He Did It!!
I’m sitting at my desk thinking back to two years ago…
Passion 07 had just ended where we had launched a crazy dream among the 22,000+ students who were packed into Philips Arena and the Georgia World Congress Center across the street. In the closing session, the big announcement was that there would be no Passion 2008 and in its place we were heading out to the great cities of the world, hosting Passion gatherings for students around the globe.
While we all probably felt a tiny bit of personal disappointment, there was an overwhelming wave of encouragement from those of you who were there. I will never forget looking into your faces and sensing you saying “YES! GO! We are with you,” a point that was driven home as you then gave $250,000 on the spot to help us get there.
A few weeks later we were in Phoenix to start the How Great Is Our God Tour. One night as I came back to our bus I found a small note in my bunk. That note has been in my desk drawer since and I’m looking at it right now. It reads:
Louie Giglio:
Thank you for your commitment to the young people of this generation. I believe in your vision for the Passion Conference & one day bringing that to the people of the world. May God continue to expand your vision & bring it to pass.
In Christ,
Evangeline
Inside the small envelope was a check for the World Tour in the amount of $5,000. To say the least, I was floored. Here we were, just days beyond Passion 07, on the other side of the nation and a note with this gift from someone, I still do not know, was sitting in my bunk. I don’t know how it got there, but I stood for a long time in the aisle just staring at the handwriting, feeling the wind of God at our back and knowing we were headed in His direction.
Soon enough the plans were laid and the costs were counted, and in the end we were looking at an awesome opportunity and an Everest of need. To be specific: $5,422,490. But, as you would expect, as of January 7 we only needed just $75,115 to completely fund the Passion World Tour! Incredible. Here’s how we got there:
Total World Tour expense: 5,422,920
Beginning balance (money given at Passion 06 for city causes) – 232,742
Student Giving (Passion 07, US Regionals, Word Tour Cities) – 872,346
sixstepsrecords contribution (thank you for buying our music!) – 1,278,944
Other donations (like Evangeline) – 2,852,062
Registration income from ticketed World Tour Cities – 261,281
Total Income – 5,347,375
Needed on 1/7/09 – 75,115
That, my friends, is a pretty phenomenal story! Only $75,115 to go from a starting point of over five million!
But, as you are probably guessing by now, it’s important to note that it’s not January 7. On the morning of January 8, I was still at the house when I got a call from Shelley. She was in her office holding a check in her hands, a check we did not expect, were not planning for, had not factored in…you get the point. We were thrilled about the 75K number and had moved money from our operating funds and paid all World Tour bills. But now the tour was over and done, the year had ended, the economy collapsed…you get more of the idea.
She said, “You’re not going to believe this, but we got a gift from ____…. long pause….it’s for the World Tour and it’s for $150,000. Long silence. Loud yells. Are you serious?!?!?!?!? All I could say over and over was “He did it! God did it!” The World Tour was paid for in full…and then some.
As God’s timing would have it, we were bringing our Volunteer City Team Leads to Atlanta the next night to thank them and celebrate all God had done on the journey. And we were able to share with them what I am sharing with you, and tell them that as of January 9 we had a surplus of $74,455 to go toward our World Tour events in May/June of this year. God can turn things around in a hurry.
It would be stunning if that were the end of the story, but, then again, it’s not January 9 anymore. So as of this instant, the most up to date number we have with additional gifts that have come in is that the fund for World Tour 09 has grown to $118,680. What? Does anyone besides me want to shout?
Obviously, it’s not about the money. But, in a way, it is about the money. It’s about people like Evangeline, and the countless others of you in between who released what God placed in your hands so that faces of students around the world could be changed and lives inspired to live for the thing that matters most.
I wish I could say I never doubted or stressed along the way, but that wouldn’t be completely true. But our team has learned to never count God out.
So to all of you who have a stake in this amazing miracle, we are thankful and humbled. And to the One who is the giver of every good thing, all glory belongs to You.
