Louie Giglio speaks on ‘knowing God,’ helps kick off CFAW

Louie Giglio, pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta, Ga., and founder of the Passion Conferences, spoke at Friday’s Convocation about the difference between knowing about God and knowing God Himself.

Giglio spoke to a packed Vines Center, which included nearly 2,000 guests visiting for Liberty’s College for a Weekend. CFAW is a time for prospective high school juniors and seniors and their parents to experience Liberty by attending classes, staying in residence halls with Liberty students, and attending various campus events.

Giglio began by encouraging the guests to choose Liberty. “I just want to say it,” he stated, “come to Liberty.”

Giglio also shared his testimony with students, explaining how he came to know Jesus in his first year of college. He, too, faced the challenge of wanting to experience Jesus in all areas of his life without neglecting his studies. Giglio, who flunked out of college twice, challenged students to give their best to God.

“I was confused that my education had to take a backseat to my passion for Jesus.” He said. “It was only when that flipped around did things really kick in for me and I understood that for me to be the person that God wanted me to be — I know you get this at Liberty — I needed to be equipped in the very best way possible.”

For Giglio, the difference between “revelation and information” is the difference between hearing about the beauty of Mount Rainier in Washington State and seeing it for himself. Until he had experienced its grandeur first-hand he did not fully comprehend just how marvelous it was. “There must be a time in life where the spirit of the living God opens up our gaze,” he said, “and the Jesus we know about, read about, and talk about becomes alive to us”.

Since 1997, Giglio has organized and led the Passion Conferences and Passion Movement, the purpose of which is “to see spiritual awakening come to the college campuses of the nation and the world.”