This past weekend our MS + HSers attended Reality Apologetics Conference at Biola University! We were joined by 2,000 other youth students & youth ministers including our AYM SD, AYM Riverside, and Berkeley Element youth. It was a fun time getting trained up to think critically about how God’s Word can be applied to many hot topics in our current cultural times. Students attended plenary sessions, and had a choice to attend workshops during the two breakout sessions. I personally really enjoyed attending these two workshops: “Are the Gospels Reliable?” by J Warner Wallace, and “Is the Bible Anti-LGBT?” by Alan Shlemon. I walked away from these workshops with greater confidence in the Christian faith and in greater appreciation for God’s word & how true it is!

We had an engaging time especially as Drew Worsham (pastor, speaker, illusionist!) led us through each plenary session with a little magic - my favorite would have to be the Wikipedia game!)

The greatest takeaway was our last session - all of what we learned doesn’t really mean anything if you actually don’t read your Bible! The Bible was written not to be defended, but to be read.

So, with that, AYM Irvine will be rolling out a Bible reading challenge & maybe (maybe) the prize will be a trip to Knott’s Berry Farm 😮…stay tuned!

Lastly, if you missed Reality conference this year, don’t worry - you can attend next year! ✌️