The Banquet

The Calm Before the Storm.

Week after week I've gotten to write about the big things the Lord is doing. It seems to me that week after week the Lord outdoes himself. Last week was no exception. After hours and hours of planning, meeting, and organizing our banquet it was finally the night we had all been waiting for.

The picture to the right is the Law Cafeteria in Franklin County High School. The school is so large it has two cafeterias and six different lunches. For our banquet we rented this was the space we wanted for the evening for a number of reasons. First of all the theme we decided on "Cheering For Kids". People from Franklin County already love FCHS and its kids. That was nothing we had to sell them on. Our theme allowed us to invite people to wear their Red and White, the schools colors, which also gave us a more laid-back feeling. It is easy to blend in with all the other banquets people attend throughout the year, so we wanted to stand out a bit. We wanted to have a banquet that truly exemplified what Young Life is about. When you walk into one of our high school clubs there isn't a formal, stuffy feel to the room but rather a vibrant, inviting atmosphere. We didn't want people wearing their Sunday best.

Things Starting to Take Shape.

Secondly it was a place everyone in the county knew. A lot of people that go to FCHS end up staying or coming back to the area at some point. The school has been around since 1950 so having it there brought along some nostalgia for a few of our attendees.
Lastly as we describe to people what Young Life is for the first time, we often describe how we go to where kids are at. What better way to exemplify that than to have our banquet where, earlier in the day, hundreds upon hundreds of kids have been. It was the perfect place.

Often in an area's first year the banquet can be rather small. As you've heard me talk about in many previous blogs getting things started isn't easy. However, when you have a committee that is sold out to the cause it certainly greases the wheels. We were incredibly encouraged by our Table Host meeting and hoped that we could get close to the goal we had set for ourselves: 200 people. Going in we knew that it was a lofty goal, but certainly one that was worth pursuing.

Table #1 After Being Decorated!

As the day drew nearer we began to get a clearer number of just how many people we would have, and the number climbed up from 170 to just under 200. While we were unsure of what the final number would be, or how many people would actually show up, we kept praying that the Lord would bring who he wanted. Did he ever.

At 3:30 most of our committee members showed up along with a few good friends of mine from VT. These guys have been wanting to visit all year and offered their help as soon as they knew we were having our banquet. When you're setting up 25 tables with full decorations and 200 chairs its good to have some hands on deck. As 6:30 drew closer things started to come together. It was awesome to see the way in which different Young Life areas contributed to our cause. The New River Valley sent guys to help, a projector and speakers. We had red and white table clothes courtesy of Rockbridge. We had Andy Fetzer and four of his Campaigners come with one of them giving their testimony during the banquet. It was a kingdom project.

Our Full 200 As the Banquet Began.

Around 6:15 people started to come in droves. I couldn't keep up with everyone that was signing in and getting their name tags but I got to meet a few people here and there. Seats started filling up and butterflies started kicking in. Pretty soon the room was full and buzzing. The feeling in the air was just fun. There is no other way I can think to describe it. A lot of people knew each other and the conversations were flowing. Steve Schmitt and I got on the microphones and welcomed everybody. We told them instead of just releasing them table by table in a uniform way we wanted to have fun with them. The theme of the banquet was "Cheering for Kids" after all and we wanted them to earn their spot in line. So, taking a page out of Wytheville's book, we told each table that they had to distinguish themselves to be dismissed for food. Immediately a table in the corner burst into action coming out with some sort of chant while standing on their chairs. Once that was the standard it progressed from there.

Soon everyone was well fed from the plentiful buffet and we were ready to get into the heart of the program. I had the unenviable task of explaining to a room of 200 adults what in the world Young Life was. I got up and spelled out the 5 C's of Young Life; Committee, Contact Work, Club, Campaigners and Camp. I explained to them who we were and why we were there. I tried to put words to what they had started to see happening in and around the school. To further illustrate I showed them this video by Brendan O'Connor. You need to watch that video.

A Few of Us after the Banquet!

After a ridiculous skit that ended with a Brendan, myself and four attendees forming a human pyramid we got to hear from Ryan Lauria. Ryan is a Young Life kid at Hidden Valley high school. He had welcomed us when we attended club there and he himself was doing huge things for Jesus in his school, using Young Life as a vehicle to bring his friends to Christ. We could have stood up there and talked about Young Life till our faces turned blue, but there is something different about watching a kid who is walking with Jesus in high school talk about how it has helped him to pursue his friends.

To end the evening we brought in our heavy hitter; Steve Schmitt. Now, I've gushed enough about how awesome Schmitty is in previous blogs so I'll spare you the rant. Suffice it to say he communicated to the adults in the room in a way that allowed them to truly understand what kind of need there is in a high school and what we are trying to do about it. He ended with an invitation to contribute in many different ways and we ended the night with a quick prayer.

We walked away from the night confident. We were just shy of our goal for the night, financially, knowing that many people left with the intent of discussing it before giving. We are hoping that in the coming week or two we will be fully funded as an area, for this year at least. From connections we made the banquet we have many more families looking to help in any way that they can. We have people interested in joining our committee, a few possible places to hold club and campaigners, a possible office space and a lead on a bus for Fall Weekend.

In the end, the victory for us was a room full of people who got to see where the Lord is moving. Our hope and prayer is that they were ministered to in a way that allowed encouraged them toward knowing Jesus. That is what counts. So again we stand excited, encouraged and ready for what the big guy has next. Which just happens to be Fall Weekend 2012.