Last Friday, over 375 went down to the Air Canada Centre to witness a Toronto Raptors victory over the Indiana Pacers. While that was exciting, the post-game program became the focus.

Patrick Mutombo, one of the Raptors assistant coaches, shared how Jesus impacts his life. He encouraged the students and leaders there to be boldly stand for their faith and stand strong. We also had two young adults from Glencairn Baptist Church share their testimonies as well.

Several students had a chance to come on court to shoot into the baskets. Each church also sent their “champion” on court to battle against Matt and Alvin, with four students walking away with an NBA basketball and one winner taking home a Kyle Lowry jersey.

One youth pastor shared this:

It was a great night of fellowship for our youth. It was a chance for them to connect with each other outside the walls of the church and I’m sure it was a memorable experience for many of them who don’t get opportunities like that often.

The most important part was the conversations between students, their invited friends and other youth leaders. Our intentions with this event were 1. to provide a positive “first impression” of how Jesus impacts lives and 2. for those invited friends to continue the conversations with those groups in the coming weeks and beyond. It’s our prayer that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in their lives.