The third annual Empower Student Rally rocked the fourth floor of the Irving Convention Center Sunday evening (Feb. 23), drawing more than 600 students and leaders from nearly 100 churches from across the state.
Students packed the room to hear Christian rap and hip-hop artists Dillon Chase and Zeke Garcia, experience worship led by the Cross City Euless praise band, and to be challenged by Chip Luter, senior associate pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans.
Hip hop and rap with a message
Drawing from his work in Japan with RAGE Ministries (Reaching a Generation Endangered), Chase taught the crowd to say hello in Japanese: “Ohayou,” pronounced like “Ohio.” It was a preview of what was to come, as he later performed an interactive version of his song, “That’s Right,” in Japanese and English, calling on the audience to respond with a Japanese phrase meaning “There is no doubt” at key moments.
Students stood, waved their hands, and danced in the aisles or at their seats as Chase urged them to “make some noise for Jesus … the Savior of the world!” before introducing fellow RAGE artist Garcia.
As the stage lights burned red, Garcia announced that the “Word of God is the power of God,” and began a rousing version of “Not That Guy,” again with heavy audience participation.
“Every song has a message. I want you to hear the message of the song,” Garcia proclaimed, describing his own salvation in which, “The old Zeke who used to exist has died,” referencing, as Chase had done, trials and suffering.
“Following Jesus is not easy. … The reason I struggled so much is that I was not ready to surrender my life,” Garcia said.
Ryan Fontenot, RAGE Ministries founder and lead evangelist, followed Garcia, explaining a simple way to share Jesus using a four-emoji bracelet each guest had received.
“I believe everyone who is a follower of Jesus is a fisher of men,” Fontenot said. “It’s one thing to know you ought to be sharing Jesus, but it’s another thing to do it. You can do this.”
The bracelets students received featured emojis of a heart, a division sign, a cross, and a question mark. Fontenot explained that the heart emoji represents God and His love; the division sign indicates sin; the cross symbolizes Jesus; and the question mark calls for a decision.
“You can learn to share Jesus anytime, anywhere, with anyone,” Fontenot said.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Jane Rodgers and originally published by the Southern Baptist Texan.
