My First IMPACT Conference

Before reading this post, I highly suggest reading my other post “A Movement in the Making.” That post basically lays the groundwork for this Black campus ministry, and it also provides context about The IMPACT Movement.

Maurice Powe at 2021 Regional IMPACT Conference

My first IMPACT Conference was on December 29th, 2021 in Indianapolis.

The theme of the conference was “Reemerge: A Movement from the Margins,” and to put it simply, I left that conference different from when I entered.

First, I think a large part of that change can be contributed to my positionally during the trip. For example, I cane to the conference without having an IMPACT chapter at my university. Likewise, I lived no where close to the conference location. I had never flown alone before so, in summary, attending the regional conference required a lot of risks. In other words, attending required a massive leap of faith, yet for some odd reason the Holy Spirit was saying jump!

Thus, despite the adversity, I went. It was the first time I ever flew alone, my first time away during New Years, my first IMPACT conference, and exactly where God wanted me.

Immediately, after landing at the Indianapolis International Airport, I couldn’t help but feel God’s favor. Having never used an Uber before, one of my biggest concerns was how do I get from the airport to the hotel? Yet, by the grace of God, someone had it covered.

Hannah Schafer aka Hannah “Indiana,” had my transportation on lock. Who’s Hannah you ask? Unironically, Hannah “Indiana” lives in Indiana and goes to Butler University. But not only that, Hannah and I, along with 18 other college students, spent 10 weeks in Yellowstone National Park on a Cru Summer Mission Trip (if you want to learn more about that summer in Yellowstone click here!). Nonetheless, after learning about the IMPACT Conference, Hannah insisted that she’d handle my transportation matters. Talk about MidwestNice!

Yet, to top it off, after picking me up, the two of us would also meet up with Grace Prewett, a Michigan native who also went to Yellowstone with us! So, after the three of us reunited, what was better than a good old-fashioned meal at Five Guys, Burgers and Fries.

Day 1 in Indy, and I already felt blessed by God.

Hannah, Grace, and Maurice at Five Guys

Yet, the blessings didn’t stop after this mini reunion. In fact, my next surprise came after arriving at the hotel.

After arriving at the Sheraton, I explored the hotel and was immediately surprised by the worship team. After hearing their warmups, I instantly thought… this is music that I’m familiar with.

For context, I grew up in a predominately Black pentecostal church, yet I attend a college where Black worship is foreign. Therefore, for the last few years I’ve learned songs by Hillsong and Bethel Music, when in reality I’ve grown up listening to Kirk Franklin and Tye Tribbett; and although the contemporary genres aren’t at all bad, I personally began to miss hearing music that I grew up with.

(Likewise, when I’m not hearing songs like “Melodies From Heaven” or “Faithful is Our God” get circulated within worship settings, I inadvertently develop a stigma as if the Black Gospel Classics aren’t acceptable; when in reality, this stigma is false. Overtime I’ve realized there’s a lot of value in exposing my peers, regardless of their background, to what I grew up listening to. It’s scary at times, but we need more people to be bold. Without sharing our music we limit the ways in which God can move in different settings. Yet when we’re willing to share our differences in worship, we develop a more inclusive understanding of who God is.)

Nonetheless, as I listened to the worship team I was reminded that Black worship isn’t and shouldn’t be characterized as something negative. I felt safe and nostalgic, as I reflected on my childhood; and I developed a feeling that the next three days would be extremely incredible.

So, as I tend to write long-winded sometimes, what follows is the sparknotes version of my 2021 Regional Conference experience in Indy.

1. Embracing the Theme

I think that one of the primary ways in which God moved in Indianapolis was through the conference theme.

As I mentioned before, the theme of the conference was “Reemerge: A Movement from the Margins.” Therefore, when considering the Black identity, a lot of power can be found within this topic.

In a biblical sense, the plenary speakers explored the opening chapters of Luke. From there, they analyzed the ways in which Jesus came out of a marginalized community called Nazareth. Nazareth? People thought. “Nothing good comes out of Nazareth.” Yet, to everyone’s surprise that’s where our savior was born. Like many minorities, Jesus grew up in the margins. He knows what it’s like, and since I’m African American, I found that information extremely powerful; because if you don’t know me, I grew up in a predominately white community called Longmeadow. Racially I grew up within a margin. It was difficult to belong. I felt little autonomy over my lived identity.

Yet, this wasn’t only just in white spaces. While living in the white community of Longmeadow, I also began to feel marginalized from Black spaces too. In Black spaces I felt too white-washed, I wasn’t Black enough, wasn’t cultured enough, and even at the christian conference itself there were moments in which developing Black community was hard. In other words, I was being marginalized on two fronts. I had been accustomed to situations in which I felt like I’m neither welcome in white nor Black spaces. But session after session I would repeatedly hear speakers describe God’s love for the marginalized community.

