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by Sigrid Stark
It's big, it's loud and it's full of teenagers - 15,000 of them. They gather annually to learn about God and to worship Him. He shows up, too. And He changes lives.
YC 2003 "Believe" is scheduled for May 30 to June 1 at Skyreach Centre in Edmonton and it promises to be the biggest YC yet. Thousands of tickets were sold within a few hours of going on-line in early February and some 14,700 were sold as of mid-April.
Kids from across Western Canada and a few from as far away as Ontario wanted good seats for major Christian artists such as Third Day, Delirious?, and tobyMac. But they are also coming for fellowship, fun and a close encounter with God.
Featured speakers such as Mike Pilavachi of the United Kingdom, founder and leader of a youth organization called Soul Survivor, will also encourage and challenge the young people about the lives they are living.
YC Director Mike Love estimates that thousands of kids have committed their lives to Jesus Christ through a YC weekend. Unabashedly Christian, the conference, which crosses denominational lines, has grown from 500 to 15,000 in less than a decade.
Worshipping in the crowd this year will be some of the kids whose lives were changed at previous YC conferences. Kids like Sol Walters of Edmonton. Sol's mom, Fiona, is amazed at the change in her 16-year-old son's life since he attended YC last year.
"If anyone says there is no God, I tell them to look at my son," says Fiona. "Sol's proof of God's power."
Sol is more modest in his view of himself. "I guess my attitude has changed the most - I'm more positive now." He remembers walking into Skyreach with his friend and seeing thousands of kids worshipping God. "I'd been to church a couple of times before, but I've never seen anything like that before, there were so many kids there."
While he doesn't recall any favourite speakers or bands, Sol found it a great place to hang out and feel accepted. He also learned that it's possible to have a personal relationship with God.
"In one of the sessions the speaker said, 'Who wants to give their life to God?' " recalls Sol. "Something inside said 'hey, me' and I stood up and prayed a prayer to ask Jesus in my heart."
It marked the beginning of a new life for Sol.
Before YC, his mother was very concerned about him. "Sol wasn't happy about the situation in the family and tried to commit suicide," Fiona shares. "Thank God he was unsuccessful. He used to be a big intimidating kid who bullied his sister. Now, he tells her that he loves her. This is a kid you want to be around."
Shalene, Sol's 13-year-old sister, was frightened of her 240-pound, six-foot-three brother.
"Sol used to boss me around," says Shalene. "My mom worked and Sol made me do his chores and stuff. If I didn't do it he'd threaten me. He's twice my size so I was scared. I ran away to my friend's house three times."
When Sol came home from YC she also noticed a difference. "He told me about God and that God loved me. He apologized for the way he'd treated me. Now I know God is good," says Shalene. "I became a Christian about a week after Sol apologized."
Shalene is looking forward to attending YC with Sol this year.
Sol hopes that other young people will discover the love and acceptance of God and others at YC. "It's nice being in a place where everyone's O.K. with who you are," explains Sol. "[YC] is a good place for Christians to hang out and have a good time. It's a safe place for non-Christians to see what's going on without getting preached at."
Joses Martin, the friend who invited Sol to YC, says, "Before YC Sol was an atheist. He was having trouble in school. He's always been a thinker. He wanted truth and answers. It's really awesome to see him now."
Today you can find Sol playing drums in McKernan Baptist's Youth Praise Band. He took up drumming about a year ago. "I guess God's blessed me with a skill in this area," says Sol.
Prior to attending YC in 2001, 16-year-old Apryl Morrison knew certain things in her life weren't going well. "I was hanging out with a friend that was getting into the wrong way and dragging me along. She tried forcing drinking, smoking and drugs on me."
Apryl was a Christian before she attended YC but featured speaker Joshua Harris' talk helped her realize that her life needed to change - and that God could help her do it. "I re-dedicated my life to God. The next day my parents and friends noticed that I was different. Even my non-Christian friends noticed that there was something different."
Not being able to pinpoint the change, they asked her if she'd changed her hairstyle. She told them, "I was at YC and God changed my life. They shrugged it off, but ever since then they've been asking me questions."
"Now I have a group of good friends in my youth group (West Edmonton Christian Assembly). They're a blast to hang out with. You don't have to put on a façade to be with them."
Sadly, the friend Apryl used to hang out with has dropped out of school with a Grade 9 education and continues to live a self-destructive life. "If I hadn't have gone to YC, I'd be close behind her," says Apryl.
Garrett Gillespie used to feel afraid in crowds. "It was weird at YC, it wasn't the same as a normal concert. Even though the crowd was huge, everything was orderly. There is an amazing power that brings everyone together."
The 18-year-old from Red Deer, who says he grew up in a non-Christian home, started feeling depressed because he felt left out in Junior High. "There was this pressure in my school to do bad things. I didn't want to drink and party all the time. People would sort of shun me because I didn't fit into that crowd. I was unsure of myself."
Then he met Holly Hagen in Grade 9. "She invited me to go to church with her. I went because it would make her happy. I respected the teachings and morals, but I wondered if there really was a God."
Garrett struggled with his beliefs. "I was stubborn and skeptical. My grandmother was dying of multiple sclerosis. I wondered how God let this happen to such a great person."
Holly continued to invite him to youth events, including YC, but he still had doubts. "Then (speaker) Miles McPhearson said, 'What do you have to lose? God can make a difference in your life.' When I saw the crowd unified in prayer it was a convincing moment for me. I pushed aside all the questions. I thought I could figure them out later - this is my chance, so I prayed.
