TRACY HARRIS
tharris@themarshallcountypost.com
Over 200 students signed in and registered for the Fifth Wednesday youth event hosted by FCA and Marshall County Ministerial Association. The event took place in the MCHS gym on Jan. 31, 2024 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Talos Engineered Products provided enough pizza for the crowd to enjoy seconds and employees volunteered their time to serve the crowd. Lewisburg held the attendance trophy from the last event but they won again this time. More students from Lewisburg attended the event but Chapel Hill and Cornersville were neck and neck for second place.
Youth Praise & Worship Team
The night kicked off with a friendly competition of Chubby Bunny-a game of marshmallow mouth stuffing. The record for the most marshmallows on Wednesday night was 13! After the game, the Youth Praise & Worship team got everyone on their feet for a few songs before the speaker was introduced.
Matt Rogers, the stadium announcer for the Titans home games since 2021, was the speaker. He was an American Idol finalist in Season 3 and he has hosted several TV shows. Rogers was a lineman on the Rose Bowl winning football team, University of Washington. One thing he is passionate about is Jesus and he does his best to lead people to having “an experience with Jesus.” He believes that having an experience with Jesus is much different than accepting Jesus into your heart.
Matt Rogers speaking to crowd of 200+ at Fifth Wednesday Youth Event
As a child, Matt was diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease. Essentially, it causes inflammation in the walls of the blood vessels that carry blood throughout the body. Doctors believed he got it from crawling around on the floor of a nail salon. In Matt, it caused a fever of over 104 and a severe stutter. Doctors told Matt’s mother he would never be able to run, play sports, or exert himself physically. She believed otherwise-that God was the ultimate physician and healer.
Rogers said that suiting up to play 300+ pound men in college and performing live on TV was nowhere near as scary as some of the other things he’s faced in life. Not only did he have his own health problems as a child, but when he and his wife had kids, they had issues too. The Rogers’ youngest two (of three) children, a boy and a girl, were diagnosed with cystic fibrosis shortly after being born. Rogers has since spent a lot of his time raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation since then.
Rogers told the crowd on Wednesday how his mother’s faith, when he was sick, inspired him. Rather than seeing a disability or what could not be done, he saw an opportunity for God to do the supernatural – just like his mom had when he was little. His mom spoke blessings over his life and Rogers believes that is why he went on to overcome so much. Who would’ve thought kid with a severe stutter would go on to sing on American Idol, much less announce NFL games? According to Matt, the power of a praying mother is what got him to where he is today– that and an experience with Jesus.
The night ended with an invitation for everyone to have that experience, and many did. Circles of teens huddled together praying with adults who were ready and waiting.
