Hope Has A Voice

By Tracy Lentz

Tracy Lentz. Photo by Bridgett Cannon Have you ever been told that something was impossible … everything was lost … it was all hopeless — well it’s not!  Hope has a voice. I spent time during the first few days of 2008 in one of the most beautiful and powerful places I have ever been — Montreat, N.C. From January 3-6, I attended the Montreat College Conference that was all about finding hope, even in the hardest places where it might be lost.

The purpose of this conference was to gather college-age students from all across the United States and discuss issues that we are each faced with day in and day out. Many of the “back home” groups were formed by campus ministries from colleges and universities or church groups.  I went with my school, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

One of the neat things about this conference was not only the bonding time we had with other college students but our own campus ministries group. We grew as a family as we discussed difficult issues and sorted out our lives.

A couple highlights of the retreat were the amazing speakers. Shane Claiborne, Ishmeal Beah and students from Virginia Tech were our keynote and worship leaders. I found hope in their very different yet powerful stories. I look forward to attending this conference again next year, especially because I am a member of the planning team for 2009.

Even though NNPCW did not sponsor my trip, I often found myself chatting with other females about the power we as women have in the church. We talked about the power we have to inspire hope, even in times of despair. We talked about the leadership roles that we could take on at our respective schools and communities that would help to show other women that we really can make a difference in our world.  In his song titled “Hope,” David Lamotte of Montreat, N.C., says it best. “I've got a lot of hope for the future. I've got a lot of faith things can work out fine. Got a lot of dreams for a better world, got a lot of work to do if I'm going to make them mine.”

— Tracy Lentz is a new member of the NNPCW's 12-member decision making Coordinating Committee also known as CoCo. She is a sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and has a double major in Elementary Education and Special Education. Tracy is from Boone, N.C., which is located in the Appalachian Mountains, so she was thrilled when she received the opportunity to return to the mountains for the 2008 College Conference at Montreat Center.