Some faith looks real on the outside, but collapses the moment pressure shows up.

In Acts 19, Paul is walking in genuine power, and even ordinary items connected to his ministry become vessels for extraordinary miracles. But then the seven sons of Sceva try to use the name of Jesus like a formula, casting out demons with a borrowed faith. The response from the enemy is terrifying and revealing: “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about… but who are you?”

This message is a wake up call for a generation surrounded by imitation spirituality. From astrology and crystals to manifesting and counterfeit “peace,” the world offers substitutes that look convincing but leave people bound. Real freedom comes from a real encounter with Jesus, not religious performance, not emotional moments, and not living off someone else’s relationship with God.

God is calling us to be the real thing. A faith rooted in His Word. A life marked by repentance. A walk empowered by the Holy Spirit. Because Winterfest doesn’t end when you leave the room. It starts when you go back home, back to school, and back into real battles.

Are you real… or counterfeit?

Brian Lindsey walks through the story of King Josiah in 2 Kings 22 to confront a struggle many believers quietly live with. It is not that we reject Jesus. It is that we try to follow Him while holding on to everything else. Josiah was born into a culture where worship of God existed alongside idols. The temple still stood. Sacrifices were still made. But false gods had been given space inside the very place meant for the presence of God. In the same way, many of us live with Jesus in our lives while allowing other things like culture, sexuality, comfort, and addiction to share the same space in our hearts. Everything begins to change when the Book of the Law is discovered during the renovation of the temple. Before idols were destroyed in the nation, something first broke in Josiah. It was not behavior modification that brought reform. It was a word from the Lord that changed him from the inside out. This message is a call to stop trying to mimic Jesus from a distance and start following Him with a surrendered heart. True transformation does not come from trying harder. It comes when God speaks and something finally breaks. Because before Josiah ever tore down an idol, he first encountered the Word.

Markus McFolling calls a generation to stop living around Jesus and start reaching for Him. Opening in Luke 8, he highlights a simple but piercing truth: family in the Kingdom is not built on familiarity or Bible knowledge alone, but on hearing God’s Word and doing it.

Then he turns to the woman with the issue of blood and reframes the story for everyone in the room. Issues are not always visible, but they are real, and they don’t get healed through self-help, hustle, or hiding. After 12 years of isolation and disappointment, her faith finally breaks through the crowd. One touch. One moment. Immediate healing.

Markus challenges students to stop letting labels define them. Jesus does not call her “unclean” or “the woman with the issue.” He calls her “daughter.” The encounter doesn’t just restore her body, it restores her identity.

With raw honesty about anxiety, panic, pain, and the fight for freedom, Markus invites anyone carrying heaviness, depression, suicidal thoughts, or secret struggles to step out of the crowd and into an encounter with Jesus. Tonight is a call to get hungry again, trust God’s Word, and refuse to stay stuck in what has been bleeding you dry.

Javaris Wright challenges a generation to stop waiting on someone else and become the answer God is raising up in this hour. Anchoring the moment in 2 Kings 23:25, he points to King Josiah and the power of one surrendered life in the middle of a collapsing culture.

Judah did not fall overnight. Years of compromise, idols, and spiritual confusion stacked up under Manasseh and Ammon, but God responded by raising up an unlikely leader. Josiah was only eight, surrounded by darkness, yet he chose the Lord with all his heart, soul, and strength. God did not overlook the problem and God did not overlook the person. God saw. God chose. God sent.

Javaris calls students to tear down the idols that keep revival at a distance. Lust. Pornography. Premarital sex. Hidden compromise. He reminds the room that the Holy Spirit is not only power to worship, but power to live right. The same God who transforms a nation can transform a home, a school, and a future.

With personal testimony and a clear invitation to respond, he urges every student to move beyond emotional moments and step into real transformation. This is a call to be marked, to live holy, and to carry what God did here back into everyday life.

Eli Bonilla Jr declares that we are living in a God moment and that this generation cannot afford to pretend anymore. In a world filled with confusion, emptiness, and darkness, he calls young people to stop settling for sideline Christianity and step into real Holy Spirit power.

Sharing a deeply personal story from his church in San Antonio, he recounts the tragic loss of a young man named Cross whose final written word was “overflowing.” In the middle of grief, in the back of a crack house, the gospel was preached and hundreds responded. What the enemy meant for evil, God turned for good. The message is clear. Light does not wait for darkness to leave. Light shows up.

Drawing from Genesis 1 and Acts, he reminds the room that the same Spirit who hovered over the waters and raised Jesus from the dead now lives in believers. God is still saying, Let there be light. The call is for a generation marked by audacity, a holy attitude against the enemy, and bold action fueled by the Holy Spirit.

This is not about hype. It is about overflow. It is about becoming light in dark places and refusing to settle for survival when God has called you to victory.

Manouchka Charles challenges Northeast Winterfest 2026 to lean into God’s presence with expectation and to carry what happens in the room back into everyday life. She shares her own Winterfest story and reminds the room that encounter moments matter, but what you do after the encounter matters just as much.

Walking through Acts 9 and Saul’s encounter with Jesus, she explains how salvation can happen in a moment, but transformation is proven over time. The call is to move past emotional highs and step into real evidence, where new habits replace old cycles and a life with Jesus shows up in character, choices, and consistency.

She closes with practical steps to solidify what God is doing: repent with honesty, walk in accountability, witness by sharing your story, and commit to growth through scripture, prayer, and discipline. The challenge is clear. Do not leave with only a memory. Leave with fruit. Leave with evidence.

Justin Graham challenges a generation to wake up spiritually and stop making peace with sin. Drawing from Romans 13 and Revelation 2, he confronts the idea that someone can stay active in church, serve faithfully, and still tolerate compromise in private. Jezebel becomes a picture of seduction, corruption, and spiritual drift, exposing the lie that hard work for God can cover up hidden sin. With urgency and boldness, he calls believers to repentance, not as a word of shame, but as the turning point that breaks bondage and restores intimacy with Jesus. Holiness still matters. The Holy Spirit still empowers. Eternity is real. For anyone stuck in compromise, returning to old patterns, or living spiritually half awake, the call is clear. Wake up. Get out of the enemy’s bed. Run back to Jesus.

In this message from Acts chapter 3, Brian Lindsey challenges students to think about what life looks like after a powerful encounter with God. Just like the man who was lame from birth and carried every day to the gate called Beautiful, many people learn how to survive but never learn how to walk in freedom. This sermon draws a clear distinction between being helped and being healed. It confronts the voices, relationships, and cultural influences that shape direction, identity, and decisions, and asks one honest question. Who is carrying you? Through the story of Peter and John, this message reminds listeners that Jesus did not create them to live dependent, stuck, or spiritually carried from moment to moment. He created them to rise, to walk, and to follow Him. If you have been leaning on the wrong influences, circling the same struggles, or living off spiritual leftovers, this message is a call to stop being carried and start walking in the life Jesus has given you.