Have you ever wanted to be apart of an army that fights off demons in a battle of Good versus Evil? Did you ever want to be at the frontline with all your ready-to-go army in back of you with their game face on, weapons in hand, ready to charge at the other massive army running toward you on a huge battlefield? Have you ever pictured yourself being the one to yell "CHARGE!" as you all start running, ready to collide in an epic fight, preparing to come out victorious against the opposing, wicked army? If you have then you're in luck, because Rhode Island is building that exact army and you can join any time. It's called Awakening and it's constantly growing stronger every minute. Our opponent is the devil and our weapon is Jesus.

So how do you join this revolution? Two words; Awakening Conference. It is a huge event put on once a year by New Life Worship Center in Smithfield. It is definitely something to be experienced and so a little difficult to put into words, but basically, people come here from all over New England (and sometimes beyond) to worship together. I like to call it partying with Jesus. It just celebrated its 10 year anniversary this past July, and to celebrate, it was held over one weekend at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence which was a big step up from being held at its original starting location of New Life. No matter where it is though, you can always count on awesome live music from christian artists, hyped up energy to the max, lots of confetti, powerful guest speakers, salvations, killer merchandise, and the sound of the enemy falling and Jesus' army rising.

This year was only my second time attending Conference, and I can't begin to tell you how revolutionary this movement is and will continue to become. The words you hear, the stories that get told, the things you learn, the people you meet, the sights you see, and the emotions you feel are like nothing you can ever experience anywhere else. Just taking part in one night at Awakening Conference, so many things can happen. Maybe you're going through a rough time in your life, maybe you don't entirely know who Jesus is, maybe someone just forced you to go to this thing so you're just tagging along. Trust me when I say, that no matter who you are, what you have been through, if you go to Awakening Conference and decide to join this movement, this growing army, your life will never be the same. You will completely be changed for the better and come out wanting more.

Can I tell you how incredible it was to see all this take place at the Dunkin Donuts Center this year. From kids to adults, everyone was parading around our capitol with Jesus on the brain and proudly wearing the symbol of Awakening on their clothes. Some of us even filled the Providence Place Mall's food court to sing, a cappella, the songs that were being sung all weekend. Don't believe me, try to look it up, there's a few videos of it spiraling somewhere on the internet. The camaraderie surrounding this event and movement is incredible. It was so amazing to see so many people come together for one specific purpose, to make Jesus famous and spread this movement as far as we can. This year it was even live broadcasted on DayStar Television!

I'm really privileged to live in Rhode Island so I don't have to wait a whole year to experience this new era of revival since New Life does Awakening nights once a month at the church which act as smaller versions of Awakening Conference throughout the year. With that being said, I hope after reading this you have become a bit more curious and I sincerely hope, dear reader, that I have inspired you to enlist in this special army.