In January 2019 while attending an out-of-state student conference, the Lord showed me
a vision of myself on the stage. I acknowledged that and shared what I saw with my wife
and youth facilitator. Once a person acknowledges a move of the Holy Spirit they are
never the same. They will always remember that moment. That day I began asking the
Lord what he would have me do? He showed me that it’s great to take trips with our
group but why can’t we minister to our communities here at home in North Alabama?
God began to open doors and reveal His plan and by December, 2019 the first You’re

Worth It Conference happened.

When we returned from the out-of-state conference, I began to pray God’s direction. The
last speaker we heard while attending the conference was Bro. Algernon Tennyson aka
“Big Al” of Awaken International Ministries. I saw our students’ response to how God
used Big Al that morning. Again, I will say its life changing when you acknowledge the

movement of the Holy Spirit.

I was sitting in my office and simply did an online search of Big Al and saw a contact
number and called it. Of course, you normally speak with a management team when
contacting a nationally known speaker. However, this day was a little different. I reached
a messaging system and simply left my heart in a message hoping to hear back from

someone.

That day around 3:45pm my phone rang. I answered and it was Big Al himself. I was
very shocked to hear from him directly. He shared that he had been off the road for a
couple weeks helping care for his boys following a major surgery his wife had just

endured.

The conversation was very spiritual in that Al said “Bro. Jerry I was spending time with
the boys and there was a feeling to check this number’s messages.” The funny thing was
he didn’t even think that number still existed with the ministry. He followed that feeling
and found the message I had left earlier that day. It really wasn’t a long conversation. His
words were “Bro. Jerry I received your message, God’s in it and I’m coming.”
I was so beside myself excited and started talking about how we needed to begin
planning and hopefully the next year it could become a reality. Al said “Nope, I have
some dates in December, God is in it and we need to make this happen.”
So the adventure began. The next question was who will lead worship for this
conference? I was again sitting in my office and praying God’s direction. My phone rang
and it was one of my professors from my bible college. Bro. Jim Simoneau was in the
area and felt like calling me and wanted to know if he could come by and visit with me. I
honestly didn’t even know that he knew I was on staff at Cove Baptist Church and

obviously said sure, come on by.

When Bro. Jim stopped by he wanted to share about a ministry he was working with that
was student related and he knew that I was doing a lot of student ministry. We visited for
a while until the conversation turned to what God was doing with the birth of the You’re

Worth It Ministry.

Bro. Jim said “You got worship covered?” I had tried reaching another group for weeks
unsuccessfully. I told him that I was struggling. His response was “You’re covered.” The
amazing story is that the previous year Bro. Jim and his wife had felt led to move from
Montgomery to the Huntsville area to be near to their families. Bro. Jim became a
professor of the same college I was attending. When Bro. Jim was in Montgomery he
served as Pastor of a large church and his worship leader was Grant Harbin, keyboard
player of the internationally known contemporary Christian group “Rush of Fools.”
Needless to say our God provided again. All along the way our God has been faithful. We
have had an annual conference every year since with continued growth.
One December God showed me it was time to move the conference from a winter
conference to a summer conference. Of course the next thought was but that would put us
having two conferences in the same physical church year budget. Always remember

“What God Calls, God Proves!”

I was sitting at a high school basketball game with my wife watching our youngest son
play ball. A school teacher was walking down the side of the court and came up in the
bleachers and sat down next to me. We had small talk and then he reached in his shirt
pocket and said “I want you to take this and do what you do for our community students

through your church family.”

He handed me a check and I ask was he sure, to which he assured me and I just placed it
in my pocket. Later I pulled that check out and it was exactly enough to cover the
additional cost of having two conferences in one church year.

“What God Calls, God Proves!”
To God be the Glory!!!

We have since outgrown our church sanctuary and have been able to move to our local
high school. I’m a graduate of New Hope High School and in July of 2024 we hosted the
seventh YWI Student Conference in the school auditorium. This is the same stage that I
received senior awards thirty years ago. Our four children received awards on that stage.
Both mine and my father’s graduating class pictures are hanging in the back of this
auditorium. On the night of this conference my graduating class was having our thirty

year class reunion.

There is no doubt in my mind that God established this ministry and I am absolutely
excited to see God build it in His time and in His way. We do not feel that we are limited
to only student ministry but we will faithfully await God’s direction and be sure that all

glory is given to Him.

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- Big J