Two-thousand-six was one of the best years of my life. I had moved from YWAM Brisbane to YWAM Perth the year before to work with an urban ministry called Megacities. I spent most of 2006 in that year’s Megacity: Cairo, Egypt. It was an exciting, challenging, adventurous, educational, heart-breaking, stretching, and thrilling year. I loved living in the Middle East and I loved working with Megacities!

While there I had the huge privilege of leading the Global Youth Outreach (GYO), which drew about 800 youth from all over the city. (Imagine 800 Egyptian, Sudanese, and international teenagers and young adults all in one place to seek Jesus and grow in their faith!) We gathered together to see them inspired and empowered to take up leadership in their own city by reaching out and serving those around them.

On the last day of GYO we split into 50 different teams for the “Day of Compassion”. The youth spilled out into every corner of the city showing the love of God in practical, tangible ways to thousands of Egyptians.

Since I was in charge of organizing this event, I was able to invite over a worship band from my home church to help lead worship along with our YWAMers.

Watch this video to see how Casey (one of the band leaders) and his friends were inspired to go home and begin something similar with the I Heart Campaign.

The I Heart Campaign has rallied over 5000 volunteers to date, reaching over 15,000 people at community events in Central Oregon alone. They now organize I Heart events in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and California.

Isn’t it incredible to see some of the ripple effect of how God is using global service to inspire local service, and local service to inspire global service? A great example of a mission organization and local churches working in unity for multiplication of the gospel.

And this is only the beginning…