They grew up going to Winterfest — and now they bring their kids
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — It’s an intense, jam-packed weekend of spiritual growth.
It’s a chance for young believers to introduce their friends to Christ.
And it’s a multigenerational event.
Trey Henry, far left, minister for the Hillcrest Church of Christ in Arlington, Texas, leads a prayer during the Saturday night session at Winterfest in Fort Worth. To his right are Olivia Newberry and Wesley LaRue, members of the Memorial Road Church of Christ in Oklahoma City who read Scriptures, and David Skidmore, youth minister for the North Boulevard Church of Christ in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Those are a few of the ways attendees at this year’s Winterfest Texas described the youth rally, attended by nearly 2,500 believers from Churches of Christ across Texas, Oklahoma and beyond.
Related: Winterfest Way Out West starts small in Arizona
Launched in 1987 in a Tennessee state park, the annual event has grown to about 6,500 participants at its Gatlinburg, Tenn., location. The Fort Worth event followed in 1999, and this year organizers hosted the first-ever event Winterfest Way Out West in Flagstaff, Ariz.
At all three venues, speakers focused on the theme “Jesus Is …,” exploring Scripture-rooted truths about the Messiah.
The Skit Guys perform “God’s Chisel” at Winterfest in Fort Worth.
At the Fort Worth event, held on the campus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Stephen Maxwell led worship and faith-based entertainers The Skit Guys performed. While some of their skits were comical, others were emotional, including a dramatization of the painful process of life transformation called “God’s Chisel.”
Participants also did service projects, packing nearly 52,000 meals for distribution in Honduras.
“I like how the speakers presented their lessons,” said Clara Christ, 14, who worships with a small Church of Christ in Wewoka, Okla. “They made sure we could understand what they were saying and touched our hearts with the way they taught us that Jesus is the guide, peace, the word and King!”
Winterfest was “truly a great experience,” she said, ” and it brought me and my family closer to God and closer to the friends that we brought with us.”
Justin Taylor
Speaking of friends, about half of the youths who came with the Grapevine Church of Christ in Texas weren’t officially part of the congregation, said youth minister Justin Taylor. The proximity of the event to the church’s meeting place makes it easy for members of the youth group to invite their friends, Taylor said.
Jason Carpenter remembers bringing groups of youths to Winterfest when he worked as an intern for the Memorial Road Church of Christ in Oklahoma City. This year he brought his 13-year-old son, Gavin, a seventh grader in the youth group of the Northwest Church of Christ in Oklahoma City.
Gavin enjoyed the speakers and the Christian comedy, his father said.
Meanwhile, “I had a great time seeing how much this event still inspires me and the youth in this region,” Jason Carpenter added. “I loved catching up with old friends and seeing how timeless this event can be.”
Jason and Gavin Carpenter
The Saturday night message had a multigenerational theme. Jason Darden, assistant professor of Bible and ministry at Harding University in Searcy, Ark., began his talk on “Jesus is the Word” by launching into a rap about the power of Scripture. When he’s not teaching Bible or preaching, Darden has used hip-hop to minister to young people under the stage name “Teech.”
Darden told the Winterfest audience about his childhood struggles. At one point, Darden seemed destined for a life of crime, but he followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the Army.
He was a student at Harding on 9/11 and was deployed to the Middle East. He spent eight hours per day on guard tower on the Sinai Peninsula, where he read his Bible through six times in a year. Darden continues to serve as a military chaplain, and his daughter recently joined the service.
Jason Darden stokes controversy at the Fort Worth Winterfest when he asks audience members to vote for their favorite fries.
Phil Brookman has attended Winterfest as a youth group member and as a youth minister. Now pulpit minister for the Memorial Road church, he delivered the Sunday sermon, “Jesus is Alive,” as the Fort Worth event concluded.
“Winterfest has been a spiritual anchor in my life,” Brookman said. “As a teen, I remember being blown away by the worship and speakers. As a youth minister, the conference led to so many of our teenagers recommitting to the Lord or getting baptized. … And now I have the special joy of watching my daughters continue to be formed and shaped by this remarkable gathering.”
ERIK TRYGGESTAD is President and CEO of The Christian Chronicle. Contact [email protected]. Follow him on X @eriktryggestad.
Josiah Maxwell, Maggie Tryggestad, Stephen Maxwell, Eva Engelke and Wes McKinzie sing during an evening service at Winterfest in Fort Worth.
Young believers sing hymns during the Saturday night service at Winterfest in Fort Worth, Texas.
Jason Darden speaks on “Jesus is the Word” during Winterfest Fort Worth.
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