Until July 12 — this is the third of six weeklong youth conferences here this summer — the young people will worship, study and play together under the theme “Throw Open the Doors.” In the words of the conference theme song, penned by conference music leader Jeffrey Harper of Nashville, TN:

The Rev. Jo Owens, associate pastor of Hudson Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, NC, is co-keynoter for week three of the 2008 Montreat Youth Conferences. Photo by David Ealy

Throw open the doors
And let in the light
Open your hearts
To Jesus Christ
Feel God’s love pour
Like rain from the skies
Throw open the doors
The Lamb is alive.

The week’s keynote speakers — the Rev. Jo Owens, a 2006 graduate of Columbia Theological Seminary who currently serves as an associate pastor at Hudson Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, NC, and the Rev. Patrick Laney, associate pastor for youth and family at First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa. AL — introduced the theme Monday morning (July 7), illustrated with drama, music and dance, and a hilarious “instructional” video on how to open a door.

“I have a hard time hanging out with groups of more than two or three people, so the first time I knew I was coming to Montreat, I went to a friend who showed me all she knew, even the energizers, which she hated,” Owens told the crowd of mostly first-time attendees. “Now, Montreat has become a special place for me, sometimes feeling more like home than my home.”

“No matter my own fears and doubts, God is already in this place, with possibilities I can’t even imagine,” she said.

“I remember those times I was afraid to walk through those doors because I was afraid of the real me and was afraid to let the other kids know the real me,” Laney recalled of his first Montreat Youth Conference.  Then, recalling the fearful disciples hiding in the room after Jesus’ crucifixion, Laney reassured the crowd that, like then, Jesus is with them now, encouraging them: “Peace be with you … Receive the Holy Spirit.”

The Rev. Patrick Laney, associate pastor for youth and families at First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa, AL, is co-keynoter for week three of the 2008 Montreat Youth Conferences. Photo by David Ealy

“We know how to open the door,” Laney said. “But we’re afraid of what’s outside the door, like those disciples.” What gives us the courage to open the doors is not our own will, but the desire of God to know us and “the life that Christ has given us,” he added. “You really don’t want to miss the possibilities God has in store for you.”

We hide behind doors of fear, doubt, expectations, peer pressure, Owens said. “But God has never let a locked door get in the way of God’s possibilities,” she added, recounting the story of Jesus meeting the women outside the empty tomb.