I don't think that I can truly express the effect of Sovereign Grace Ministries in my life over the past few years. I think my first "unknowing" experience was to I Kissed Dating Goodbye during Freshman Orientation/Purity...not necessarily the best induction, but I can see God using it even then. From there it was resources from primarily CJ Mahaney that drew my attention. Culminating in the New Attitude (now NEXT) Conference in Louisville, KY in '07, I was hooked by their passion to live their lives not only passionately in love w/the God of Scripture, but in pursuing Him daily through allowing Scripture to penetrate, convict, and restore. I was overwhelmed by their theological richness from their music to their messages to their personal interactions.
Now attending GBC and seeing that influence permeate every pore of the leadership and laity is refreshing. From the Pastor's Conference this past April, in Ian's interview you can see the progression to adoption by Sovereign Grace this past Sunday. God has truly worked, and I cannot wait to see how He will continue to use this relationship to glorify Himself through the instruments at GBC to affect NE Philly.
One more resource/plug for Sovereign Grace: After attending NEXT '09 in Baltimore this past Memorial Day weekend, I was once again freshly affected by the music of Sovereign Grace, and they recorded a live album during the times of musical preparedness for God's Word. I just downloaded it the other day for $5 and have loved it so much I thought I'd pass it on.