"I felt so much energy and light. It almost felt physical," Garrett recalls of the moment he invited Christ into his life.
Immediately he felt connected to the people around him and the God who just entered his heart. "You could feel the love between the whole youth. I actually worshipped for the first time," he says.
Today Garrett is interning as a youth worker at Unity Baptist Church in Red Deer. He plans to marry Holly and attend Bible School with her. This year they'll be going to YC as leaders. Garrett is especially looking forward to worshipping with Delirious?, the band that came on just after he accepted Christ.
For those attending YC for this first time, Garrett advises, "Open your heart to experience God and get into a relationship with Him. YC is a time of discovery for yourself. It's not about the music; it's about having your life changed."
Extreme Fun
Ever tried Human Bowling? How about Euro Bungee?
To balance the challenging messages and inspiring music heard at Skyreach Centre, kids can venture across to the Agricom for some physical activity and extreme fun.
Games organizer Randy Young explains why it's important to have these games available. "Kids have highly intense experiences at YC. The games give them a chance to relax. Not all kids are at the same stage, some just need to have fun and let off some steam."
These games aren't your typical backyard variety. There will be eight half courts for basketball, three-on-three floor hockey and games you have to suit up for, like Sumo Wrestling and Big Bout Jousting. Wannabe rodeo champs can try out the mechanical bull. The vertically unafraid might want to try the Clear Climb.
Human Bowling involves strapping someone into a large version of a hamster exercise ball. The player is then sent rolling by a group of people into giant bowling pins. Extremely fun, kids say.
Organizers will rely on 400-450 volunteers throughout the weekend. Young will be looking for 40 volunteers 21 years of age or older for the indoor games hall alone. Registration forms can be found on-line at www.ycgeneration.com.
The games are included in the price of admission for the weekend. Young doesn't want to give away too much information about this year's new attractions. His only hint is that it will involve hockey.
Young comments on the purpose of every YC activity: "Our hope and prayer is that we direct everyone one step closer to God. It doesn't matter that they don't know God at all or they already have a deep relationship with Him. They can all get closer through YC."
by Sigrid Stark
Whoever said rock music and God can't mix hasn't been to YC.
This year's YC, like those in the past, will feature some of the biggest names in contemporary Christian music.
Returning for a second year in a row will be tobyMac, aka Toby McKeehan. Branching out from his Grammy-winning years with dc Talk, tobyMac's eclectic hip-hop-based music is garnering recognition across the music spectrum.
His solo debut, Momentum, earned a Grammy nomination for Best Gospel Rock Album and nine Dove Award nominations, including Artist of the Year, Rap/Hip-Hop/Dance Recorded Song of the Year and Long Form Music Video.
Although he's reached significant milestones in his career, Toby has a central goal that keeps him focused. "I want to live Jesus every day - not only through my art, but in my life ... every day of the week," he says.
Third Day, one of Christian music's most popular bands, will be making their YC debut in 2003. The five member group has collected 16 Dove Awards, had 18 No. 1 radio singles and sold more than three million records. In February 2003, the band won their first Grammy for Best Gospel Rock Album for Come Together. Newly released Offerings II - All I Have to Give is already nearing Platinum status. They won Group of the Year at the 2003 Dove Awards and were listed twice on Pollstar's Top 100 Tours list for 2002.
While they may be compared to The Tragically Hip, Pearl Jam, or Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Atlanta-based rockers are 100 per cent God centered. Lead singer Mac Powell comments: "Worship is not a fad. It's a genuine movement of God to bring us closer to Him."
Bass player Tai Anderson adds, "We want to take the opportunity music gives us to shift the focus toward God each night on stage. Sometimes it's great to just step aside and watch Him show up. That's when amazing things start to happen."
Award-winning Tree63 will be making their first YC appearance. Their self-titled album was nominated for a Dove Award in the Rock Album of the Year category. At home in South Africa, their music has hit the top of the mainstream charts with tunes "A Million Lights," "Stumbling Stone" and "Treasure."
Skyreach will be also be throbbing with the music of Skillet, described as a combination of grunge, rock, pop, industrial and new wave, sounding something like Collective Soul. Skillet's "Vapour" was been nominated for a 2003 Dove Award for Hard Music Recorded Song of the Year.
Returning to YC is the U.K.'s Delirious?. Recalling the band's previous YC appearance, lead vocalist Martin Smith says, "What stands out for us is the passion and excitement of all the young people who meet for the event. We always love coming to Canada and are continually amazed at how welcomed we are made and how much people enjoy being part of what we do."
Those who have seen Delirious? in concert are sure to remember "The Happy Song" and "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever." The band has a passion for YC-like worship experiences since it was a similar type of event that brought the group together over a decade ago in England. They soon learned what drew thousands to their concerts.
"What the kids wanted was not only two hours of worship but also something new and dynamic," drummer Stewart Smith recalls. "It (coming to church) wasn't about rules anymore, it was about how God changed my life."
The band, with its U2-like sound, toured the United Kingdom with Bon Jovi and matchbox twenty in the summer of 2001. Pollstar reported that their date at RDS Arena in Dublin was the number four box office draw and number three in attendance figures internationally during that reporting period. In 2002, the band did five dates with Bryan Adams to sold out crowds.
"These are very interesting times," multi-talented instrumentalist Tim Jupp comments. "We've learned that faith and music can make a big different in people's lives. There's a spiritual openness out there, and many are seeking reality. Delirious? provides them the message that Jesus is real."
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