My Last Creation: Making the Most of Every Opportunity

I was on social media the other day, and someone posted a memory of one of my favorite things, The Creation Festival. Creation was a Christian Music Festival that was held every Summer from 1979-2022 at the Agape Farm, in Shirleysburg, PA. It would draw as many as 100,000 people. Their slogan was “The highlight of your Summer…maybe your life.” It sure was that for me.

In the Beginning

In 1997 I was a Christian in trouble. I believed in Jesus, trusted Him as my Lord and Savior and all that goes with that, but I was also sliding backwards fast. I was struggling to have a career in art, working a full time job 40+ hours a week, and freelancing everywhere I could. The result of this was me pushing everything else to the periphery of life, including my marriage, my family and my God. My career was becoming an idol and something was about to give. 

The Invitation

My church was sponsoring a trip to Promise Keepers’ Stand In the Gap event, October 4, 1997 and some of the guys invited me. I really didn’t want to go. I had deadlines to meet, but somehow I found myself on the bus heading for DC. I didn’t know at that point, my life would never be the same. There were over a million men on the Mall that day, yet it felt like every speaker who stepped to the podium came to speak directly to me. I shed a lot of tears that day, as the Lord in His mercy broke down my resistance and spoke to my heart. By the end of the day, I knew I needed to quit art, and I told God I would never pick it up again until I was doing it for Him. That day I felt a new call.

The Call

I can’t explain it, but somehow I knew God was calling me to ministry. It felt so illogical. I was terrified to speak in public. I trembled when asked to read aloud in Sunday School, how would I ever do ministry? I couldn’t shake it. I knew God was doing something. I was sitting next to my friend Troy on the way home, and we started talking music. I knew a little about Christian music and a whole lot about secular music, and he was sort of the opposite. He started telling me about this festival called Creation. Neither of us had ever really worked with kids, and neither of us had been to the festival before, but by the time we got home, we had a plan to take the kids in our church to Creation.

Unforgettable

We planned for the better part of a year, and when the day arrived, it seemed like everything that could go wrong, did. By the time we made it to the main stage, I was sure I missed God completely and this was a big mistake. And then it happened. The speaker began to speak. He brought a strong and simple Gospel message, and one of the students responded to the invitation. She was the first person I ever prayed with to receive Christ. In that moment, it was as if God was saying, “I never said it would be easy, but if you will trust me, you will see me move.” That trip was the beginning of my ministry. On that first night, I had a dream, that one day, I would be a speaker there, but that couldn’t happen, I was terrified to speak in public.  

Training

Each day of that first festival, I went to youth ministry training they held there sponsored by the great youth ministry resource, Interlinc. I wasn’t sure why, I really didn’t have an official ministry yet. That Fall, I became the Senior High Sunday School teacher for my church, and a short time later, I became the youth leader. We built the group over that year, and all year long we looked forward to Creation. 

Growth

I used the music based lessons from Interlinc, and eventually started writing my own studies based on theirs. Before long I was writing for Interlinc as well. We went to Creation every year, and every year I saw students come to Christ. I baptized my youngest son at Creation. I even painted a mural on one of their infamous outhouses. I baptized my youngest son at Creation. The festival was incredible, and we grew really close to the students in our time there. I always thought I would be going to Creation for years to come. 

Time Marches On

Eventually I started preaching and then became a pastor and an itinerant speaker. Time got shorter, and I wasn’t able to get to Creation every year, but even when I couldn’t be there I missed it. If I was nearby, I would swing onto the grounds and reminisce. The last time I was at the Creation Festival, I could only be there for the day. It was post COVID, and the festival was much smaller but it still felt very special. I was in a new ministry by then and thinking about getting a group together to come the following year. I had grandson now, and I dreamt of taking him to same festival I took his parents to years before. That never came. They announced the festival would end in 2023. It was heartbreaking. 

The Last Time

There are things in our lives that are special. Things that we think will never end, but as King Solomon once wrote, “to everything there is a season.” Creation had ended. Promise Keepers was all but gone, too. And for both of those ministries, the last time I was there, I looked forward to coming back. It turned out there was a last time for both. In fact there is a last time for almost everything and most of the time we don’t know it’s coming until it’s too late. Seems to me, maybe we should live recognizing that. There is a last time for everything and everyone at least in this life, so maybe we should make the most of every opportunity. Create each creation as if it’s your last. Live each day as if it’s your last. Love each person and don’t take one moment for granted. 

New Beginnings

A wise man once said, “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Sometimes when one thing passes something new comes along. The folks at Agape Farm decided to have a new festival called Agape Fest. It’s mostly local speakers and musicians, but most big things start small. I spoke there last year and it was a blessing to preach God’s word where it all began for me 27 years before. My first year dream had come true. The crowd was a lot smaller, but that didn’t matter. I made the most of the opportunity. I will miss Creation, but I will never forget all the memories we made there and all the great stuff God did for me and everyone else there. 

Endings can be a sad thing, but maybe it’s best if we live in the moment and make the most out of it. In the end, it’s like Dr. Seuss once said, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” 

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