Often when Michael picks up our 4 Steenberg boys for practice- Chadley, Juan, Tauriq, and Joshua- he is listening to Hillsong music. They have become quite fond of it. After our match on Saturday they finally requested to go and hear this music live. So, Sunday night we took the 4 of them with us to Hillsong for the evening service. They were quite overwhelmed at the whole thing, but pretty excited. Some high school girls approached and gave them personal invites to youth on Friday night, so that definitely got them pumped!
They enjoyed that part of the service, but now they were going to have to sit still for the announcements, offering, and message. I was nervous that they would get out their phones, which they did, but without being forced to they put them away. 3 of the 4 boys really seemed to dial in during the message, and I was constantly praying that they would hear something significant. At the end, during the invitation, Juan and Chadley went forward! Chadley's parents are Christians and his grandfather is a pastor, but I'm not sure if he has ever committed his life to Jesus for himself. I don't think Juan's family are true believers. After they go forward and say a prayer they are ushered out to get a new Bible as a gift from the church and get prayed for. Michael accompanied the boys and said that he could notice Juan wiping tears away as one of the youth leaders prayed for him. What an exciting moment!! I know it's only the beginning, but it's a huge start in the development of these boys spiritually.
Casey
The boys really love the song "Search My Heart" from the new Aftermath album. They always tell Michael to play #13. We went down front for worship and even during that, they kept looking at him and saying with their hands, "#13" as if to say, "Tell them to play that one." Them seem to think Michael has more power and authority than is actually true.
They enjoyed that part of the service, but now they were going to have to sit still for the announcements, offering, and message. I was nervous that they would get out their phones, which they did, but without being forced to they put them away. 3 of the 4 boys really seemed to dial in during the message, and I was constantly praying that they would hear something significant. At the end, during the invitation, Juan and Chadley went forward! Chadley's parents are Christians and his grandfather is a pastor, but I'm not sure if he has ever committed his life to Jesus for himself. I don't think Juan's family are true believers. After they go forward and say a prayer they are ushered out to get a new Bible as a gift from the church and get prayed for. Michael accompanied the boys and said that he could notice Juan wiping tears away as one of the youth leaders prayed for him. What an exciting moment!! I know it's only the beginning, but it's a huge start in the development of these boys spiritually.
After the service they got to meet Jon, the associate pastor who is a big soccer fan, and Rachel, the youth pastor. We took them out to dinner and then home for bed.
You know, people say, "You see church differently when you bring a new person or non-believer to church." That's definitely true, but try seeing it through the eyes of a 12-year-old Muslim boy from the 'hood. It was so interesting wondering how Tauriq was taking things in. He even asked me once during worship, "Why do you close your eyes?" It made me really think about why I do it. If you watched the video, you heard the words that these boys are coming in contact with. How significant that Tauriq is singing this before he even knows Jesus!!
It was such an exciting night and we look forward to many more interactions like this with all our players. God is on the move, even if they don't know it yet!
Casey
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