I just got back from volunteering at the Passion ‘05 Conference in Nashville. The conference dealt with God’s renown - a word not often used today in society. Renown is a fame that is eternal, everlasting.
This is what I can tell you: I got the chance to interact with over 11,000 students who were smiling, courteous, and respectful. These same students ‘dug deep’ at the end of the conference and gave over a substantial offering to TSUNAMI relief efforts. And several - even a great deal of students - are going to dedicate their lives helping others. None of the speakers highlighted their own accomplishments or their own ministries - they just kept pointing students toward God’s renown.
There were a few critics who pointed out the students had to pay for the conference. This was mentioned by Giglio on the last day of the conference: Passion does not make ANY money from these conferences. They make nothing, not one extra dollar. They break even. How’s that for financial stewardship?
Here’s a little excerpt from a press release about the conference:
Mobilizing students to reach the world and its people groups and challenging them to live out the 268 Declaration http://www.268generation.com/268generation/>; was the focus of Passion ‘05. Passion founder Louie Giglio told students that the message of Passion was not done.
Encouraging students to seek their role in the bigger story of God, students were given the opportunity to learn about 52 mission organizations in the Mobilization area in the conference’s Go Center, as well as obtain valuable ministry tools in the Resource center. Students also participated in Community/FamilyGroups, General/Breakout Sessions, the 24-hour Prayer room and Graffiti room.
“I hope there is no measure of how Passion ‘05 will affect my own life,” says Lane Wood, a Passion ‘05 attendee and recent graduate of Middle Tennessee State University. “As I walk away from the event and begin the process of living out the truth God has taught me, I know that the words of the main speakers will frequent my thoughts and the snapshots of the thousands of excited young adults in that arena will be an encouragement to me for the months to come. I pray in the same way that the ripples of this conference will be far reaching and deeply penetrating into Nashville, this nation, to the tsunami victims in Southeast Asia, and to every people group around the world.”
(more…)
