Following two years of online gathering, 23 July saw the first ever in-person Magnitude youth festival. Here’s a recap from our young people on what happened over five days camping in a field at Lendrick Muir!
Magnitude was full of highlights for our young people. For some of our young people what stood out to them was the family atmosphere amongst our group and around the site…
Ben: I think my highlights were the family environment between all the different churches. I made lots of different friends from all over Scotland and that everyone had the same beliefs and behaviours so you wouldn’t stand out, opposite to school.
Rebecca: I loved chatting in our tents in small group time and when we were just hanging out.
Annerie: The camping and the atmosphere of being in person again
Emily: The people and making new friends. Experiencing Christ in a different way.
While for others it was what God was up to in the meetings…
Emma: My highlight from the first in-person Magnitude was the worship and ministry time. I loved how the band wasn’t the same for every meeting, so every worship session was slightly different. I appreciated all the time allocated for ministry because it gave lots of opportunity for prayer. The ministry felt very safe and comfortable, I found it very helpful for building my confidence in praying for other people and it also just brings you closer to other people.
Dougie: Seeing my friends come to faith.
Robert: I would say my highlight would be the evening meetings we had each night. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and being surrounded by people who are really passionate about Jesus.
Ben: I think my other highlight was the incredible worship done by the band. I think that was one of the key moments for me, feeling God’s presence through the songs.
There were a lot of fun activities to keep us occupied during the day. Some of the young people highlighted the sports with volleyball, basketball and football particularly standing out. The football tournament got a lot of love where the Mungo’s supporters were definitely the most vocal, backing the combined St Mungo’s and City on a Hill team all the way to the semi-finals where they lost in a penalty shoot-out in the Edinburgh Episcopal derby with Ps & Gs. Others loved some of the after hours activities including the Guvna B concert, the silent disco and the traditional final night ceilidh. There was even mention of sock wars back on the campsite with a particular battle between Jonny and George being mentioned more than once!
Amidst all these fun and games though, God was moving in a real and tangible way. There were a number of talks that stood out to people throughout the week for a variety of reasons…
Rebecca: The talk by Bridget Sutherland on the Sunday night and also the talk the morning after that which was about Nehemiah. They stood out to me as myself and one of my friends had been chatting about stuff earlier that day that was then said in both the talks.
Emma: A talk that stood out to me was Rachel Gardener’s seminar ‘The Sex Thing’. I think it was nice that we were able to go as a youth group and be able to talk openly and comfortably on ‘taboo’ subjects. I really enjoy Rachel Gardener’s talks because of how honest and vulnerable she is. Her talk was less of a lecture and more of a testimony.
There was one talk though that seemed to really resonate amongst our young people and that was by Palm Church pastor Marc Pawson as evidenced below…
Emily: Marc Pawson’s because he was so inspiring and I feel like he really got his message across. I felt like the Holy Spirit moved a lot through his talk.
Annerie: Monday evening’s talk. That dude was so on fire! Heaven Rules and the Holy Spirit was so alive in that place. It was absolutely amazing!
Ben: I think my favorutie talk was the Heaven Rules one (Marc Pawson) because it was such a powerful, truthful talk. And the guy that did it, used to be a drug addict. Now preaches in prison. He is very special.
Robert: The talk on Monday about “Heaven Rules” was my favourite as the way Marc Pawson spoke, I felt, was really powerful and helped the Holy Spirit speak to me in a way he hasn’t for a long time.
The talks and worship were just a part of it though. God was moving in big ways. We saw young people commit their lives to Jesus and real breakthrough happening in the faith walks amongst those in our group. Here are some of their stories below.
Emma: Over the week, I really felt my confidence in praying for other people build. Before I went to Swaziland in 2019 I used to find ministry quite uncomfortable and foreign. After that trip I felt more confident but because of COVID I haven’t had much chance to build that skill. This week I had the opportunity to pray and be prayed for by lots of people including people I don’t know which really strengthens my relationship with myself, God and the person I’m praying for/praying for me. I pushed myself to talk to people if I felt I had a prophetic word/picture for someone.
Ben: I experienced the Holy Spirit for the first time which was a very special and heart-warming experience for me.
Annerie: I got a picture from the Holy Spirit for the first time!
Robert: This week was the first time I was able to set aside my own fear and talk about my own insecurities which has made me a stronger person to this day.
Emily: I felt like God has helped me heal and helped me cope with the grief of losing someone close to me. He also helped me pray for others and help them on their journey with faith.
Praise God for all that he done during this week. It was so amazing to finally experience a Magnitude in person and as a group we really did have a fantastic time! I’ll leave you with the words of our young people (and one at heart!) as they described to me what they will always remember about Magnitude 2022.
Ben: All of it!
Dougie: My friend coming to faith and the football chants for the combined St Mungo’s and City on a Hill team!
Emma: I’ll always remember our mini worship sessions in my tent and in our big group tent. They felt really special and intimate.
Robert: The last night at the evening meeting where I think all of us (who wouldn’t usually do this at church) really just expressed ourselves in the worship without caring about what others thought about us.
Suzie: Having time to talk with and listen to some young people and offer words of encouragement and then having the privilege to be able to pray with them as they journey on in their faith.
Emily: The people, the talks and the worship
Annerie: Ahh, everything! The people and all the memories we made together!!
