knownst to me, six of my teammates were Christians who attended Word of Life clubs through their church. They treated me well despite who I was at that point – an unsaved, foul- mouthed, angry fifteen-year-old. When it came time for school to start, one of the players invited me to a Bible study at our school.” Mark went to the Bible study meeting, and he continued to attend in the days that followed. Several weeks later, his teammate invited him to go to the Word of Life youth group at his church; Mark said yes. “My teammate’s uncle was the club leader, and he introduced himself as soon as I walked in. It was a good- sized group; 65-70 teenagers were packed in this small New England church. At that first club
Last November, thousands of teens packed arenas across the East Coast for Word of Life’s all-night evangelistic event known as Reverb. For Bible Institute students who help run Reverb, the night is often dotted with a series of hurried, seem- ingly insignificant interactions – a high five to the underdog in a dodgeball tournament, a momentary conversa- tion following the gospel message, a simple smile across the arena at a shy student – and yet, these fleeting moments can be part of a much greater journey in a teen’s life. Such was the case for Mark Morse. Mark operates a Chick-fil-A in Lumberton, North Carolina, and he actively serves the Lord in his local church. As a child, however, his life was heading in an entirely different direction. “I was born in Connecticut into a nominal Catholic family. Through elementary school, we only went to church on Christmas and Easter.” By the time Mark entered his teenage years, his parents had divorced, and he was being bounced from house to house. “In the summer after my freshman year, I started getting curious. I had an emptiness that I wanted to have filled.”
It was on this night [at Reverb] that Mark encountered the gospel for the very first time.
meeting, they were talking about kids ‘getting saved’ at
a recent Word of Life event.” Mark didn’t know what that meant at the time, but he wanted to learn more. When the youth leader invited him to a night of games and activities at the event now known as Reverb, Mark didn’t hesitate. “We got on the bus and drove to Springfield, Massachu- setts. We watched a great hockey game; then, they started playing games on the ice. It was 29 years ago, but I still remember that night vividly.”
“I played baseball on a senior league team in a town called Eastford. Unbe-
In 2022, Youth Ministries hosted Reverbs in 16 cities across the United States.
5
The Experience
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker