By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer
LAFAYETTE – At an early age, Ed Newton was faced with a challenge few eight-year-old boys deal with – serving as interpreter for both of his deaf parents.
In the midst of that adversity, God drew Newton to a personal relationship with Christ and grew him to become the spiritual leader of one of the largest congregations in the U.S.
Now, the 40-year-old pastor of the 27,000-member Community Bible Church in San Antonio, Texas, uses those experiences of his early life to help youth who are dealing with difficult circumstances.
“I made a commitment to [Louisiana Baptist Youth Strategist] Steve Maltempi several years ago to always pour into the lives of teenagers,” Newton said. “Developing the next generation as strong spiritual leaders is crucial. I am very excited about what God will do at YEC.”
Called to the ministry as a high school senior, Newton is no stranger to student evangelism. He has served as a youth pastor, faculty member at Student Leadership University in Orlando, Fla., and executive director of the LIFT TOUR, an extension of Student Leadership University in partnership with LifeWay Students.
Newton will share his story with more thousands of students expected to attend the Youth Evangelism Celebration — the largest gathering of Louisiana Baptists each year — scheduled for Nov. 20-21 at the Cajundome in Lafayette.
Organizers have slated high-energy music, inspiring messages, time for fellowship and much more for participants to experience.
Last year’s event drew 5,600 youth and resulted in 120 students making professions of faith, and another 174 repenting to restore their lives to Jesus, seven indicated a call to ministry and 83 made some other type of spiritual decision.
The theme for this year’s YEC is Stories, based on 1 John 1:2-3.
Throughout the two-day event, Louisiana Baptist teenagers will be challenged to celebrate what Christ has done in their lives and to share their stories of how Christ changed their lives, and they will be engaged in a number of different ways to experience a message about Him:
— The Museum of Atlanta, Ga. will offer worship music.
— Paul May of Springfield, Mo., will present drama, comedy, improvisation and serve as master of ceremonies.
— The conference will close with a time of music led by the Newsboys, a band formed in 1985 and includes former DC Talk vocalist Michael Tait.
During the Monday break for supper at 4 p.m., youth ministers will have a chance to network with other youth ministers and meet Newton and May.
“YEC is a huge mid-year spiritual boost to students,” Maltempi said. “They get reenergized to live for Christ and share Christ.”
The event kicks off Sunday at 7 p.m. and will end about 10:30 p.m. Monday.
Registration will be available at the BCM booth at YEC.
Tickets for YEC cost $50.
For the Monday night session only, seats can be purchased for $25, which allows access for that session and the accompanying music set by the Newsboys.
Because of renovations, limited concessions will be available for purchase. Also, no outside food or drinks will be allowed in the Cajundome.
For more information, visit yeclouisiana.org.
