At least several bus drivers have prayed to receive Christ while attending the event or afterwards, says Brian Alnes, executive director of Lake Beauty Bible Camp, who arranges the bus transportation for the Northwest and Central conferences and excursions during the event.
“It’s the big picture of what CHIC is about,” Alnes says. “It’s about much more than the kids for me.”
Drivers frequently attend the last night of CHIC, and many of them are overcome by what they experience, Alnes says. Following a Main Stage event at CHIC2000, Alnes spent more than an hour talking with one driver who had started crying during the service. That driver prayed to receive Christ that night.
Another told Alnes, “This is the greatest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s amazing what you do for kids.”
During the return trips from CHIC, the drivers say they also hear the students on the buses sharing with each other how their lives had been transformed at the event. The students’ actions also serve as testimonies to the drivers.
“The comments that we get every year are that these kids are so good and they’re so polite,” Alnes says. “They say there’s something different about these kids.”
Alnes adds, “To see these tough guys get loved on by kids who’ve been loved on for a week is just amazing.”
The Richfield Bus Company has transported students from the Northwest Conference to every CHIC since at least the early 1970s, Alnes says. Some drivers already have put in requests to drive to CHIC in 2012.
CHIC leaders say that security guards and other workers also have requested prayer for specific issues as well as to give their lives to Christ.
The message of CHIC increasingly is spreading virally. Friends of volunteers and students also are reading about the event on Facebook and MySpace pages.
