Hundreds of young adults are expected to make their way to Calvary Temple this weekend to participate in the third annual Collide Conference.
Collide Conference is a multi-church conference that helps provide a space for young adults to pursue God and be led to find truth, identity, and purpose in Him.
The conference will feature worship, breakout sessions, speakers and crash courses, including one called Faith & Athletics - Following Jesus in Professional Sports Q&A.
It will be hosted by Lorne Korol, the chaplain to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Winnipeg Jets, and Manitoba Moose. He will also be joined by a special guest.
"I'm going to have my chapel leader, Nick Hallett, from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who will be there with me. The two of us will try to take you into the locker room to get a peek at what goes on inside the locker room and the Bible study room to get a peek at what it takes for pro athletes to shine their light through sports," said Korol.
Korol says he is excited to share the stage with Nick Hallet.
"Hallet has grown so much. He came to us in 2019 and has been with us ever since. He's won two Grey Cups and been to five straight," said Korol. "It's not just about what he's done on the field. It's more important that he's now stepped up and is one of our chapel leaders. He's really grown in his faith, and I'm excited to see what he has to say in these Q & A sessions."
He says the conversation will not only focus on sports, but on faith all around.
"We'll be focusing on sports, but it's about using every gift and opportunity and challenge as a means to reflect Christ and grow deeper in faith," Korol explained. "I know there's gonna be many aspiring players and coaches out there, and they can understand what it takes to
shine a light for Christ in the world of professional sports and amateur sports. It's so important that that message gets down just below professional sports as well."
Alexander Grant is one of the co-directors of Collide. He is also one of the speakers. He says there are so many things to look forward to with this conference.
"It's just really exciting when you have a large gathering of believers, new believers and mature believers all coming together to worship Jesus, and to not only worship him but grow in their knowledge and understanding of him. It gives me a lot of hope for the future of the church."
He says these are the people who are going to become the next pastors, youth leaders, worship artists and theologians in our community, in Manitoba and across the Prairies.
"So if we can be just a small part of their journey to becoming more like Christ, that's a privilege," said Alexander. "If God can use something like Collide, the spaces we create, whether it's our breakout sessions or it's our main sessions or our worship sessions, or even just the community in the camaraderie that people get as they're kind of passing in between all these things. All of it God can use for His Kingdom and his good. I'm just excited for God to do his thing and work among his kids."
Collide Conference is at Calvary Temple, 400 Hargrave Street, on May 2 and 3. The doors open at 6:15 p.m. on May 2, and the festivities kick off at 7 p.m. On May 3, the doors open at 9:15 a.m. before it starts at 10 a.m.
Tickets can be purchased here.