Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190046A
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00:02 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:35 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:10 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn. 01:12 JD Quinn. Yes. 01:13 And we are so glad that you are joining us 01:16 on 3ABN Today. 01:17 This is the mending broken people network 01:20 and we can only do what we do 01:23 because of your love and your prayers 01:25 and your financial support. 01:26 So we thank you from the bottom of our heart. 01:29 You know, I'm in the process of moving my office 01:33 and I couldn't find my Bible while ago, 01:35 so I'm out here without one, but Ephesians... 01:39 I love the writings of Paul and Ephesians 2:8-10 01:43 is one of my favorite. 01:44 He says that we are saved by grace through faith, 01:49 not of works that any man should boast. 01:52 There's nothing we can do to save ourselves. 01:56 Yet he goes on to say that 02:00 we were our God's handiwork, 02:03 His work of art created to do the good works 02:06 that He prepared in advance for us to do. 02:10 So when we are saved, it's a gift. 02:14 But we know that God wants us to serve Him 02:17 and to serve others, 02:19 to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength 02:21 and to love others as we love ourselves. 02:23 And we are so excited because our special guests today 02:28 fit into that category. 02:30 And let me go ahead 02:31 and introduce who is with us today, 02:34 we have Heidi Carpenter, Heidi. 02:37 Hello. So glad you're here. 02:39 I'm so glad to be here. 02:40 And you are the executive secretary for iShare. 02:45 Correct, yeah. 02:46 Tell us what iShare, that's an acronym. 02:49 What does that stand for? 02:50 So iShare stands for 02:52 I Seek to Help Advance Revival and Evangelism. 03:00 Yes. 03:01 I can't wait to hear all about it. 03:02 Yes, I know, iShare. 03:04 Amen. 03:05 That's a great name, great acronym. 03:08 And then we have Weston Fargo. 03:10 Are you the grandson of Wells Fargo? 03:12 A lot of people think my grandfather's Wells Fargo. 03:14 That's for them to decide. 03:16 Kidding, but it's a nice way to remember the name. 03:19 Amen. Amen. 03:20 So, you are the director of programming? 03:25 What does that mean to be the director of programming? 03:27 You know, it's a great, great question. 03:29 We have different facets of iShare, 03:32 my job is to organize the speakers 03:36 and essentially to be a speaker liaison as well as 03:39 to kind of organize the format of the schedule 03:42 at our annual conference, our annual iShare Conference. 03:45 Okay, well, we're going to learn 03:46 all about iShare in just a moment, 03:49 but I know y'all like music, and we love music 03:52 and we know that you love music. 03:55 So, honey, who's singing today? 03:57 Well, we have one of my special friends 04:00 and I just love her music, 04:02 Tammy Chance, 04:03 "Than Ever Before." 04:17 You know it's true 04:20 I love you more than words could ever show 04:27 But forgive me Lord for all the times 04:32 I haven't told you so 04:37 Because you mean everything to me 04:41 Your pleasure I adorn 04:46 I want to live each day 04:49 In such a way You know 04:51 I love you more and more 04:56 More than ever before 05:01 Lord I love you 05:05 More than ever before 05:10 Lord I need you. 05:15 More than ever before 05:20 I've got to tell you 05:25 I love you now 05:28 More than ever before 05:40 I love you then I love you now 05:45 But much more now than then 05:50 And in the end between I find 05:55 You became my dearest friend 06:00 And with each day 06:02 You bring my way 06:04 Joy I've never known before 06:09 I want to live each day 06:12 In such a way You know 06:15 I love you more and more 06:19 More than ever before 06:25 Lord I love you 06:29 More than ever before 06:34 Lord I need you 06:39 More than ever before 06:44 I've got to tell you 06:49 I love you now 06:51 More than ever before 07:03 I've got to tell you 07:08 I love you now 07:11 More than ever before 07:31 Oh, we love Tammy. 07:34 Love her, love her. 07:35 You know, she has that what you see on camera 07:39 that sweet personality is really who she is. 07:45 Well, if you're joining us just a little late, 07:48 our special guests today 07:50 are Heidi Carpenter and Weston Fargo. 07:53 And they are with iShare. 07:55 But before we get into this exciting ministry, 07:59 we want to get to know you a little bit. 08:00 So, Heidi, tell us a little of your upbringing? 08:04 Yeah, so I was raised in Kansas, country girl. 08:08 I grew up, had 21 cats 08:09 at one point in time in my life. 08:13 And, you know, was raised in an Adventist Christian home, 08:16 absolutely loved it. 08:18 And yet I didn't really make it my own 08:19 until I was 16 years old. 08:22 When I was in an amateur high school breakup 08:25 and came home 08:26 that day brokenhearted, 08:28 collapsed on my bed and said, "God, 08:29 if you want to do something with my life, go for it." 08:33 And He has taken over my life ever since. 08:37 I've been able to start... 08:39 I started studying the Word of God, 08:40 started having personal revival in my own heart, 08:43 and after that experience I ended up going 08:46 and doing literature evangelism for one summer, 08:49 I knocked on doors for 10 weeks. 08:52 And God became so real to me, 08:54 He became a God who was not just, 08:56 you know, in a book but or in the sky, 08:59 but personal, speaking through me, 09:01 working in my life 09:03 and life has never been the same again, 09:05 you know, since then. 09:07 So now you have recently... 09:11 Yes. 09:12 Had a most beautiful little baby girl 09:14 and we want to show you her picture. 09:16 And that was my idea. 09:18 This is Haley. 09:20 How old is Haley? 09:22 Haley is three months old. 09:23 She's gorgeous. 09:25 Yeah, she's our newest little soul in there 09:27 that we've added to the Carpenter clan. 09:30 You actually said that having Haley 09:34 makes people more open to come up and talk with you. 09:37 Absolutely, just like having a dog, 09:39 you know, having a dog, having a little kid, 09:41 it's opened up so many conversations for me 09:44 that I've been able to just share, 09:45 make friends, connect in my lifestyle, you know. 09:49 So you can evangelize through the baby. 09:51 She has no clue what she's doing. 09:54 Yes, yeah. 09:55 Well, we're very proud of you 09:57 and you're kind of taking a little maternity leave 10:02 or maternal leave, I guess. 