First-ever Nashville Youth in Action conference held on campus in December

Andrew Glass | 

Lipscomb University announces it will host the first ever Youth in Action (YIA) youth rally Dec. 28-30, drawing high schoolers from the Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Jonesboro, Ark., areas as well as Tennessee for a three-day spiritual experience.

Youth in Action rallies throughout the Southeast, coordinated by the churches of Christ, draw thousands of teens each year. The Lipscomb weekend is a first-time merging of three separate youth conferences: YIA-Tuscaloosa, Ala.; YIA-Jonesboro, Ark.; and the annual Resolution youth conference held at Lipscomb, to become the first YIA-Nashville rally.

Resolution has consistently brought large groups of over 300 high school students and youth workers to Lipscomb’s Shamblin Theatre. With the addition of YIA- Tuscaloosa and Jonesboro, the conference will move to Allen Arena to accommodate a larger crowd. The weekend event is expected to draw 800-2,000 students, volunteers and workers.

The registration fee is $35, which includes two lunches. Interested groups can click here for more information or to register.

YIA-Nashville, will be a three day endeavor with morning and evening worship gatherings in the arena. Numerous classrooms on campus will be used for lectures and workshops, covering a variety of topics in spiritual life formation. There will also be a work/service project for students’ participation taking place in the Nashville community.

The keynote speaker for the weekend is Mitch Wilburn, preacher of the Park Plaza Church of Christ in Tulsa, Okla. He has been a featured guest previously at Resolution and at Impact summer youth conferences. Matt Elliott, worship leader at Campus Church of Christ in Norcross, Ga., will be leading worship for the conference. He has also been formerly involved with Impact and YIA-Tuscaloosa.

Steve Davidson, director of spiritual outreach at Lipscomb, describes the vision for YIA-Nashville 2007, which comes from a passage in Isaiah:

“We were looking at a verse where Isaiah talks about true fasting and feeding those who are spiritually hungry. Many teenagers come here feeling oppressed and they are hungry for the love of Christ. We want to bring the good news that can leave them feeling refreshed and with the joy of the Lord.”

Lipscomb is spearheading the event, providing the financial cost it takes to put on a large conference like YIA.

“The school has been very generous with providing a location and covering the cost of the weekend,” Davidson said. “We feel that the conference will pay for itself, but it’s wonderful that the university is providing for this important cause.”

Chris Harrell, youth minister at Southwest Church of Christ in Jonesboro, has been involved with YIA-Jonesboro for the last five years and will continue to be very active in the year's YIA at Lipscomb.

“The Lord continues to provide opportunities for this particular ministry and it’s truly a blessing to see our congregations and a school like Lipscomb caring about the gospel being breathed into our young people,” Harrell said. “It is our prayer that God continues to pour out his blessing and providence over this conference.”