It was a hard pill to swallow, but could God actually want to use a kid like me? Me, one of the most unqualified Black people leading a revival for the UMass Black community. Why would God choose someone like me? It didn’t make sense. Yet, all I could do was surrender myself to him and see wherever it takes me.

2. Trusting The Process

After wrestling with the theme, another takeaway was the aftermath.

So God likes the marginalized? Did that in turn mean that God would do something through me?

I never really considered the long term effects of traveling to Indy. Personally, I wanted to bring what I learned as the UMass Black body was hurting. From COVID-19 to racist emails, from feelings of not belonging to questioning God’s sovereignty, Black students at my school desperately needed a reminder that God is with and for the marginalized community. And in my imperfection, I boldly stepped into a Movement at UMass, and now over a year later, I’ve been witness to the slow start of something amazing.

Over this recent winter, I attended my second IMPACT Conference (My first National Conference) in Atlanta, GA. Thus, remembering me from the previous year in Indianapolis, Jimmy McGee, the national CEO and president of The IMPACT Movement, asked me to write a reflection about my overall experience over the course of two years…

I think the best way to describe my conference experience this year is by first using context. For context, last year I was the only student from UMass Amherst at the regional conference in Indianapolis. In Indy, I had a life changing experience learning about the ways in which God empowers and strengthens marginalized communities. Therefore, as an African American who’s grown up in predominantly white spaces, this struck a chord for me. I heard music that I actually knew, I was surrounded by people who looked like me, and I genuinely felt the presence of God at that conference.

So, after having that experience in Indy, it was mandatory that I come back. But unlike last year, this year I wasn’t alone. SEVEN other UMass students decided to make the investment and travel to Atlanta. Therefore, having my campus body present this year was incredibly significant for me. I was able to watch my UMass brothers and sisters grow, engage, wrestle, and implement the teachings into their everyday lives. This experience allowed me to see the kingdom of God and the ways in which we carry the kingdom inside of us. In addition, we as a campus were also able to see the ways in which God works outside of just UMass, we connected with other Universities like Syracuse and Northeastern, and built meaningful connections for future years. Lastly, as we were leaving the conference something else impacted me. As we were leaving one of the IMPACT volunteers, Daniel Valentine, said that they expect 50 UMass students to attend the conference next year. As many people might perceive this as a joke, we UMass students were challenged as that this task would be hard, yet in reality extremely doable. If it’s His will then it will happen. So, it’s revival time at UMass! I’m incredibly grateful that God has allowed me to get involved with IMPACT, and I can’t wait to see what God does through this ministry in the future!

In summary, I don’t exactly know what happened between the two conferences that led to a 7 times attendance increase from UMass, but what I can say is that throughout that increase I was present. There’s many times when I wonder why me, when God could easily use any other person to do his work; yet every time in which his work is done through me it further points myself back to God’s loving nature and heart. So, significant things are happening at UMass, I’m excited to see what God does over here, and I thank you for your prayers and support as God is covering this University.

3. God’s Presence in Community

Maurice Powe and Josiah Waltson

Lastly, before I end this long overdue reflection, I think it would be wrong of me if I didn’t mention the power of community within The IMPACT Movement.

As I stated before, I’m an African American who grew up in predominately white spaces, so at times it can be hard to develop relationships with other Black students. Essentially, compared to other Black students, I had a pretty unique upbringing, and on top of that, while in Indy, most people didn’t even know where Massachusetts was (or even believe me when I said that Black people live there). Yet, despite my difficulties, on the day of my arrival at Indianapolis, a long-time IMPACT family immediately took me in.

As if ordained by God, I immediately hit it off with Vaughn Waltson, an IMPACT volunteer who was helping with photography. Vaughn describes himself as a missions moblizer. He’s worked in the missions field with organizations like IMPACT and Cru. He’s organized numerous trips around the African continent, so for me, having just gone on a mission trip to Yellowstone, I passionately admired his experience and felt honored to meet a person like him. Currently, I’ve been learning a lot from his book “African American Experience in World Mission: A Call Beyond Community,” so if you’re passionate about Black missions, like me, I highly recommend reading it.

However, Vaughn is not the only person that I connected with in Indianapolis, because in one way or another I also clicked with his son Josiah.

Josiah is a laid-back kid in his opening years of high school. He’s bold, funny, talented, and to my surprise a Jack and Jiller. What a random coincide, I also was part of Jack and Jill in high school. I had someone I could empathize with, and I left that conference with a new friend.

So, overall, I mention all of this to emphasize that the Waltson’s are like a second family to me, and whenever a conference is organized it’s always exciting because I get reunite with people who are family outside of my family. So, I end this post expressing the gratitude that I have for the IMPACT community. I truly believe that God is doing so much through what may seem like a little organization. If you would like to learn more about IMPACT please visit their website (IMPACT Website Click Here!) and feel free to join the community! Anyway, I love you guys, I pray that God continues to show favor towards you, and that you can have peace throughout this coming season.