Louie
January 20th, 2009 at 4:13 PM
He is truly brilliant!!!
January 20th, 2009 at 4:38 PM
I’m going to say the word that pretty much sums up the World Tour and the USA Regionals…… WOW..
WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW…
God is awesome! God is good! God is sovereign and HE IS AMAZING!!!!!!
January 20th, 2009 at 4:55 PM
That is awesome!! God does provide for every thirst and for every need. Praise God!! :D
January 20th, 2009 at 5:25 PM
louie
you are truly blessed and you obviously have the favour of GOD upon your life. Thank you for all that you are doing and for all that you are going to do for our LORD. It must be great to go around this world and to see so many people coming together to worship GOD. I would truly love to do that. Well maybe one day, you never know!!
GOD BLESS
January 20th, 2009 at 6:00 PM
That pretty much is AWESOME.
January 20th, 2009 at 6:52 PM
That is so AMAZING!!!
Jaw dropped, pounding keys on laptop, speechless AMAZING!!!
Wow indeed… thanks so much for being so transparent and sharing this story of God’s faithfulness with us…
Cuan Grande es Dios?!
(translation: How Great is Our God?!)
AMAZING TIMES!!!
January 20th, 2009 at 7:15 PM
I am truly at a loss for words.
Thanks for sharing and providing everyone with, yet another, example of God’s faithfulness and proof of just how trustworthy He is.
(guess I wasn’t at a complete loss for words…)
January 20th, 2009 at 7:35 PM
WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW1
all glory belongs to You! to You! to You, JESUS!
no words…AMAZING!
January 20th, 2009 at 8:00 PM
Love it! Praise God for His provision for all our needs!
January 20th, 2009 at 8:17 PM
that’s so encouraging …i love to hear how the Lord encourages you all through what comes in the mail. what confirmation of what He wants done!!! thank you Lord!
January 21st, 2009 at 12:12 PM
i wish i didnt read this in class! wow..
i wanna cheer! i wanna shout out loud and do a dance! i wanna give Him praise!
for He is our provider indeed. a simple answer of “Yes Lord!”, i want to be used by You for Your glory!, and look what He has done.
praise Him!
January 21st, 2009 at 12:25 PM
wow – thats awesome!
January 21st, 2009 at 1:03 PM
YAY! Totally agree with Priscilla. I wanna jump for joy and do a dance in class.
Praise God! We waited upon You Lord, and You provided abundantly. He is our deliverer from our concern and stress! Amen!
Looking forward to Passion 2010! Be Blessed!
Mike
Vancouver, Canada
January 21st, 2009 at 1:15 PM
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” Proverbs 3:5-6
Dear Louie,
This is the verse that came to my mind as I read this amazing God-Story. You guys have been seeking the Lord in all that you do and He has been faithful to provide for this “awesome opportunity and an Everest of need”. No task is too big for the Mighty God that we serve and this was His vision and His dream planted in your hearts. He has done awesome things and the whole world has been watching Him at work with Passion. I love what you guys do and your “Passion” for His renown, for His glory and to expand His Kingdom. Needless to say you are not alone on this journey…We are all here with you: Teens and older, boys and girls, married and single…All of us united in prayer for you guys, because this is for Him and Him alone. As Evangeline said “May God continue to expand your vision & bring it to pass.”…For His is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever AMEN!
We love you guys!
~Ursula~
January 21st, 2009 at 1:33 PM
Amen!!! That’s incredible!