10:03 Do you plan on staying home with? 10:05 Yeah, right now, yeah, I plan on being a hands-on mom. 10:09 Great. Wonderful, wonderful. Yeah, I'm excited. 10:12 Well, it's a happy time in your life. 10:13 It really is. It really is. 10:15 This stage is amazing. So... 10:17 Amen. 10:18 So, Weston, tell us a little bit 10:20 about you growing up? 10:21 Well, I'll tell you guys, 10:23 it's such a pleasure to be on this show. 10:24 I'm so excited to be here. 10:25 Let me tell you and I'm not just saying this. 10:27 This is my favorite TV show. 10:29 And I feel like I know you guys already personally. 10:31 I know, we just met here just a little while ago. 10:34 But my testimony parallels Heidi's a little bit, 10:38 in that I was born into a Christian household, 10:41 but I feel like I wasn't always a Christian 10:43 if you know what I mean. 10:46 And so I really had to find it on my own. 10:49 But what's interesting is the Bible calls it 10:51 the eye salve there in Revelation. 10:54 I watched this show both with and without that eye salve, 10:59 that lens that only God can give. 11:02 And let me tell you, 11:03 I've been so tremendously blessed, 11:06 both as a Christian and a non-Christian, 11:08 I can say this alike 11:10 by watching the testimonies on this show, 11:11 so what an honor to be here. 11:13 But I'm a graduate of the Amazing Facts Center 11:16 of Evangelism as well as 11:18 the La Sierra University School of Business. 11:22 And so it's just the young guy trying to find his way 11:26 in the business world now currently. 11:27 Oh, amen. 11:28 And I just have to say this, 11:31 can I get away with saying this. 11:32 I don't know, you always do. 11:35 Ladies, he's single. 11:39 We know that God has great plans for your life. 11:43 And we're excited that you're here. 11:46 And it's fun to hear, you know, you're a young person 11:49 and it's fun to hear that 11:50 you've been watching all these years 11:51 and this is one of your favorite programs. 11:53 And what a blessing it is to be here now finally, 11:55 never would I imagined, so praise God. 11:58 Well, it's just a lot of fun be around youthful people. 12:01 Yeah. 12:02 You know, I mean, this is just... 12:04 We're youthful, we're just not young. 12:07 I was talking to somebody earlier 12:09 if I was walking with Methuselah, 12:11 I would be a youth. 12:13 Yes, correct. Exactly. 12:14 So I mean, but I mean, 12:16 this is, it's just a lot of fun. 12:18 It's just so energizing. 12:21 Sometimes you forget that 12:22 you do walk a little bit slower. 12:24 You do have a few more grey hairs. 12:26 But still your heart and your mind 12:28 is youthful and you just, 12:30 you know, anyway this is fun, and what a wonderful project, 12:35 I mean, iShare. 12:37 Do you want to share it? 12:40 Okay, so tell us about the conception 12:45 or inception of iShare and what it's all about? 12:49 Just give us some background history, 12:51 when did it begin? 12:53 Sure. 12:54 So iShare began in 2010, at least the concept. 12:58 It started with a man named Mike Tuazon 13:01 who actually works for the Pacific Union. 13:03 He is in charge of Souls West, 13:05 which is their college of evangelism. 13:08 And he had this dream and vision to have a conference 13:12 that pulled in people from all over the Pacific Union 13:16 to train them to do evangelism. 13:17 All right, so for many of our viewers, 13:20 they're going what is the Pacific Union, 13:22 so explain the Pacific Union? 13:25 The Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventist 13:27 is actually an organization that organizes conferences, 13:32 that organizes churches of lay members, 13:35 just Adventist members all around the world 13:36 so it's just a larger organizing body 13:39 of the Seventh-day Adventist Christian Church. 13:40 Okay, and the Pacific union covers what area? 13:43 It covers all of California, it covers Utah, Nevada, 13:47 Arizona, and Hawaii. 13:49 So there's, yeah, many conferences, 13:51 seven I believe actually in the Pacific Union. 13:54 So this idea was put in his mind by God, 13:59 tell us about it? 14:00 So it was put in Michael Tuazon's heart 14:02 by God to pull together people from all over this territory, 14:08 to be trained in how to do evangelism 14:10 and to be inspired to do evangelism. 14:12 So he brought up this idea 14:14 to the leadership of that union, 14:17 they thought it was great. 14:18 And he pulled together a team of other young people, 14:21 you know, like Weston and myself, 14:23 to start dreaming 14:25 and our first conference was in 2011. 14:28 So it didn't take too long to come up with the idea 14:31 and then do it. 14:32 Wonderful. 14:33 So, Weston, what happens at these conferences? 14:35 Tell us about it? 14:37 Oh, great, great question, 14:38 you know, the conferences, I'll tell you, 14:40 what's exciting about iShare is 14:42 it's the same general format each year. 14:46 It starts Friday evening Sabbath 14:48 and continues on to Saturday evening Sabbath. 14:51 It's not a long conference if you will, 14:54 but what I like about iShare 14:57 is we're trying to be cutting edge. 15:00 You never know what to expect at iShare 15:02 but the one thing coming to this conference 15:04 is that we strive for and that we pray for 15:07 is that you will find inspiration there. 15:09 If you're looking for that inspiration, 15:11 that passion, 15:12 that drive in your walk with the Lord, 15:14 this is the place for you. 15:15 If you're looking to network and meet young people 15:18 who love Jesus like you do, you're like, "Where are they?" 15:21 They're at iShare, come and find them. 15:23 And additionally, if you're looking for advice, 15:25 maybe in business, maybe in school, 15:29 maybe in the medical field, whatever you're doing, 15:30 there's someone there for you to connect with. 15:34 And additionally, the speakers, we try and bring speakers 15:37 from all different walks of life 15:39 to make iShare one of the most practical, 15:41 practical conferences 15:44 that you can essentially attend, yeah. 15:46 So what is the age of your target market? 15:52 Good question. 15:53 The age target really is anyone but it's 18 to 30, 15:58 you know, 18 to 35 that group comes the most. 16:01 We have 16, 17 year olds, 16:03 sometimes we've even had 14 year olds, 16:04 you know, as young as that. 16:07 And we've had some as wise as yourself, so. 16:10 I love that. 16:11 Not old but wise, Honey, 16:13 you're very, very wise. 16:16 You know what they say you don't get old 16:18 because you stop playing, you keep playing the stales. 16:22 We love to see, you know, people who are, 16:24 you know, high energy and just, 16:26 you know, want to find that passion. 