- By Ashleigh Murr, Staff Writer -
Are you involved in a Christian ministry on campus? Do you enjoy Christian speakers and worship music? If so, the 2020 Passion conference is a great opportunity for you and your campus ministry group. It will be in Georgia’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium (home of the NFL Atlanta Falcons). According to CBS Sports, the next big event taking place there is the superbowl, showing the prominence of this location.
The Passion movement was started in 1995 by Louie and Shelley Giglio out of a desire to see young people come together and lift the name of Jesus. According to the Passion website, 268generation.com, the movement is “rooted in the confession of Isaiah 26:8 [‘Yes, Lord, walking in the way of Your Truth, we wait eagerly for You, for Your name and Your renown are the desire of our souls.’]” and “exists to glorify God by uniting students in worship, prayer and justice for spiritual awakening in this generation.” The mission of the Passion conference is “calling students from campuses across the nation and around the world to live for what matters most. For us, what matters most is the name and renown of Jesus.” The first gathering of 18 to 25-year-olds for an event was in 1997 and has happened annually since.
In early January of 2019, forty-thousand 18 to 25-year-olds attended the 2019 Passion conference. These attendees were split up among four locations: the State Farm Arena and Infinite Energy Center in Atlanta, The Theatre at Grand Prairie in Dallas and The Anthem in Washington D.C. The locations all came together each session via video conference and hosted many amazing speakers and worship-leaders. Christine Caine had a powerful message on the evening of Jan. 3 in which she called believers to have and demonstrate faith that amazes Jesus.
In another session, Ira, a young girl from the Philippines, shared a testimony of the impact the Deaf Bible Society has on her life and community. This ministry exists to “reveal the hope of the gospel in Jesus Christ, so that every deaf person has the opportunity to receive, experience, and share it,” according to the Deaf Bible Society’s website. The 40,000 young adults in attendance, many being financially struggling college students, raised $448,270 for the Deaf Bible Society, according to both Fox News and Blaze Media.
The conference, for me personally, was filled with life-giving community and spiritual focus as I went into the new year. I saw and spoke with other Meredith students with their own groups while at the conference and received positive feedback regarding their experiences at the conference. With my church’s young adult ministry, I went to the D.C location. Outside of the conference’s scheduled time for sessions, it was a great travel experience. We were able to explore downtown D.C. and get the full experience by commuting on the metro.
Remember, you could take part next year. The next conference will bring up to 83,000 young adults in 2020. The Passion conference will be held from December 31st to January 2nd. The tickets are on sale now on the Passion website: 268generation.com/passion2020/. It will be awesome to be a part of an even bigger gathering of believers, hearing amazing speakers and worship-leaders.