How Great is our God? :-)
January 21st, 2009 at 2:04 PM
God is soooooo good!!! Wow! That is awesome news! Thank you for sharing that! I have tears in my eyes…you’re right – HE did it!!! All the praise to The One And Only!! It has been such an honor and privilege for me to join with everyone else in prayer for Passion, the World Tour, the new church, etc….God is definitely working through you guys and it is soooo exciting!! –dawn
p.s. only 4 more days til my family and I get to experience an amazing encounter with Jesus as Chris and Israel lead us in worship 1/24!! we are expecting “greater things” as God stirs His people and “shows up”!! can’t wait!! we’ve watched/heard about all the excitement with Passion & the WT this past year – now we get to experience some of that, too! :-)
January 21st, 2009 at 3:02 PM
Dream Big! I have never learned a more important truth through worshiping Jesus with you guys than to dream big and watching God accomplish it in abundance. I am so humbled and blessed to see God’s favor and anointing upon the movement that is so dear to my heart. May God smile at the amazing work your team is doing around the globe. Celebrate the lives God has changed through you…I can speak from experience! Praise God for his unrelenting faithfulness!!!
January 21st, 2009 at 3:09 PM
so incredible.
January 21st, 2009 at 4:18 PM
WOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!! We serve an AMAZING God!!! That’s so awesome!!! yay!!
Brittany
January 21st, 2009 at 5:45 PM
Wow..>God is so very good to us.
Malachi 3:10 lived out.
Praise the Lord.
January 21st, 2009 at 7:30 PM
“All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! ”
Thank You, GOD.
January 21st, 2009 at 9:08 PM
Isn’t Jesus AWESOME!
I’m getting more in touch with the centrality of His working is our Only Hope. It’s gone from a belief in mind, to an experience lived. I’m just, WOW for God’s provision for the Passion Movement…I’m simply left with GO JESUS!
paul
“All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing…” Col 1:6
January 21st, 2009 at 9:10 PM
hey Louie,
THAT IS AWESOME NEWSSSSS!!!!!!!! oh dear, FATHER God.. I LOVE ALL YOUR SURPRISES!!! YOU are so sweet & marvellous!
i’m so happy to read that both human resources & $$ are flowing in. Indeed, His favour is with this vision. such an honour to be chosen to be part of His plan for such a time as these…HALLELUYAH !!!!!!!!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father thru Jesus the Son,
and give him the glory, great things he hath done (e.g. giving Passion team the $$ for WT 09) :P
God is always on the move,
Celine – KL – Malaysia
p/s: did any1 has problem posting yesterday? i keep getting java error. well..glad that it’s okay now!
January 21st, 2009 at 11:11 PM
haha… God, U sure have lots of surprises! Its really amazing to see how u Bless ur Children!
God is AWESOME!!!
May God continue to Bless Ur Vision Ps. Louie and the life of Others aswell!
Amen!
Crazy For Jesus,
Honey G – Penang – Malaysia :P
January 22nd, 2009 at 12:44 AM
Crying in amazement. Reading this makes me realize that there is a really really huge and brilliant and beautiful story of God and His Kingdom….and there is no way I want to miss out on it.
Right on.
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:01 AM
Whoo-hoo!!!!! Praise God for His incredible faithfulness!! And I love how He always goes above and beyond to bless His children just to prove how awesome He is! He truly is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we could ever ask, think or even dare to imagine. He is so good!!
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:46 AM
Wow! Wow! Wow!
He did it!!!!!!! :)
Praise be to God for He has done great things…..
I knew He would come through, He always does!!!
It never gets old hearing what God has done!
Thanks Louie for sharing the news with us!
God is Awesome!
(and yes I would like to Shout with ya, but I think I’d scare my family to death!!!)
So here’s a silent “SHOUT”!!!!! :D
May God keep on blessing all of you at Passion/sixsteps…
January 22nd, 2009 at 12:12 PM
YEAH!!! :D
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:55 PM
Praise the Lord!! Passion has truly been an excellent movement that spread the Word and Love of God throughout the nations of the world!! All glory and honour back to our Lord Jesus Christ!! Keep moving!!!
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:18 AM
wow.
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:49 AM
WOW!!!!!!!! INCREDIBLE! I FEEL SO HUMBLED TO BE A SMALL PART OF THIS! I KNOW THAT GOD IS WORKING IN AMAZING WAYS THROUGH THE PASSION MOVEMENT. thank you so much Passion team for giving us something we can put our efforts and stake in. you have provided us a way to make a difference for His glory! thanks! can’t wait til we’re all celebrating together at Passion 2010!
