Nineteen years ago, I conducted my first service at the Boys Ranch chapel. After sharing the message, I sat on the front stage steps behind the pulpit, available for prayer during our extended time of worship. A sixth-grade boy with a few freckles and an untamed cowlick came and sat by my side. We shared brief introductions, then (gesturing to my heart) I asked, “Is there something we need to pray about?”

“My mom is on drugs, and no one has heard from her in three years. I want God to help us find her.”

 This began a 19-year season of praying with kids (ages 6-65) on the front stage steps in chapel. Like any community, the conditions here at Boys Ranch can be as fickle as the weather. Some weeks are smooth sailing. Other times we’re a hot mess. Sometimes my relationships seem to come easy. Other times I struggle. However, no matter the conditions, I marvel at the Sunday morning activity on the front stage steps in chapel.

Boys and girls with all the mixed motives known to humanity always, without fail, come down for prayer to this special space I regard as a “Holy Spirit hotspot.”

You might think they are responding to heavy altar calls, but that has never been the case. We spare our children the manipulation of cheap grace and spiritual shaming. You might think they are responding to the Christ-centered sermons they hear in chapel. I’d like to think this is the case, but I’m not even sure about that.

 So, what brings kids to this Holy Spirit hotspot?

 I believe they are responding to the countless sermons they see at Boys Ranch.

 A weary house parent waits up for the bus to return from a late-night game. A caseworker shows up at a Saturday cross country meet to cheer. A teacher takes extra time to help a student catch up on missing schoolwork. A coach gives an athlete a second chance. A work mentor takes time to listen to a problem with trustworthy ears. These sermons, I believe, are the Holy Spirit’s best work, inviting youth to pray at this Sunday morning hotspot.

Winters in the Texas Panhandle can be blustery and cold. Thank you for all you do to support our community’s soul-warming Holy Spirit hotspot.

In Christ’s love – Mike