A stampeding crowd of young adults raced to get close to the stage on Tuesday night for youth worship.

“I sprinted and pushed people to get to the front,” said Dustin Miller, from Bonneyville Mennonite in Bristol, Ind. “You get a better experience and feel more connected when you are in the first row.”

The second evening service brought the actor Ted Swartz to the stage with the theme “Reconcile…What?” Swartz, who writes and performs under his traveling theater group, Ted and Co., opened and closed the message with skits.

Swartz’s own life experiences as an actor helped to bring his message to life. “An actor is someone who is on a journey to find something greater than themselves,” said Swartz.

Swartz integrated humor into his skits while also speaking on the larger theme of forgiveness.

He outlined three requisites for reconciliation: be present at all times, listen and have empathy.

“I liken it to a field that hasn’t been plowed,” Swartz said. “It hasn’t been broken or scarred, so things can grow. We only get to reconciliation by making mistakes.”

Both of his skits incorporated the inevitable disagreements that come with close relationships. Swartz touched on his own experience of reconciliation in relationships.

“My own story of reconciliation is still in process,” said Swartz. “If you don’t feel like you have it inside of you, maybe you need to get up and move. If there’s someone you need to reconcile with, go to them.”

Other worship highlights included an Irish step routine by Talashia Keim Yoder and singing lead by Jeremy Kempf, who incorporated both hymns and praise songs.

Many youth worshippers found Swartz’s message easily relatable to their own experiences.

“Reconciliation means to accept one another for their differences,” said Jesse Kauffman, from Bryn Mawr, Pa. “The skits showed me that small things can affect relationships. Reconciliation should help you come together and stay friends.”

Nia Custis from Maryland, said, “It’s not always easy to forgive and reconcile. If you don’t reconcile, you’re without God. Without God, you’re nothing.”