16:27 This is the place for you. 16:29 But ideally, I think 18 to 35 what you said or even younger. 16:32 Yeah, 18 to 35. 16:34 And even though this is being put on 16:35 by the Pacific Union, 16:38 they have people who are coming 16:40 from all over the world to attend and so, 16:45 is it fair to say since it's talking about... 16:49 Part of your acronym 16:50 is about revival and evangelism, 16:53 that's the focus. 16:54 You're trying to light a fire in people. 16:58 Let the zeal of the Holy Spirit burn brightly, 17:02 and then teach them a lifestyle of evangelism. 17:06 Is that the focus of the conference? 17:07 Right. 17:09 Thank you so much for clarifying, Shelley, 17:10 as Heidi had mentioned, it stands for, iShare, 17:13 it stands for I Seek to Help Advance 17:15 Revival and Evangelism. 17:17 And so what we're trying to accomplish with the speakers 17:21 is to really inspire young people 17:24 to go out and to really live a life 17:27 of passion and evangelism, 17:29 in terms of their walk with the Lord. 17:32 We want Jesus to come soon, right? 17:34 And I think, you know, each year you know, 17:38 in young people responding to appeals, 17:40 as we'll get into later in the conversation, 17:42 some of the testimonies. 17:43 The idea is that once they come and find that inspiration, 17:47 maybe that know how, 17:49 and some of our breakout seminars 17:50 that we have at the conference as well, 17:52 that they can then take that, 17:55 maybe newfound passion if you will, 17:58 take that new newfound skill set 18:00 and that they can apply it into their personal lives, 18:03 whatever your, whatever your career path, 18:06 whatever school you go to, 18:07 wherever you are during the day, 18:09 maybe grocery shopping, 18:11 you can find a way to share your faith, 18:14 maybe and this is just my personal experience. 18:17 But sometimes it helps 18:19 to see how other young people get involved, 18:23 how other young people have found their way. 18:25 And then really just to kind of almost mimic 18:29 what works or just to kind of 18:31 maybe find a creative niche to go out 18:34 and share your faith. 18:35 So that's what we're trying to do 18:37 at the annual conference 18:38 to inspire young people to really go out 18:41 and the rest of the year to evangelize 18:43 and just share what the Lord is doing for them. 18:46 That was the first thing that caught my attention was 18:48 that there's other people with the mixture involved here 18:52 in the age differences. 18:54 There's always someone there that could help anybody grow. 18:59 Lot of people have an idea, but they may think that 19:01 they're the only one that has that idea. 19:03 And they'll find out that "Wow, our stories are similar." 19:06 But is it fair to say, now let me ask 19:08 'cause I know that one of you mentioned that 19:11 you have a strong focus on salvation by grace. 19:17 Is it fair to say that 19:19 because you are emphasizing revival, 19:24 that there are kids who come and really understand 19:28 the love of the Lord. 19:30 And because they, you know, as Paul said, 19:34 I mean, John said, we only love Him 19:36 because He first loved us. 19:38 So it's as they learn God's love, 19:43 and their own hearts are being revived. 19:45 Because, you know, when people say, 19:47 "Why aren't we sharing the gospel more?" 19:49 It's because we need revival. 19:50 Absolutely. Yeah. 19:52 And that has been 19:53 why we put revival in the acronym 19:55 because we realized evangelism only happens 19:59 when you love Jesus. 20:01 You can't share Jesus 20:03 if you don't love Him for yourself, you know. 20:05 So that has been our biggest pull. 20:07 And we wanted to be more than just, 20:08 I was going to tack on to what Weston said earlier, 20:10 we wanted to be more than just a conference 20:13 because a conference is a couple days. 20:15 But we have our whole year in front of us, 20:17 you know, and the only way that that can happen is 20:20 if we're experiencing revival in our own hearts, 20:22 and encouraging young people to fall in love with Jesus. 20:25 So there's a huge emphasis on Jesus, 20:28 His character, studying the Word, prayer, 20:31 Bible study, and witnessing. 20:35 And if you find yourself on a slippery slope, 20:37 you've got someone that you can call and say, 20:39 "Hey, you know, I'm experiencing this. 20:43 What would you suggest?" Exactly. 20:45 And what's so nice about that is it's a way 20:47 to really put yourself in, 20:49 let's just call it a support group, right? 20:51 It's nice to have, JD, 20:52 as you mentioned someone you can call, 20:54 maybe someone you met on iShare and say 20:56 "You know, I'm at a secular campus, 20:58 and I want to share the love of Jesus in my life 21:01 with my friend, but, you know, 21:03 really I have never done that before." 21:05 You know, and here maybe you connect with someone 21:07 who has done it before who has the same passion, 21:10 maybe you can get together in network so it's just, 21:12 it's a great place to bring likeminded people together, 21:16 and you know what? 21:18 Maybe you've never, maybe you aren't a Christian, 21:20 you're just, you know, in the area. 21:23 Come visit with us. 21:24 We'd love to have you, we love... 21:26 You're going to walk away learning, 21:28 I mean, we learn something new every day, don't we? 21:30 So here being at a two day 21:32 conference we pack in as much as we can, 21:34 you're bound to walk away 21:36 with more than you came in with and let me tell you, 21:38 that's, you know, the best bank for your buck right there. 21:43 Now, I think we have a video 21:44 and I think this would be a good time to show the video 21:47 and then we will come back and discuss this a little more. 22:03 iShare is a different kind of conference 22:05 because it focuses on revival and evangelism. 22:08 So I can go back to my church and make a big difference. 22:12 Even just today I was inspired to go back 22:14 and continue to give Bible studies to somebody 22:16 that I have in my home church. 22:18 iShare is fantastic. 22:21 The whole experience of the weekend, 22:23 you get a chance to meet people, young people, 22:25 young Seventh-day Adventist people 22:28 who are interested in reaching other people 22:30 for the Lord Jesus Christ 22:31 with the saving message, the life transforming message 22:35 that has been entrusted 22:36 to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 22:38 The speakers are great, the seminars are enlightening, 22:42 it is a powerful packed weekend that is just wonderful. 