things off with some rocking praise music followed by a message from Adam Thomas on the fellowship of the Trinity. Afterwards we went and ate dinner at a genuine Texas steakhouse the “Salt Grass”. Session 2 kicked off shortly after dinner where Clif Johnson spoke a message from the book of Genesis titled “Why our World is so Jacked up” SOAR Village was next followed by a late night with comedian Tim Hawkins. Now this guy was hilarious.

Day 2 was just as exciting. We started the morning off with my favorite band Building 429. Some of our students actually got to go up on stage, and dance with them. Too Cool! Team SOAR brought a presentation, and after that we actually got to meet, get autographs, and take pics with the band. After that we had an afternoon of free time in which we went to the Bass Pro Shop where I put my head into the mouth of a 27 foot Great White Shark, followed by an afternoon at the Grapevine Mall. We hung out at the skatepark, got some hermit crabs, and had dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe. During Session 4 Scott Attebery presented an awesome testimony that humbled all of us. Many of our students were impacted by his words. The evening closed with an awesome concert by Hawk Nelson. Many of our students are crazy about these guys.

The conference came to an end all too quickly, but it was great while it lasted. Friday morning during session 5 Solace Found led in another awesome time of worship followed by a message from Steven Carroll “Vision + Preparation + Action = Outcome” from Acts chapter 10. Each session was tied together by innovative videos on fellowship to make this event complete and concise. Each of our students left with a sense of greater understanding of fellowship and unity which made this event as a whole a worth while event.

This week would have been perfect if it had not been for the two times that we broke down on the way home, but fortunately both times God provided some great people to help us out. One of which was from Iowa. Other than that this event will go down in the books as one of our greatest events of the year. Can’t wait til next year.