-joe :)
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:17 AM
WAH thats awesome.. He’s so awesome
January 23rd, 2009 at 3:05 PM
As one of the students who was blessed enough to attend a World Tour event and was inspired to live the life He desires, I’m blown away by His faithfulness! Its great to see that the wave is still going strong … and getting bigger :) He truly is a Saviour that can move the mountains!
January 23rd, 2009 at 3:15 PM
Even in days of gentle flow, while we wait on the Father, He still has time in His hands and when we stand in awe of who He is and feel the touch of His hand, its then that we fall to our knees in total amazement – praise You God almighty – we love you.
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:41 PM
This is so encouraging to me! I have the opportunity this summer to go to Johannesburg, South Africa with a ministry on my campus and I have to raise $5,000 in order to get there. Even though this seems like an extremely large amount to me, I know that God will provide! This story is just one testament of how faithful He is! Keep on doing what yall are doing!
January 24th, 2009 at 12:34 PM
I just watched the video at awakeningthebook.com, and WOW tears of JOY! An amazing DREAM, becomes an amazing REALITY, which becomes amazing HISTORY and its all for the amazing KINGDOM!
With Christ ALL things are possible…
January 24th, 2009 at 2:16 PM
I love reading about what God is doing in/through/for you guys, but I also love reading all these other people rejoicing with you! God is truly most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him, and boy are we satisfied!!!!! Praise our wonder-working God! Amen!
January 25th, 2009 at 2:33 AM
All glory and honor and praise and allegiance and worship and gratefulness and awe and love and loyalty and thankfulness and celebration and blessings and joy to our King of Kings and Lord of Lords Jesus Christ, the one and only Son of the Living God and Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Magnificent Father, thank you for the lives that were awakened to an everlasting life and love of You because of the World Tour and the faithfulness of Louie & Shelly, the Passion staff, the bands, the sacrificial and abundant gifts, the volunteers, the interceding prayer warriors, the organizers, the governmental authorities and the students … may none ever be the same as Your Word lives and grows from within our minds and hearts to bring to action our bended knees to prayer, our focusedness to seeking wisdom from You, to rested feet ready to carry Your gospel of peace and able hands to feed the hungry and touching others in meeting needs through Your power. Amen and amen.
January 25th, 2009 at 10:02 PM
A-mazing! When God moves, you had better get out of the way!! Praise God!
I can’t wait for Passion 2010!
Jamie from Texas <
January 27th, 2009 at 3:46 AM
Much thanks to the almighty God
January 27th, 2009 at 6:59 PM
Yay!!!! That’s soo awesome Louie!! I’m soo encouraged =)
My friends & I are building an orphanage in the Philippines and we have millions of Pesos (around $300,000 CAD) to raise so we can build a fully-furnished house for 40 kids debt-free. We’re about 1/3 of the way there (and that actually in and of itself is amazing enough) and although we got a ways to go, God continues to surprise & WOW us. He is so good! God can totally do far beyond what we could hope for and/or imagine! I love it that when He gives us something to do, He will see to it that it gets done and provide for us magnificently.
And again, thanks so much for loving the college students all over the world. Passion has been such a blessing to me so THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
I’ll see you guys at the Tabernacle next month!
Much love from Vancouver
xoxo
February 3rd, 2009 at 1:53 AM
God is great!
I look forward to Passion in Sydney, Australia again and praying He will make this happen.
February 6th, 2009 at 10:40 PM
Just truly amazing what I’m reading here. Louie and Shelly what you are doing is truly A GOD THING! you are so amazing and we are so proud of you at the unique faith and love you have for students. We stand with you in prayer and in amazement seeing how God continues to guide and use you in touching lives of thousands of students all over the world. We love you and praying for you. The Ugandans students will never forget you and we can’t wait God willing to have you back in Kampala.