22:46 I wish there was an iShare when I was younger. 22:50 iShare is a meeting where if you have a young person 22:53 or you are a young person, 22:55 you're really wanting to get inspired to know 22:56 what God wants you to do, iShare is a great place to come 22:59 and talk to people, to network with them, 23:01 to understand what's happening 23:03 and just let the Holy Spirit speak to your heart through 23:05 a group of young people that are experiencing it, 23:08 their lives are being changed. 23:10 iShare is something that I promise you 23:13 something that will impact your life. 23:14 Not only do you come and find amazing friends 23:16 and make friends for eternity 23:18 and have great fellowship, but more than that 23:20 you gain such a blessing in your lifestyle, 23:23 you really get to realize yourself, 23:25 who you are even more and how much more 23:27 of a need of Christ that you have. 23:29 I would fully recommend highly that anyone 23:31 who has a chance to attend a iShare weekend event in 2018 23:37 or going forward should do so. 23:40 In our world today, there are so many influences 23:42 that come at us from the devil on every side. 23:45 I would say to anyone 23:46 who is considering going to iShare, 23:48 I would absolutely say go without question, just come. 23:51 Because we need to fill our lives 23:53 with more inspiration, 23:55 more training, and do everything we can 23:57 to be equipped to be soldiers of Christ. 23:58 This conference is put together for that purpose 24:01 to help you and me, 24:02 people that want to live for Christ, 24:04 to live for Him. 24:05 And that's why I like iShare. 24:07 And that's why you should come to iShare as well. 24:15 Wow, there's a lot of activity there, 24:17 a lot of people. 24:18 A lot of people from different walks of life from even, 24:21 you know, international locations. 24:23 A lot of people come from out of state, 24:26 just a great opportunity to connect. 24:27 You know, I'd mentioned before, it's a great way to network. 24:31 One thing we've been doing, a new thing that, 24:33 you know, Heidi and I wanted to briefly mention, 24:35 I guess I should have mentioned this prior 24:36 is even for musicians and talent, 24:38 it's a great way to come and to connect. 24:41 We've been doing something new. 24:42 Each year, we start the conference off 24:44 with a wonderful concert. 24:45 And we connect other musicians with musicians, 24:48 and we have just this brilliant orchestra that plays 24:51 and it's just been a tremendous blessing. 24:53 So once again, I didn't mean to just emphasize the career path, 24:57 come, enjoy some beautiful music, 24:58 enjoy all different facets of this ministry, if you will. 25:02 Yeah, our first conference was in 2011, 25:06 we had about 500 people that came 25:07 and I saw a lot of people on the video. 25:09 And we peaked at about 1500 one year. 25:12 You know, I mean, 25:13 we've had a large amount of young people 25:16 and young at heart that have come 25:18 and enjoy the messages, been inspired, been encouraged. 25:21 So tell us some of the locations 25:23 like where were you in '17, '18, '19? 25:25 Sure. Yeah. 25:27 We've gone around different places. 25:28 Visalia, Riverside, Ontario, have all been different places. 25:31 2019 it's in Riverside. 25:34 There's lots of different places 25:35 that we have gone, but we fluctuate back 25:37 and forth between Riverside and Ontario area 25:40 and up in Visalia area, every other area. 25:42 Okay, so this is... 25:45 But the conference is every year, every August? 25:47 Correct, every August. 25:49 Second or third weekend of August every year. 25:52 We've got iShare, yeah. 25:53 And how do they get the word, 25:55 I mean, is this all on social media 25:57 or local churches or...? 26:00 Good question. 26:02 Yeah, the way that we get the word out 26:04 is through our marketing department. 26:06 Our marketing department does a lot of things 26:08 at different camp meetings and meetings where they can, 26:11 you know, promote, share flyers, 26:12 we do have Instagram, we have Facebook, 26:16 we also have our website 26:18 that will be shown a little bit later in the program. 26:19 Oh, let's show them now. Sure, might as well. 26:21 Instagram is ishare_conference. 26:26 Is that correct? Correct. 26:27 Yeah, that's our Instagram. 26:29 And tell some of our older viewers 26:30 what Instagram is? 26:32 The young guns all know. 26:33 It's a social media platform with lots of pictures 26:35 and being able to connect and show where you're at, 26:37 what you're doing. 26:39 You know, Shelley, 26:41 I'm just going to call it what it is. 26:42 These days people don't even hand phone numbers. 26:43 It's all just Instagram handles and things of that nature. 26:46 So we're trying to obviously connect 26:49 with the young people the way that they know how essentially. 26:52 So follow us on Instagram, please do, 26:53 we'd love to connect with you. 26:55 And then your website 26:57 is iShareConference.org. 27:01 So on that website, is it more than just announcing 27:05 where your next conference is going to be? 27:07 Are there resources? 27:09 Tell us about your website a little? 27:10 Yeah. 27:11 So our website doesn't have a lot of training 27:13 and resources that are on it. 27:15 You got to come to the conference for that. 27:17 But it does have 27:18 where the conference is going to be held, 27:20 how to register, where to stay when you come. 27:23 And a little bit about us, you know, what our goal is, 27:26 our goal as a conference is to unite, not divide. 27:29 We want to, you know, 27:31 showcase the grace of Jesus Christ 27:33 because we realized that leads us to repentance 27:35 and love and outflow. 27:37 So it showcases kind of our vision and our mission, 27:40 you know, to empower young people 27:42 to do evangelism in their life every single day, 27:45 and that's what highlighted. 27:47 When God put this in Michael's heart, 27:49 I know that he actually works for the Pacific Union, 27:52 but for example, the rest of the team are laity, 27:56 you are volunteers. 27:58 Tell us how God began to develop this? 28:02 How did He bring the team together? 28:05 And how did you come up with the idea of iShare? 28:07 It was powerful, honestly, the iShare team 28:10 is a group of young people that love Jesus, 28:13 and they want to share Him with the world. 28:16 That's what our executive team is. 28:17 It was just a group that was kind of, 28:19 you know, magneted together 28:20 because of our love for the Lord 28:22 and our love for ministry, 28:23 and probably our experience in ministry, 28:25 being able to then share that with other young people. 