On Thursday, June 26, day four of the GARBC Conference, Students Alive! began in a room filled with sweaty palms and queasy stomachs. And that was just the parents. All of the Talents For Christ participants joined the Students Alive! teens for a morning session with Dr. John Greening, national representative of the GARBC. He walked the group through a spiritual health exam from 1 John 2:3–6.
Following the session, the Talents For Christ participants received their instructions for the afternoon competition. Starkey Road Baptist Church, Seminole, Fla., hosted the TFC competition, and many of the Students Alive! teens participated or went to support and encourage their friends. Six students had the opportunity to share their talents in the evening session: Megan Pearson (First Baptist Church, Creston, Iowa), competing in Oral Interpretation; Makayla Nook (Immanuel Baptist Church, Newton, Iowa), competing in Female Voice; Micah Leary (First Baptist Church, Hamburg, N.Y.), competing in Piano; and Shaina Todd, Celeste Scott, and Hannah Wang (Emmanuel Baptist Church of Warrenville, Naperville, Ill.), competing in an Instrumental Ensemble.
After joining their parents for the evening session, the teens met back up for a short walk to downtown St. Petersburg and a free cup of frozen yogurt, courtesy of Faith Baptist Bible College. They had a great time enjoying the relative cool of a Florida evening, eating some delicious fro-yo, and enjoying the camaraderie that had formed throughout the week. The teens headed back to the hotel, many parting ways by saying, “See you in Omaha next year!”
Teens are looking forward to the conference in Omaha next year and are already making plans.
