We all hate Monday nights, right? It's the start of the work week. It's the first day back to school for some. It's the dreaded 5 a.m. alarm clock that just seems like it won't shut up. Yeah, Mondays were my least favorite day. That is, until one Monday night when a friend invited me to something called 318LIVE.

Little did I know, this night would eventually turn into one of my favorite nights of the week because of that first night that was the start of a life-changing movement.

This first night that I visited 318LIVE, it was held in Shreveport Community Church off of Buncombe road. A band was playing, and a bunch of my friends were going. So, I figured I would take a break from homework and go see a Christian band perform and maybe hear a little word since I had skipped church the day before. It turns out, this night was exactly what I needed to lift my spirits. God had a plan for me that night. And I was right where I needed to be at just the right time.

The next week, I was anticipating Monday night. I was excited, and ready for the rest of the week to fly by so it could be Monday again. I had never in my life been so excited for Monday. And it was weird to me, but I know now that God had a purpose for me to attend this amazing young adult ministry. I didn't know it at the time, but my life was about to change. My faith was going to get tested. God was going to speak to me in ways I never heard Him speak to me before. Yes, this place changes people. I know this, because it changed me.

You see, I was raised in church and ever since I can remember, I've always believed in God. But, I never really surrendered my life to Him the way I should have. I never really gave Him permission to grab the reigns of my life and take complete control. Maybe I was too afraid of being so vulnerable to something. Maybe there was a piece of me that was still unsure if God even existed, because how can something exist and you never see it in physical form with your own two eyes? Well, little did I know that God has always been right by my side. Even when I didn't realize it. And, He was right by my side that second time I attended 318LIVE, speaking into my ear and turning my heart into one that would eventually be surrendered to Him for good.

318LIVE is known as "The City's Young Adult Ministry." It's a place for young adults ages 18-30 to come together as one and worship God in an environment that is fun, welcoming, and feels like a huge family. Because that's what it is. It's one huge family of hundreds of young adults coming together in one city, one place, worshipping one amazing God.

Today, 318LIVE is held at Northpoint Community Church in Bossier City off of Airline Drive. Daniel Maddry is the current pastor and boy, when I tell you that he blows it out the water every Monday night, I ain't lying. This man can preach.

When you arrive to 318LIVE, as soon as you even get out of your car, you are greeted by the friendly parking lot crew that assist with parking cars in an orderly fashion. Then, you walk to the front door and there is a line of greeters who welcome you and make you feel like you belong there before you even get a chance to walk inside. Then, when you're inside, while waiting for the doors of the sanctuary to open, you get the chance to engage in fellowship with other young adults who could potentially end up being your best friends one day. This is a place where you can come and be open and honest with everyone because, let's get real for five seconds, we are all young adults here and we all are faced with the same life issues. I truly feel like this is a place where I can come for healing, restoration, truth, advice, and prayer.

So, once 7 p.m. hits, the doors of the sanctuary are opened and everyone is welcomed inside to find a seat. At about 7:15 p.m. or so, worship begins. The band leads us in worship of about 3 or 4 songs and this is truly the time where you get to just be one with God and just pour your heart and soul out to Him in song as well as prayer. At first, I was a little hesitant to really engage in worship like I witnessed everyone else doing. Before 318LIVE, I never really got the chance to witness worship where everyone was raising their hands and singing really loud, even praying really loud, or on their knees crying out to God. This was a whole new scene for me. But, it didn't take me long before I started to be that person who lifts her hands, falls to her knees, and cries out to God during worship. Eventually, it was a cold and rainy Monday night, and the band was leading us in worship, and all of a sudden my heart started to race, and tears started uncontrollably pouring down my face, and I just felt this strong presence. God was speaking to me. He wanted me to finally surrender my heart to Him and give Him the control of my life that He died on the cross for. I fell to my knees right there and just began to pour my heart out to Him. This one night, in this one place, with a room full of messed up young adults like me, is where I finally found Jesus as my Lord and Savior. This ministry has changed my life.

So, I close by saying, I encourage whoever might be reading this to visit this amazing place one Monday night. You might be facing hard times right now. You might be going through something that seems so hard, difficult, and just downright unfair. I can promise you, we all are in the same boat. This is life, and life gets rough. Especially for us young adults. God wants nothing more than for you to seek Him and give Him control over every situation. 318LIVE is a place where you can do this and also learn what God has to say about those typical situations we are all faced with at this point in our lives. This is a place where you can go down to the altar in the middle of a worship service and seek the hand of someone else who will pray over you and your situation, and where healing and restoration will begin to take place. I truly believe that this ministry is not only making Shreveport-Bossier great again, but it is the start of something amazing happening in our country. God is so good.

I have experienced true salvation here. And my favorite thing is witnessing other messed up young adults just like me experience the same thing.

I can't wait to see you there! #SitByMe