28:29 But we were sitting in one of our meetings, 28:31 one of our first meetings, we were trying to figure out 28:33 what to call this thing. 28:35 You know, we said, "What should we call it?" 28:37 And we went for minutes and minutes and minutes 28:40 and we couldn't come up with anything. 28:42 And one of our iShare team, Viera Ankova. 28:44 She actually said, She's like, 28:46 "Guys, we need to stop and pray. 28:48 We just need to stop and pray 28:49 and the Lord will give it to us," you know. 28:51 And iShare has been bathed in prayer 28:53 since its inception. 28:55 We stopped, a few minutes later someone said 28:58 "What about iShare?" 29:00 And then someone right after that 29:02 was going through and saying 29:04 "I seek to help." 29:05 And someone said "advance" 29:06 and someone else said "revival and evangelism" 29:09 and literally within a few minutes 29:10 we had the iShare, you know, acronym, 29:14 all because we stopped and prayed. 29:16 And Viera is one example of people 29:19 that are part of our team that exemplify evangeliving, 29:23 I mean, this woman is amazing. 29:26 Hang on just a second. 29:27 You introduced a term a lot of people haven't heard, 29:30 evangeliving. 29:32 Yes. Can you tell what this is? 29:34 So it's just a lifestyle of evangelism. 29:37 So it's the idea that it's not an event, 29:39 it's not a weekend, 29:40 it's not going out for a quick little outreach 29:43 for an hour. 29:44 Know our life is to be lived, 29:46 you know, let our light shine, right? 29:49 So evangeliving is a lifestyle of evangelism 29:51 that we seek to promote. 29:53 We're trying to help young people 29:54 understand this is what it's all about. 29:55 Okay, so tell us... Yeah. 29:57 Everybody should be paying attention to this. 29:58 Oh, yeah, not just young people, right? 30:01 Absolutely. Yeah. 30:02 And that's what we seek to promote and inspire. 30:05 Okay, so now you were telling us 30:06 about this young lady? 30:08 So just as an example of who's on our team 30:11 and because we don't necessarily want to sit here 30:13 and talk about ourselves, but Viera Ankova, 30:17 one of our team members from the past, 30:21 she is an evangeliving addict. 30:26 She just lives and breathes Jesus Christ 30:30 and sharing Him with others. 30:31 And I remember one time we went into a meeting, 30:34 we were staying at a hotel together, 30:36 and we were going to go to the meeting the next day. 30:39 She came in at 10 pm. 30:40 I was already in my pajamas, and we were ready to go to bed 30:44 and she came in with his bright face. 30:46 She said, "Do you want to go out into the parking lot 30:48 and put little glow tracts, little literature pieces 30:50 on all the cars before we go to bed?" 30:53 And I said, "Sure." 30:56 I was a part of the group that that started glow back in 2007, 31:01 and here's this friend of mine saying, 31:03 "Let's go glow 31:04 and put literature on all the cars 31:06 of the entire parking lot before I go to bed," 31:08 you know, and that's just the heart that she had, 31:11 you know, for ministry. 31:13 And, you know, she passed away unfortunately, 31:16 she had cardiac arrest, she's a young woman, 31:18 she passed away. 31:21 But she was a powerful example. 31:23 And we showcased her at iShare actually. 31:26 When her brothers and family came and, 31:31 you know, we featured them at iShare and when, 31:34 after she had passed away, the day she had passed away, 31:39 she had been reading her Bible, 31:42 and when the family had gotten back to her apartment 31:44 where she stayed, the Bible was open to Amos, 31:48 the fourth chapter 31:49 and highlighted there was verse 12, 31:52 you know, "Prepared to meet thy God..." 31:53 as we see, you know, 31:54 Amos is talking to Israel in that chapter 31:57 and I would strongly suggest 31:58 to our viewers to go back and read Amos 4, 32:01 but verse 12 was highlighted the day 32:04 she had passed away. 32:05 It's the essence of evangeliving, 32:07 you know, to the very end to find 32:09 that love in God's grace, essentially to find that, 32:12 you know that heart changing. 32:14 She really exemplified that. 32:15 She was a blessing in real life 32:20 and essentially to our team. 32:21 And really, that's the kind of mindset that really 32:24 fueled the startup of iShare essentially. 32:27 You know, it's always sad to see 32:28 a bright light like that go out, 32:31 but we know that she's resting in Jesus, 32:34 resting in peace, and that she will be part 32:39 of that first resurrection, 32:40 I mean, He comes back 32:42 and calls out the names of the righteous. 32:46 And it's just our prayer too that the work 32:50 that she would have done that we can do. 32:53 I want to make a point here 32:55 because I think it's very important. 32:57 There are those special people 33:00 that truly are living the life of evangelism. 33:05 And they are an inspiration to each one of us. 33:10 Sometimes you might think you're kidding, 33:13 get up and go out at midnight to put glow tracts. 33:17 What a blessing. Yeah. 33:19 And they will be rewarded, you know, and... 33:24 They will. 33:26 I mean, I've got some friends that they're just becoming 33:28 some of my best friends that are on fire for Jesus. 33:32 Sometimes we forget, you know, that, 33:35 well, let's rise to the occasion. 33:37 But this is who they are, evangelism, 33:40 that's a great, great term. 33:42 Evangeliving. 33:44 And, JD, you know, oftentimes, 33:46 we all have that temptation of in essence, 33:49 you know, becoming complacent. 33:50 And so I will say this, not only for the young people, 33:53 but maybe there's people out there 33:54 just looking to rekindle 33:56 that burning fire and that's, 33:58 I guess what I'm describing when I use this word passion 34:01 because you know what? 34:03 When you have that passion, you will go out at midnight, 34:05 you know, and share. 34:07 You don't think, you just do. 34:09 You're driven by compassion essentially to go out 34:12 and to evangelize essentially and that's the essence of it. 34:16 Okay, so as director of programming, 34:19 tell us about your process, I mean, how are you... 34:22 I noticed on your Carlton Byrd and some others 34:25 that were on your... 34:27 Jerry Page was in there. 34:28 Jerry Page, some of our friends, 34:31 how do you select the speakers 34:34 who are going to come and address? 34:35 Wow, great question. 