July Victory Stories

Changing Lives through the BattleCry

Capturing the heart of this generation for God is no easy task, but many are taking their responsibility to reach this generation seriously. The possibilities are endless as God goes to work in churches, communities, and lives all over the country.

The seeds of spiritual transformation are beginning to grow in one Virginia region while an Oregon teen was reawakened to see the spiritual and cultural fight for her peers. In this struggle, we will need the energy, support, and prayers of our fellow soldiers. With a Group Battle Plan, Christians are able to network together to encourage and challenge one another.

In the Trenches Together

Youth groups are banding together to take advantage of the Battle Plan feature on Battlecry.com to create dynamic and individualized online communities for their group. They have realized that reaching a generation will take the combined efforts of Christians young and old, and that by working together, spiritual battles will be won.

Christians today face an uphill battle in the rescue of this generation. As an online tool, the Battle Plan provides individuals and groups with the ability to build a community that regularly equips, challenges, and encourages each other. Each Battle Plan centers on their “battle cry” mission statement. “Warrior disciplines” are the group’s goals to grow in their spiritual maturity and prepare them to accomplish their battle cry, and “battle tactics” are the specific actions that the group will take to live out their mission statement.

Individuals and groups enlist “trenchmates” to join them and to challenge one another to live out their battle cry. The blog feature on the Battle Plan enables users to let their trenchmates know how they are making progress on their mission.

There is great potential in having a Group Battle Plan. With a base of operations online, groups can work together to advance God’s kingdom.

NewLifeYouth is the group battle plan of Soul Purpose, a youth group in Chicago, Illinois. Together, they strive to fulfill their battle cry:

Another group, DAGLASSHOUSE, declares that its mission is, “providing a battle station for warriors of Christ to organize here in Burlington, NC. We are a first class training facility committed to developing warriors who are rooted in the Word and who live by faith as the battle daily.”

You can check out dozens of other groups with their own Battle Plan, including AMPED, ThreeSixteen, Ridgway, Atlyouth, and ANYouth to see how other groups are rallying around their battle cry. Then, start your own Group Battle Plan today!

Spiritual Transformation -- Culpeper Region, Virginia

For over a year now, the church leaders of the Culpeper area have been praying and waiting on God for spiritual transformation. Dewey McDowell, a youth leader, realized that a key to seeing region-wide change was tapping into the incredible energy of the youth. Other church leaders agreed.

With the support of these leaders, Dewey and a band of teenagers and adults attended the BattleCry stadium event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 4-5. It was well worth the effort.

Originally, only twenty-five people attended the stadium event out of the forty-four he expected. Most leaders would be discouraged by those that didn’t show up. But that did not stop Dewey from emailing BattleCry to say, “The greatest result of our BattleCry attendance this year has been the renewal and inspiration that our youth leaders received at the event. One leader told me it was a ‘life-changing event’ for him.”

Dewey felt burdened to take even more people to next year’s BattleCry event in Baltimore. Two hundred was what he had in mind. Compared to how many he was able to bring the first time, two hundred people was a very big goal, maybe even impossible. But after meeting with fellow believers in prayer, Dewey decided to go for it. In fact, they doubled their goal and are shooting for 400 attendees for next year’s event.

With a confident faith, Dewey believes God will come through to provide for next year’s event. In fact, He already has. Dewey went on to explain, “Our community came together on June 4 for the Global Day of Prayer. The Virginia BattleCry representative came and set up a big display for BattleCry. I was given a four minute time slot to present BattleCry to hundreds of people and 25% of the offering is going towards the ‘400’ ticket purchase. We have over half of the funds for our ticket purchase now and expect to have all we need by the end of June.”

God is just getting started with the spiritual transformation of the Culpeper area.

Wakeup Call -- McMinnville, Oregon

As people hear about the BattleCry campaign, more and more are discovering the magnitude of the crisis among teens today. After hearing a message about the BattleCry and reading about it in BattleCry for My Generation, Arianna Blunt knew she was onto something big. It was a wakeup call. “I had let myself become so caught up in the daily things that I lost sight of that which I know God has called me to. But God is faithful, and there is nothing more important than seeking Him and bringing others to Him.”

Now, she has chosen to actively reach her peers. “There are just no words adequate enough. At times I feel almost speechless when I think about it. But I do know that one way or another, I have to get involved; I can't just sit on the sides and watch the rest of our generation run towards hell.” And she is just one of the countless teens across the country whose lives are being changed.

It All Comes Down To…

As Christians, the responsibility to rescue a generation is too big to handle by ourselves. Whether you are like Dewey working and praying for spiritual transformation in your community, or Arianna who is just discovering the crisis of this generation for the first time, it is important to get others involved. The BattleCry Campaign exists to call and empower people young and old to aggressively reach out to this generation.


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