By Chakara Bennett, Guardian Summer Intern

Are you distressed every time you hear that someone has been murdered, raped, robbed or is reported missing? Is it evident now more than ever that times have changed so drastically that the once mundane activities of going to the store, bank or simply walking home alone from work or school are activities not to be indulged in without major precautions and consideration?

Does it break your heart that the times have expired when you could leave your house open or trust your neighbors to prevent and inform you of mishaps with your home and children? Do you wonder why these things are happening and what we can do to alleviate this shockingly progressive moral deterioration in society? These are the days we are living in, and the only comforting or distressing answer to your fears is that the fulfillment of the prophecy of Jesus' return is sooner than you think. If such news and sad realization make you want to re-focus your life, draw closer to God and discover his purpose for your existence in such weary times then it is time for you to attend a serious reconnection session.

The Bahamas Faith Ministries (BFM) 12th annual ASAPH 2008 worship conference is the perfect opportunity for you to refine and refocus your religious worship and beliefs. The conference, under the theme "Rediscovering the Purity and Power in Kingdom Worship" which will be facilitated by Dr. Myles Munroe, got underway yesterday and will conclude on Saturday, May 10 with a final prayer and charge session.

One of the main purposes of ASAPH this year is to teach people how God wants them to worship and what he expects. It is an advanced leadership training conference and hopes to help guide and redirect people's lives in the path God wants for them. ASAPH hopes to marry the natural gift people have with the actual purpose that God intended for them. In this way their gift is enhanced to its full potential.

ASAPH is the brainchild of Pastor Mark Bethel. He says that the idea for the conference began in 1990 during a meeting in which he walked away with the seeds to form a serious conference planted in his heart.

"I didn't want to create a generic worship conference that you can find just anywhere. I wanted it to be unique and special to The Bahamas. Therefore five years were spent going to different conferences around the world and to many meetings. The end result is what you see now, an overwhelmingly successful program that people from all over want to attend."

Bethel says this year's conference is a timely response to the crime, violence and misled youth in the country. They hope to reach out and touch many by reminding them that we need to return to prayerfulness and true worship if we are to have hope at all. "This conference is not built on empty promises and ideals. It's main focus components are power, purity, praise and prayer through the Kingdom perspective."