34:37 Well, it starts with brilliant minds 34:38 like Heidi where, 34:39 you know, can bounce ideas off Heidi, 34:42 Mike, Danny, Zach, Priscilla, Aaron, you know, 34:46 I can just kind of bounce ideas off our E-com team, 34:49 and there we look for speakers 34:53 that really highlight the topic, 34:56 because really, you know, in essence, 34:57 we want to keep the conference mission 34:59 and vision focused. 35:01 And I think, if we can do that, 35:02 just like in any organization or business, 35:04 if you can keep that vision highlighted, 35:06 then hopefully it'll serve in its intended purpose. 35:09 And so often we've looked, we've had numerous speakers, 35:14 some that our viewers 35:16 may be familiar with Pastor Carlton Byrd 35:18 from Oakwood University, Breath of Life Ministry. 35:21 We've had Pastor John Bradshaw from It Is Written. 35:25 We've had Pastor El Kando who frequents iShare, 35:29 we're always excited to have him there. 35:32 We've also had a breakout seminars 35:34 like that of David Kim from Nicodemus Society. 35:39 And this year, Cynthia Heidi from Nicodemus Society, 35:43 who go out and minister to the three W's, 35:46 who they call the three W's, 35:48 the wealthy, the worldly, and the well-educated. 35:52 It's a group and we think ministry 35:53 and we think, you know, 35:55 let's go overseas, but right next to us, 35:57 there may be someone who needs Jesus more than, 36:00 you know, and so we've had breakout seminars like that. 36:05 Additionally this year we have 36:07 Clifford Goldstein might be another name 36:09 that our viewers have heard mentioned 36:14 and Dr. Joseph Kidder, Dr. Eric Walsh, 36:18 you know, people who really come 36:19 and not only share, 36:22 you know, in terms of their walk with the Lord, 36:25 or their... 36:26 essentially the vision, but they really share 36:29 the experience and, you know, 36:30 sometimes you don't need someone to tell you 36:34 how to do something but why? 36:38 Someone told me that once they said, 36:39 you know, there's two types of people in this world. 36:40 There are those who know how to accomplish certain task. 36:44 They'll always have a job in this world. 36:46 But second, 36:48 there's a second group of people 36:49 who not only know how to accomplish that task, 36:53 but why they're doing it. 36:55 Those will always be the bosses and leaders of this world. 36:58 Let's just say in the business world. 37:00 But in the Christian community, if you're just driven by how, 37:05 it's a very rocky experience, the seed that's, you know, 37:08 planted on rocky soil, if I can call it that, 37:10 but when you know why 37:12 when you're motivated by that why, 37:13 that's when once again 37:14 that passion comes into play. 37:16 And so it really helps to bring that speaker experience. 37:19 'Cause a lot of the speakers have 37:20 such also powerful testimonies where they come to say, 37:23 you know, this was my walk. 37:24 And then you know, the individual, the attendees, 37:26 you know, assesses and says, 37:28 "Wow, if he can do it, so can I, why not?" 37:31 All we have to do is just, you know, start essentially, 37:34 and start walking with the Lord and see what comes. 37:36 When you say, breakaway sessions. 37:37 What is that... Is that during the two days? 37:40 Yeah. 37:42 So you have five or six of those breakaways 37:43 that you get to choose or how does that work? 37:46 Correct. Thanks for clarifying. 37:49 The format is always the same. 37:53 We just try and kind of make, 37:55 you know, throw in things that make it, 37:56 you know, cutting edge or unique, 37:58 whether it be topics or different speakers, 38:00 but essentially you're going to come on that Friday 38:03 and you're going to hear a wonderful testimony, 38:05 Sabbath morning, you're going to hear a wonderful, 38:08 you know, sermon, divine hour sermon. 38:10 And then in the afternoon, we have breakout seminars. 38:14 Typically we have multiple breakout seminars 38:17 where you can come and really kind of, 38:20 you know, move away from the bigger conference, 38:23 auditorium to more of an intimate environment 38:25 where you can really connect, 38:27 you know, get down on the whiteboard, really, 38:29 you know, just kind of break certain concepts down 38:32 with the speakers individually. 38:34 And so it's an awesome way to not only get to know 38:36 and network with the speakers themselves, 38:39 but to really have more time 38:41 to delve in a little bit deeper into their content. 38:44 So we do have breakouts as well in the afternoon. 38:46 Very practical, they're practical hands-on, 38:50 you know, where kids can take the inspiration 38:53 and really dig down and say, "How am I going to do this?" 38:55 Not before they were growing at that particular time. 38:59 Yeah. 39:00 I notice that Zach Page 39:01 is director of your prayer ministry. 39:04 What does that mean? 39:06 Yeah, yeah. 39:07 We have a powerful prayer ministry 39:09 or prayer room every year at iShare. 39:12 And this last year, it was powerful. 39:14 Extremely. 39:16 Yeah, did you walk in there, see them? 39:19 You know, when you have an idea, 39:20 you know, we're sitting in our board meeting, 39:22 if you will, and, you know, love Zach, you know, 39:27 such a humble guy, 39:29 such a faithful effort and he's, 39:32 you know, we need a prayer room, he says. 39:35 And, you know, 39:36 little did we think it was going to be, 39:37 you know, a war room really, you know, it was a... 39:40 I'll tell you we walked into that 39:42 and what the Lord did in that room 39:47 was just incredible. 39:50 As we, as, you know, people pray together, 39:51 as people, you know, cry together, 39:53 people are going through real struggles. 39:55 And sometimes you need that prayer room, 39:57 sometimes you just need that community 40:00 to really dive in deep sometimes 40:03 within ourselves to find, 40:06 to really see, you know, 40:07 what, how, essentially how God is speaking to us. 40:11 And really it was a powerful way 40:13 for people to really self-reflect 40:15 as well in that prayer room. 40:17 What I love about a prayer room is that, 40:20 I don't know anyone who has, 40:23 like, I can remember even when we were speaking 40:25 at the Central California Conference camp meeting, 40:28 you know, you walk into the prayer room, 40:30 and God becomes very real, 40:32 prayer becomes very real, you know. 40:35 It's a fantastic word, community. 40:39 The community of our prayer group. 40:42 What a powerful... Yeah. 40:44 How powerful is that? 40:46 I mean, likeminded people, a community. 