As a child who attended a very small church with hardly any other children attending back at home, to walk into a tent full of children, all there to find out about God, was a great experience! I wasn’t just entertained in Powerpack, I learnt about God my friend, who was with me all the time. I can remember being in that tent and whispering to God that I wanted Him to be my friend. I learnt that God was real, that God loved me and that God didn’t just want me to know Him but that I had a message to pass on.
Powerpack was my first Holy Spirit experience. There was one night where there was a huge storm going on outside. The tent was being blown around and making lots of noise, the rain was pouring down, which also made even more noise. Some of us were getting a bit nervous. But then, one of the children went up to the front. Heather chatted to him, and then he went to the microphone. He told us that we didn’t need to be afraid, that God was protecting us but also showing us how powerful He was. I felt so peaceful to know that God could protect us in the middle of all that noise and power.
The following night, the leaders prayed that God would give us messages to pass on to help other people in the room, and asked us to listen for a couple of minutes. We were told that if there was something going round in our heads that we felt we needed to say, then we should go up the front. I had something in my thoughts about a boy with a bad knee. I stood up to go forward, as did many other children. There were many ‘messages’ given that night, that I believe were totally authentic and straight from God.
I always left Powerpack wanting more, each day we were there, and when we had to leave at the end of the week.
That was almost twenty years ago. Now I am working full time for my church as the youth and children’s pastor, and I so want the children and young people I work with to know that sense of God who is with me, that I was introduced to all those years ago.
Thank you Powerpack team!
Clare Crittenden
