Nearly 2,500 attend Youth Conference

Almost 2,500 Christian youth from across the province descended on Gander recently for Youth Conference (YC) 2009.

Dean Brenton, director of YC Newfoundland, said the weekend proved successful in offering an opportunity for young Christians to come together for the 10th time.

"It exceeded our expectations. There was a great turnout, great excitement, and the event ran smoothly," he said of YC, held Oct. 9-11 at the Gander Community Centre.

The event gave Christian youth a chance to mingle with one another and listen to a variety of guest speakers. There was also lots of music to take in, with performances by American Christian rock band Kutless, Canadian groups Starfield and Revolution, and Newfoundland and Labrador singer-songwriters Matt Maher and Gary French.

"We want this to be a significant spiritual encounter for them," said Mr. Brenton. "A weekend where they can get together with other Christians and worship, hear good keynote speakers, and take part in workshops.

"But beyond the event, we hope everybody who comes finds something significant that they can feel a part of after it's done - whether that's doing something in their school, volunteering in their community, or mission work around the world."

In a province with many small communities, YC gives young Christians the opportunity to realize they are not alone in their faith, said Pastor Mike Freake of Gander. In a society that is becoming more secular by the minute, this can seem not so apparent to them.

"I've been a youth pastor now for 13 years, and over that time I've witnessed young people becoming challenged in their faith. I guess the society we live in is more pluralistic than ever before, and faith is challenged all the more," said Pastor Freake.

Four of the 10 YCs have taken place in Gander, and Mr. Brenton said over that time, participants have done a lot to foster community development.

They have raised $250,000 to go towards mission projects around the world, donated $20,000 worth of non-perishable food items to food banks, and helped build a house as part of the Village of Hope in Malawi.

This year, they have sponsored the construction of wells to provide clean drinking water in developing countries, and also reached a milestone by sponsoring their 500th child through the Compassion Canada program.

"The event has really taken on a life of its own in the sense that it goes beyond those three days - there's a lot of things that are happening year round," said Mr. Brenton. Fittingly, the theme of this year's event focused on the word 'beyond,' encouraging those in attendance to reach out within their community and globally.

This year, YC is looking to help get the ball rolling on introducing the Teen Challenge program to the province. The program aims to offer help to teens dealing with drug problems through faith-based interventions. During the event, YC took an offering of $30,000 to go towards implementing the program in this province.

Pastor Freake, who served as the point person for recruiting volunteers in Gander and making sure everything was ready for the arrival of attendees, said a lot of work went into hosting the event.

"We had lots of volunteers, and we had lots of help," said Pastor Freake, noting 60 helpers came from his church alone.

YC 2010 will be held in Gander, Oct. 8-10.