40:49 Yes. 40:50 JD, and I'll tell you, there's no one 40:52 who walked out of that prayer room the same. 40:54 There is not one... 40:55 I guarantee you there was, you know, 40:57 there were testimonies shared in that room, 40:59 powerful prayer spoken in that room. 41:01 There's no one who left that room the same. 41:02 I can guarantee that. 41:04 I think one of the reasons too, if I can interject, 41:07 one of the reasons why we love the prayer room, 41:09 is because we realize a revival can only come in 41:12 answered prayer. 41:13 And so we know like, if we don't have prayer 41:16 as a component of our conference, 41:18 you know, we're just focusing on the how, 41:20 we're just going out there giving practical tips to, 41:23 you know, someone who's not experiencing it. 41:26 You know, people who do things without prayer. 41:28 It's interesting, sometimes people will start a project, 41:31 they pray about it. 41:32 But it's more like, "Okay, God, here's our plan, you bless it." 41:36 But when you learn to pray through a project, 41:40 then it's quite the different... 41:42 It's God leading step by step. It's dynamic. 41:43 Oh, it is. 41:45 You take the community 41:46 and then He multiplies the community. 41:48 Yes. Multiplies it. 41:50 And I just want to say for our viewers, 41:52 if you are wanting to see where the next conference is, 41:57 just go to iShareConference.org. 42:03 iShare, 42:04 iShareConference.org. 42:10 And you can get the information. 42:11 Before... 42:13 We're quickly running out of time. 42:15 I just want to make sure that 42:16 you got Michael Carter's testimony in here 42:20 and tell us about some, 42:23 just give us some examples of people 42:25 who are coming and what God is doing? 42:27 Sure, absolutely. 42:29 So just a little background and then I know Weston 42:31 and I both had, we're on the edge of our seats 42:33 wanting to share these testimonies. 42:36 But Michael Carter actually 42:38 is involved in a high school public campus ministry, 42:42 where they run these clubs on high school campuses 42:45 called Bread of Life Club, 42:47 and they run them 42:48 on 10 public high school campuses right now. 42:51 They've been able to mentor over 500 young people 42:53 in the last five years. 42:54 And I guess they go on field trips, and they... 42:57 One of their field trips 42:58 is bringing these kids to iShare. 43:01 Interestingly enough, out of talking to his kids 43:04 after going all these field trips, 43:06 the one that inspired them the most was actually iShare. 43:10 That was the one that they said 43:11 was the most inspiring of all the prayer conferences 43:14 and camp meetings that they had gone to. 43:16 And there're some powerful testimonies. 43:18 You want to tell that one about that 16 year old? 43:20 You know, there was this young 16 year old man 43:23 who walked up and responded to an appeal. 43:27 And at the time, he was just a student 43:29 at a public school campus, attending a Christian club. 43:33 And, you know, he walked, he came... 43:35 Was he a Christian or of a different denomination? 43:38 He was just a Christian, yeah. 43:39 Okay. Yeah, he was Christian. 43:41 Christian denomination. Okay. 43:42 Yeah. 43:44 And he came, you know, 43:45 really looking for that sense of revival 43:47 in his life and sure enough, responded to an appeal. 43:49 And it was shortly thereafter that the Lord had big plans 43:52 for him to preach his first evangelistic series. 43:57 But it gets better than that, because as we know, 43:59 you know, obviously finances that go into, 44:02 you know, funding an evangelistic series to, 44:04 you know, to run the event 44:06 and to market the event, well, how do you... 44:10 Who funded that first evangelistic series? 44:13 So the guy who funded the first evangelist series 44:15 was also a student who comes to the club, 44:19 who's Muslim. 44:20 He also came to iShare two years ago, 44:22 and he came forward for an appeal 44:24 and accepted Jesus Christ as the Savior. 44:27 And he believes that Jesus is God, 44:29 you know, and he's excited during Ramadan, 44:33 his faith community encouraged him to do good works 44:36 and for his good work he went to a state college 44:39 and he gave a presentation on how the Sabbath was changed 44:44 from Saturday to Sunday. 44:45 And he gave that presentation 44:47 'cause he fully believes in the Sabbath, 44:49 seventh day Sabbath of the Lord. 44:51 And so it's really powerful to see him 44:54 and get excited at iShare 44:55 and then he paid for the 16 year old 44:57 to go preach in an evangelistic series. 45:00 Amazing. I know. 45:02 We were amazed to hear that story 45:04 coming from Mike Carter, you know. 45:07 And he personally had an experience as well 45:10 at his own college campus, the young man did, 45:16 who funded the evangelistic series. 45:19 He was given an opportunity 45:21 to give a presentation in class. 45:23 And, you know, he could have chosen any topic, 45:27 but he chose to talk about 45:29 the change of the Sabbath, essentially. 45:31 And for our viewers, you know, listening, 45:34 there's great resources I'm sure that 3ABN has on, 45:37 you know, on the Sabbath, 45:38 essentially, and he was so inspiring. 45:40 We should... 45:42 I think we always need to say that 45:44 it was people who thought to change 45:47 the Sabbath to Sunday... 45:49 Yes, yes. 'Cause God never changed. 45:51 Yeah, yeah. 45:52 So this young man then, 45:55 he had not been an Adventist Christian 45:57 but he was revived, he accepted the Sabbath truth. 46:01 And now he is preaching that, teaching that to his class. 46:06 That's amazing. 46:08 There's another story that came out of that too, 46:10 a high school student. 46:12 I invited his older brother to come to iShare. 46:15 He had tried to get his older brother to come 46:17 to the high school club meetings. 46:19 He said, "They're so cool, you've got to come," 46:21 you know, but his brother had never gone. 46:23 And he came to iShare, it's his first club outing. 46:28 Before the weekend was even over, 46:29 he came to Michael Carter, 46:31 the coordinator of this ministry, 46:33 and he said "Uncle Mike, 46:34 I've never come to your club meetings 46:36 before because I'm an atheist." 46:38 But he said, "After coming here today," 46:40 he said, "I realized that I want to become 46:43 a Seventh-day Adventist Christian." 46:45 He said, "I want what these young people have." 46:47 Wow! Yeah. 46:49 That gave me chills. Powerful, I know. I know. 46:51 Powerful, amazing stories of young people 46:54 that are honestly be coming on fire for Jesus at iShare 46:58 and then going through the year doing things during the year. 47:00 You know, that tells me that, I mean, there's no speaker 47:03 that can do that. 47:04 It's only the Holy Spirit. 