This past Sunday, we got to see Wildfire, our youth group, run our Sunday service, doing everything from leading worship to Holy Communion to sharing announcements and running media and ushering. They put in effort to practice and prepare, and they did an amazing job! In particular, it was really incredible to see how far the worship team has come since the beginning, when Andrew first started leading Wildfire with Sam Lai.
Back then, Andrew encouraged that generation of Wildfire to help lead worship, either by playing an instrument, choosing a worship song, or helping with worship slides, with the hope that one day we could be involved in the Sunday service. At that point, we were all beginners and had little to no experience with worship that wasn’t passive. Andrew’s goal seemed like a faraway idea: How could we go from singing worship songs in someone’s basement to leading worship on stage?
No matter what Andrew thought, he continued to show up every Friday with his guitar to help lead and guide us in worship. In the process of trying to increase our faith, his faith was probably stretched too! Despite everything that went into it, what he was instilling in us was a heart for worship. It did not show up right away, but over time the seeds that Andrew planted started to grow.
When we led our first Wildfire Sunday in 2024, it was the result of years and years of small, gradual growth. We now have youth and young adults serving in our worship, media, and livestream teams. We recently welcomed the youngest bassist at LifeSpring to the Wildfire worship team! That group of awkward, scrawny teenagers that Andrew poured into at the start now get to do the same for the next generation of Wildfire.
So much of what we do at Wildfire is plant seeds and create a safe environment for those seeds to grow. Everything we saw last Sunday was an extension of what happens in Wildfire. I am so glad that LifeSpring had to opportunity to see a little of what God has been doing in our youth!
We love and are so proud of you Wildfire!