By Shaun Higgins, Children’s Intern, Midway Covenant Church
In reflection of my first Midwinter experience, there is no one phrase that I can think of to describe it.
What I understood going into this week was that there would be several workshops and worship services that we would attend. I was excited about the workshops since many of the ones that were offered were relevant to our church’s ministry. In respect to the worship services, I thought that it would be relaxing to attend a service in which I had no responsibilities. There would also be the opportunity to learn about the many aspects of the Covenant and meet with other ministry leaders. As someone who is new to the Covenant, I was looking forward to getting a better feel for this denomination. I was looking forward to Midwinter, but I wasn’t anticipating anything extraordinary. However, what would seem to be a typical organizational conference of professionals and clergy was nothing short of amazing.
The worship services were simply incredible. The worship team definitely raised the temperature in the room. Though I am one who is both rhythmically and melodically challenged, I had no reservations about worshiping and praising along with the rest of the congregation. There was also something exceptional about worshiping with other ministry leaders.
There was this sort of unspoken feeling of unity that one finds in small-town church congregations, the kind of churches where everyone knows everyone and has lived and worshiped together their entire lives. Yet here, there may have been close to two thousand individuals present, the overwhelming majority of whom I had never met. With each person I had the pleasure of meeting, it was as if I had known them from somewhere but just couldn’t put my finger on where. With every interaction, it seemed like a wink of the eye saying, “Welcome, it’s good to see you again for the first time.” It was surreal that, no matter who I spoke to, my familiarity of their circumstances in ministry felt reassuring and prophetic. It was comforting to hear stories of how God worked through some of the same situations that I felt were failures in my own experiences. It was so gratifying and amazing to hear how God had opened so many doors and touched so many lives through so many different areas of ministry. I am still absorbing how astonishing it was to witness so much diversity yet uniformity of mind and motive. To see the different age groups, ethnicities, and nationalities worshiping and fellowshiping together gave perspective to Revelation 7:9.
My experience at Midwinter was phenomenal. Then again, there was not any tangible aspect of this conference that stood out. Don’t get me wrong, everything was professionally done and organized. It was obvious that a lot of preparation, time, and resources went into this event. But, that’s not what made this event special; it was the people. To feel such fellowship, to see such dedication, to hear the passionate pleas for the pursuit of justice, mercy, and diversity in ministry-this was everything I needed to sense that I am right at home in the Covenant.
[Click Here] to see videos of many of the sessions and workshops from Midwinter 2019 in Denver