47:06 So it's being bathed in prayer 47:08 and having the anointing of the Lord, 47:10 and seeing God move in such a powerful way. 47:15 All right, before we end this, 47:19 I want to know personally how, 47:24 share with us 47:25 how this experience has changed you, 47:29 Weston, being involved with iShare? 47:31 Oh, great question. 47:32 You know, Shelley, and I guess you're getting 47:35 the exclusive here first, but, you know, 47:38 a few years back, 47:40 you know, I was just, everything was getting so busy, 47:42 so hectic, you know, how life can be, 47:44 you know, student and, you know, trying to, 47:47 you know, find your way in the world 47:49 and all these things, you know, 47:50 in terms of career path, and I was like, 47:53 you know, overwhelming 47:55 and thinking about moving on from iShare and, 47:59 you know, I thought about that same question three years ago, 48:03 and I haven't shared this with anyone, 48:04 I thought about this same question three years ago. 48:06 And I said, you know, iShare has been a life changing 48:12 component in my life 48:13 from the people I get to work with 48:15 to the people I get to connect with, 48:17 of course, to the messages 48:19 and the breakouts and the, you know, the information, 48:20 the content that you're gathering, 48:22 but it's the experience of iShare 48:24 that I really want to convey because it's not something 48:28 that I can verbally describe, it's something that you really 48:30 just have to come to the conference 48:31 and really just engulf yourself in the conference 48:34 and just come with an open mind 48:36 and open heart like I did. 48:38 I'm sure Heidi has, and just to see 48:40 how the Lord's speaking to you and it was at that point 48:42 of self-reflection where I said, 48:46 you know, this is just, this is going places, 48:49 God is using iShare to not only change 48:55 the lives of young people like myself, 48:57 but essentially to bring together 49:00 the church even if you will, if I can use this, 49:03 and this is one of the things that lately has really 49:06 just touched my heart if I can share. 49:10 We've had over six conference presidents 49:12 represented at iShare and, 49:15 you know, how it is with any organization, 49:17 there's always going to be a need for conflict resolution, 49:20 there's always going to be a need, 49:21 there's always going to be, 49:23 you know, tides changing and turning 49:24 but iShare has been that solace, 49:27 that piece of the service you will for a lot of people 49:30 and even a lot of people involved in the church. 49:33 They come, they look forward to coming 49:34 and spending time at iShare, 49:36 it may be the one place, I mean, of course, 49:38 there's other places as well, but that really brings together 49:42 so many different Christian, 49:44 so many different Christian people 49:46 from different churches, and different backgrounds, 49:48 and different areas, and I'm thinking, 49:51 wow, what a blessing 49:53 to be a part of that experience. 49:55 I'm just humbled that I'm a part of something like that. 49:58 It really, you know, it's interesting. 50:00 Amen. 50:01 Every day, you know, it works its way, 50:03 that power works its way into my heart. 50:04 Great testimony. 50:05 How about for you, 50:07 how has it changed you personally? 50:10 I think it has deepened the burden in my heart 50:14 for multiplication 50:18 of active evangeliving young people. 50:21 Because every time I go, I see more attendees coming 50:25 and it just fuels the fire in my heart to keep sharing 50:30 because I realized that I can't do it alone, 50:33 you can't do it alone but we can do it together, 50:35 you know, and the more we can multiply, 50:39 and just grow that community, like JD was talking about, 50:44 that's what has changed my heart more 50:47 just seeing the fact that it is growing. 50:49 There are young people 50:51 that are living a life like this, 50:53 that we don't have to just sit at home dead in our hearts, 50:56 you know, the Lord can revive us 50:58 and then use us. 50:59 You know, I know that 51:00 you're looking at the multiplication, 51:02 but actually it is, you are also preventing 51:07 the subtraction if you will because I know that 51:11 a lot of young people are, 51:14 you know, in many different denominations, 51:17 young people are heading 51:19 out the back door of the church. 51:20 And I think the problem is that young people 51:24 today want to be involved, 51:26 they want to have responsibility, 51:30 but it's when they learn the love of the Lord 51:34 and they feel that security in Him 51:38 then they get so excited, they want to share. 51:42 So you're keeping in... 51:44 There's a retention of our youth 51:47 plus the multiplication. 51:49 Absolutely. You know, Shelley, I think... 51:51 And she brought up a great point. 51:53 I've been talking so much, I apologize, Heidi, 51:56 kind of into but I was going to say, 51:58 you know the thing about it is I don't think, 51:59 as a young person I say this, to me it's not the music, 52:03 to me it's not, you know, the name of the guy, 52:05 you know, preaching the sermon, I just want to be engaged, 52:08 I want to come and find something 52:10 that's going to exercise my mind 52:11 like in any relationship. 52:12 You want to continually, you know, 52:14 be leave it to the single guy to say this, right? 52:17 But you want to be with someone who continues to help you grow 52:21 and to continue to expand and challenge your mind 52:24 and that's what it is. 52:25 That's what I find interesting. 52:27 I don't need, you know, some music 52:29 that my friends think is cool. 52:30 I honestly just need to be engaged, 52:34 I need to find it interesting, I need to be interested 52:36 in what I'm learning and what I'm there for, 52:38 and we try and find cutting ways 52:41 to keep that interest level high. 52:44 What I now, what we want to do once again 52:46 is to put on the lower third 52:48 here you will see their website 52:51 is iShareConference.org. 52:57 iShareConference.org. 53:00 And you can go to the website 53:02 and learn more about the ministry 53:04 and find out about their August conferences. 53:07 These are annual conferences. 53:09 And also the Instagram is... 53:13 ishare_conference. 53:19 So if you want to get in touch with Heidi or with Weston 53:23 or anybody at iShare, 53:25 this is how you get in touch with them. 53:27 Well, we're going to be right back. 53:28 We need to go to our news break. 53:31 We'll be back for a closing comment. |
Revised 2019-10-24