The team enjoyed being back at Calvary Christian School in Greer. I am not sure where all the teens come from, but the last two times we have been here the crowds have been above what we were expecting. In 2021 we had a high night of 107.  This time, we had a high night of 127, which was a record for Greer! We were thrilled to have 148 different teens who attended. We so appreciate Pastor Nathan Thomas, his wife, and Mr. Clinton, the principal of the school. They were a blessing with whom to work again this year!

Abi, the Marine co-captain, was out recruiting with several of her Marine girls on Monday. One of the girls with her spotted a group of teens, so they went to talked to them. The group got pumped about the War of Special Forces, but they needed transportation. Each of the War nights, the pastor ran a bus to go pick up this group of teens and their friends. Many of these young people got saved over the course of the three War nights. Some of them even stood up to give testimony of their salvation, as one stated:

“I got saved this week.”

There was a Marine girl in the school that Esther, the Seal co-captain, was burdened for. The girl never smiled and seemed very unhappy. She came to the War night on Thursday and responded during the invitation. Esther had one of her older Seal girls come back to sit in and listen how to do salvation counseling. Esther ended up counseling the Marine girl she was burdened for, and by the end of the night, the Marine girl got saved. The Seal girl was so encouraged to see this girl get saved; she had been praying for that girl for over two years! 

On Thursday, Thomas, the Seal team captain, counseled a young man who confessed he had been cheating on quizzes and tests. That day he went to his teacher, the principal, and his parents and confessed his cheating to each one of them. 

Part of the invitation on Friday in chapel was a prayer meeting. God really used that time of corporate prayer to encourage the students who responded. For several of them, it was their first time to be part of a prayer meeting like that. To follow is a testimony from that prayer time: 

“Today Titus gave his testimony, and he said that he would make a decision and not keep it…I realized that’s me. I do that all the time. I’ve grown up in church my whole life and I’ll come back from camp, or a really good message, or youth group, and I’ll decide I’m going to read my Bible more…then a few days later…I’m back in my old habits. I really got with God and I said, ‘I need your help because I can’t do it on my own strength.’ Today we met in a prayer meeting and we prayed for maybe 30 minutes…I’ve never felt so close to God.”

The faculty and staff were burdened for a young man in the school. We prayed for him to get saved all week. He was on the Ranger team and connected well with his team captain, Isaac. After one of the War nights, Titus, the Marine team captain, asked the young man if God was working in his heart at all. He admitted God was working and said that he wanted to talk to Isaac. Isaac went through the Gospel with him, and that night the young man was gloriously saved. It was such an answer to prayer! Although there were some barriers in this young man’s life, God continued to work in his heart. It was a big step of faith when this young man responded during the invitation on Friday and even prayed out loud in the corporate prayer meeting.

Here are some more testimonies from the week:

“The Lord has really been working in the school this week and in my heart. I’ve been convicted of some bitterness…also that I need to depend on Him. The Christian life isn’t based on our life or our performance but through Jesus Christ and…we can’t do it without Him.”

“…this week…in team [meetings] my captain said a quote [about] how much hate it takes for you to not tell someone about Jesus. That really touched me because I’ve been burdened to tell people before, but never really have done it…it does matter.”

“I’ve been watching some stuff that my parents would not like, and every time they came, I would always turn it off or change it so they wouldn’t know…this week…Isaac gave his testimony and it really touched me. So I went into the auditorium, and I told Titus all about it and took a few minutes of prayer and just prayed to God. Later on, my mom was in the office here and I got right with her.”