A throng of young people gathered around makeshift altars in the Rush City (Minn.) High School gymnasium after two survivors of the Columbine High School shooting shared their testimonies and challenged the audience not to take life for granted.

"It was so real," Becki Olseen, 16, says of the "Littleton Meets Minnesota" outreach to teens. "Here were people who lost 13 people at their school and they almost lost their lives — that really got to me."

Nancy Swanson, youth pastor at the Assembly of God, Pine City, Minn., says more than 2,000 heard the Littleton message.

Olseen acknowledged making a Christian profession before she attended the March outreach, but her faith had been waning due to peer pressure and apathy. However, since the night of the event, she says, her heart and attitude have changed and she is "totally focused on God."

Others had similar reactions to the gathering that promised to tell the real stories of how triumph came out of tragedy. Bill and Sheila Hanson took their children so they could hear what the students from Littleton had to say.

"We had no idea it was a revival," Hanson says. "We thought it was just the kids from Littleton coming to talk about what happened. But my husband decided to go at the last minute and it changed his life."

Bill Hanson had struggled with alcohol before attending the event, but Sheila says he broke free after making a commitment to Christ as he sat in the bleachers watching the program.

"He has not touched alcohol since that night," Sheila says. "Our family has completely changed."

After Columbine students Lauren Beyer and Heidi Johnson gave their testimonies, 17-year-old Josh Weidmann of Littleton preached a salvation message.

"The wave of God’s power just seemed to build as Josh gave one of the most convincing cases for following Christ I have ever heard," says George Halama, founder of Scarlet Circle Ministries, which partnered with Pine City A/G to produce the event. "When Josh gave the invitation the entire altar area filled backing people up into the aisles."

"It was powerful to see the reaction of the kids," says Gary Johnson, pastor of Pine City A/G. "The power of the Lord brought the people to the altars."

Nancy Swanson, youth pastor at Pine City A/G, says more than 2,000 heard the Littleton message. Of those, 100 made decisions to follow Christ as their Lord and Savior for the first time and 150 more rededicated their lives.

"We wanted to do this because this is a hard area to bring the gospel to," Swanson says. "Most of the kids don’t know about altar calls, but when they went forward they dropped to their knees. It was awesome to see hundreds of people get on their faces before God."

Following the event, Pine City A/G started a youth ministry called "The Gathering" at a local restaurant that went out of business. Every Monday night teen-agers come to listen to Christian music, play video games, eat and meet other youth.

Swanson has a team of teen leaders who welcome visitors and pray for those in need. "It’s a hook to get us talking with the kids," she says. Since the ministry began, several have made a Christian commitment.

— Kirk Noonan