Passion World Tour

On October 6, 2008 I got to experience one of the most amazing nights since I became a Christian. I got to attend the Passion World Tour. I hadn't heard of it before, until I happened to hear about it on the radio, they mentioned a conference for young adults. I was really excited about something geared for this age group, because there rarely is anything specifically for us. I was excited to hear that David Crowder was going to be there, as well as Chris Tomlin. I'd never heard of Louie Giglio before.

Jason and I took Monday off work so that we could go downtown before rush hour. We went to Science World, which was a blast! Just before 5:00 we walked over to GM Place to get in line for the doors to open at 6:00. We had to register our tickets and switch for wristbands, so we did that as fast as we could and managed to get in line near the doors. Here's a picture of the lineup: (all pictures were from the Passion blog, I only wish I could be this awesome)

We got inside and found seats in the bowl area (we could've gone to the floor but I honestly like seeing what's happening, and being short on the floor is less than fun.) When it started I had goosebumps, I'd never been to any Christian gathering like this and it was intense! Chris Tomlin came out and sang Mighty to Save, and then "God of this City" among others. He was amazing. Louie Giglio came out and welcomed everyone and we prayed for Vancouver and also for Mexico City, where they had just left a few days before. A few Mexicans made this sign that Louie brought with him to Vancouver:

Apparently this was on the blog, and each city that has people that have been to the blog made a sign for the next city. It was pretty amazing watching the slideshow they showed us about where they had been and how each city played "pass it on" with prayer and donations. Our event was free because the Mexican group paid for us. It was amazing to feel so connected to other believers in the world. Chris Tomlin sang some more, and then Louie came out to talk. It was an awesome sermon, very simple, talking about how amazing grace really is. He has such a passion for this age group and you can tell. Oh, speaking of Amazing Grace, it was really neat hearing Chris Tomlin talk about his version of Amazing Grace - some people had asked him to add to it for a movie, and he was like "What? I'm not gonna be 'that punk' who messes with a classic song!! What, do you want me to add to 1 John while I'm at it?" It was cute, and that song is so powerful, it was amazing to hear him sing it.

David Crowder came out, and I've gotta say, I didn't realize how weird looking he is. At first I was like "Who is this and when is David Crowder coming out??" .... then he sang ... haha! But he's a phenomenal artist and it was so fun to worship with him. Anyone who can play a rock song and then break into a hoedown is fine by me!! :)

We then had a chance to do a shout out for the next city, Seoul, Korea. (A HUGE cheer erupted from the crowd - we have a lot of Koreans in Vancouver!) I didn't realize but on the other side of our wristbands was "Passion Seoul" and the dates of their conference. We were encouraged to flip them over and keep them on to pray for them through the week until the dates they have their conferences (10th and 11th of October). Turns out someone saw on the blog the "pass it on" nature of this conference and made a sign for Seoul too.

The whole thing was just incredibly moving, and although I've attempted to explain, no words could do it justice. It was simply amazing and since then I've just felt so blessed to have been a part of that night. Here's a few more pictures I stole from the blog because this guy was really good. He uses a Canon too. :)