Hills Alive

The Great Plains/Rocky Mountain Region has participated in the Hills Alive event in Rapid City, South Dakota, for quite a few years. Sande Lofberg, U.S Regional Director of this region, says that the event is a free Christian concert that attracts 25K – 30K attendees each year.

At this year’s event, the region, again, had a booth where they made connections with many people who had lost connections with Aglow. Sande said, “We were able to connect people to Aglow groups in North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Nebraska. One young woman who was a new convert from Buddhism was looking for a particular woman who she said was like a grandmother to her. As she mentioned the lady’s first name, I asked her if it was a specific friend of mine, and it was! I was amazed that I was able to connect them in such a large crowd.” 

The team of 12 that served with Sande at the booth worked 2-3 hour shifts throughout the two-day event. Sande said, “Before the concert even begins, we often have people lining up at our booth.”

Quite a few who have been to the Aglow both through the years, will drop by to visit each time they attend. Sande said, “Four years ago, a lady from Montana came. She had recently lost her parents and was living on the homestead of a large ranch. She needed to sell off part of the property to pay the taxes on the land, and her siblings didn’t want to let go of any of the land where they had grown up. She asked us to pray that her siblings to release enough of the land to pay the taxes. Well, we have six binders filled with pictures, and each picture is numbered.

Before we pray with people, we ask them to choose a binder and then a number. This woman did just what we asked. She chose a binder and gave us a number, and when we turned to the picture that corresponded to the number she chose, it was a photo of the family ranch in Montana! It had been taken by a Montana magazine that had done an article on the ranch. Needless to say, we were all blessed as we prayed for the siblings to release enough land to pay the taxes.”

Another lady had dropped in for prayer and later returned with her husband. They were involved in a music ministry. We asked them to select a binder and to give us a number. The corresponding picture had a band on a stage with a neon sign that said, ‘sing. ’” As Sande said, you can’t make this stuff up!

One last amazing story happened with a young man who dropped by the booth. He had been seeking the Lord about pursuing a ministry that was different than the ones he had previously been involved in. He selected a binder and gave a number. When the binder was opened to the corresponding picture, it was a Jeep driving off-road going through some rocky areas. 

Holy Spirit knows how to work through binders and pictures in a way that people never forget that the selected picture wasn’t just happenstance, it was purposeful with great intention. God never loses track of His people, and He knows how to reach them in ways they haven’t considered. How will God lead your Aglow group to reach the people in your community? He has the perfect setup and is ready to talk to you as soon as you ask. Go ahead, ask Him! We would love to hear your story, too!