Montrose, PA. OIL 2006 Conference. I can’t believe the OIL Conference is in its 19th year. As I was reflecting on it, I realized that I was part of this OIL Conference for the last 16 years. God is truly the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8).
After the first night’s worship, we had a fellowship time with pastors, staff, and seminarians. It was great meeting up with a lot of new people and also reconnecting with some old faces. Some of the seminarians looked so young, but then some might say, “Pastor, it is because you are getting older.”
But the most humbling part was that I was able to hear stories of some of these young seminarians who made commitments to do ministry during the OIL Conferences over the years. This is when I was reminded that our labor in the Lord is never in vain (1 Co 15:58). One guy in particular mentioned how he received the Lord at a retreat that I spoke at in Chicago many years ago. We reminisced together. The amazing part of all this is that God would use a person like me to further His Kingdom.
In many ways, OIL has changed especially with the new faces who were serving and the younger conference participants. But, there are some things that will never change – the powerful worship times, the crazy schedule, and the sleepless nights talking with friends and fellow partners in the Gospel.
I am privileged to be a part of the OIL heritage and history.
A worship experience – the same now as it was back then!