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| Tuesday, June 24, 2008 |
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Youth Head to Texas for IYC
Church of God Ministries, Church of God - General
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By Kevin Stiffler
 From all across North America and around the world, thousands of teenagers and youth leaders will converge on San Antonio, Texas, for the 46th International Youth Convention of the Church of God, July 14–17, 2008. The goal of IYC is to create moments for life change, raising up a new generation of Christ-centered leaders.
The International Youth Convention of the Church of God began in 1924 as a simple “youth day” during the annual Anderson camp meeting. In 1930, the first separate youth convention was held. Since that time, the biennial gathering has been held in various cities across the United States, as well as in three provinces in Canada.
Because of IYC, many young men and women have made life-changing decisions. In the last three conventions alone, thousands of teenagers have pledged to remain sexually pure, thousands have gone to the prayer room to get things straight with God, and hundreds have indicated a sense of a call to full-time ministry or missions.
Since 1992, IYC participants have given back to the host city with a project day. It is estimated that $500,000 worth of volunteer labor has been given so far. Approximately sixty-three thousand pounds of garbage was picked up in one city alone. But the giving goes far beyond the city limits of the sites where IYC is held. Since 1998, over four thousand IYC attendees have done missions work in ten different countries as a part of their IYC experience.
IYC also helps to nurture in teenagers a giving heart and a lifetime focus on helping others. Since 2002, convention participants have given over $375,000 in offerings to Spread the Word, a program through which teens can help fund tools for evangelism around the world. These funds are now being used on six different continents.
IYC2008 attendees will be led in worship by Chris Tomlin and Charlie Hall. Tomlin’s undeniable energy is charismatic and contagious as he seeks to raise his voice to God with worshipers so that they share God’s presence together. This will be Tomlin’s fourth consecutive appearance at IYC. Charlie Hall is a contemplative and confident artist, always on the journey of defining and questioning who he is and who God is. Hall crafts songs that resonate deeply with his listeners.
Convention participants will be challenged in the Word by speakers Efrem Smith, Becky Tirabassi, Louie Giglio, and Steve Fitzhugh. Adult leaders will receive ministry training in a special seminar led by Chap Clark, a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary and highly acclaimed resource for community, adult, youth, and family conferences.
Let’s be in prayer together for a great move of God at IYC2008. Go to www.IYC2008.org for more information and updates.
A version of this article appears in the Wednesday, June 25, 2008, edition of the NAC roundup/08 newsletter. To view the newsletter in its entirety, click here (1.98 MB). The document is in PDF format and requires Adobe Acrobat in order to read and/or print it. If you do not have Acrobat installed on your computer, you can download a free copy of Acrobat Reader here.
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