Tonight was not the first time youth worship turned into a dance party, but Greg Boyd was still surprised when he looked out over the energetic crowd at Saturday evening’s worship service, the finale of convention week.

“I’ve been in a couple of Mennonite church services, and none of them look like tonight,” Boyd told the near-capacity crowd, as youth spilled into the aisles and pushed towards the stage, jumping up and down. Responding to the energy of the crowd and adding his own, Boyd, who is the senior pastor at Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minn., and is known for his dynamic and engaging presentation style, recognized the Anabaptist youth as a distinctive group.

“You are part of a Mennonite tradition that is unique and rare and something the world is hungry for,” he said. “I’m not a Mennonite, but maybe some day I will be!”

Boyd urged the crowd to remember that the Holy Spirit lives inside and works through every Christian. “You are the temple of God,” he told the youth. “Jesus wants people empowered by God’s own presence in their lives.”

In telling his own story of an abusive childhood, Boyd questioned whether the church today has become numb towards the movement of the Spirit similar to the way he had felt towards his step-mother. “God’s talking,” he said, “but the question is, are we listening?”

A passionate Boyd concluded his speech by challenging listeners with three tips.

The first was to “remain awake.” He said, “Every second of every day God is closer to you than your own skin.” Boyd said. He urged youth to practice being in the presence of God every day.

Secondly, Boyd told listeners to ask God for guidance. Every morning, he begins his day with a prayer: “Holy Sprit, this day is yours. What would you have me do?”

Finally, Boyd asked the audience to act as they feel led. “We tend to think everything that goes on inside of us is our own doing,” he said. “God will often call you in inconvenient ways, but it is in your best interest to say ‘yes’.”

Adding that “normality is way overrated,” Boyd told the audience to look for “kingdom coincidences” in their lives — the unexpected ways that the Spirit calls Christians to faithfulness. “Sometimes God encourages you to walk on water.”

Boyd concluded his message with a prayer, telling God, “we give you permission to bug us.”