Have you ever felt the nervous excitement and anticipation for an idea you’d never tried before? Do you know that feeling? That uncertain, but hopeful possibility that a new and fresh approach might be exactly what you were looking for?
If so, then you might understand how we feel about YouthQuest 2024. This summer, from July 18 through the 21st, YouthQuest will pivot to a new venue, location, and day pattern—an approach we’ve never tried before. It’s an exciting opportunity for our local churches, youth groups, our institutions, and for this event. This summer, we will host YouthQuest on the campus of Emmanuel University.
This pivot comes with some incredible potential! This move will offer our local churches the opportunity to send students to this impactful leadership development event at nearly half the cost of previous years. This year, the cost of registration will include on-campus housing (for up to 500 students and leaders), meals, and all the YQ/FAF events and activities at one price. Plus, we’ve shortened the day pattern to make it easier for parents and families to attend or send their teams; beginning on Thursday and concluding by Sunday at lunch, we’ve shaved a day off the event and packed it with even more value for our youth groups.
Oh… and did I mention the concert on Thursday night with Christian music recording artist Hulvey?! It’s gonna be great!
Moving our event to the campus of one of our universities puts us right in the sweet spot of being able to serve our youth groups and local churches, while also capitalizing on a unique opportunity to build stronger relationships within our IPHC community. Not only will students get a firsthand look at a Christian university campus, but they’ll also get a sneak peek at living in a dorm, eating in a collegiate atmosphere, and seeing the value of a Christ-centered, secondary education. It promises to be a huge win for our church and our movement!
Perhaps the biggest win in this pivot is the opportunity to position our NEXTGEN leaders in the presence of God. It is interesting to note in the Old Testament how even geography matters when it comes to the presence of God; consider ancient sites like Bethel, Peniel, Mizpah, and Jerusalem. All of those ancient places became synonymous with transformative encounters with God, and like so many generations before us have experienced, we believe our universities can be those places for our teens, too.
Plus, we are pumped this year to offer our very first athletic leadership track. In previous years, our leadership training has focused on Fine Arts, and developing ministry leaders for the local church. This year, while we will continue to raise up ministry leaders through Music, Message, Media, and Movement, we also acknowledge that many of our students also have an interest in sports, and want to be trained as athletes who are Christ-followers. Given that our universities have strong athletic programs, we couldn’t wait to make the connection! We believe we have some incredible athletes in our local churches, and we want them to have the opportunity to grow as a disciple while they’re learning fundamentals in their sport. This year, we are recruiting coaches and college athletes from our universities to offer workouts, drills, pick-up tournaments, and leadership development labs for Middle School and High School athletes in the IPHC. This athletic leadership track promises to add another facet to the work we’re already putting into developing our leaders for the next generation.
We hope all of our churches, families, and leaders will consider sending their teams and youth groups to Emmanuel University this summer to encounter the presence of God at YouthQuest. As for us, we pledge to provide opportunities for growth as ministry leaders, athletes, and disciples of Christ—and we’re pulling out all the stops. If you’d like more information, check out our website, and the registration links. We want to see you this summer in Franklin Springs, GA!
Rev. Stephen Jones currently serves as the Pastor of Student Ministries at Whitnel Pentecostal Holiness Church in Lenoir, NC. In 2002, Stephen earned a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Christian Ministries from Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, GA. In 2008, he completed a Master’s of Divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC. Since 2002, Stephen’s full-time ministry to teenagers has spanned two IPHC Conferences, three IPHC churches, and numerous IPHC summer camps. Stephen currently occupies the Leadership and Skill Development Portfolio under the Student Ministries Advisory Team. His areas of expertise and responsibilities include:
– Leading, teaching, structuring and programming for leadership and ministry-skill development.
– Advising the team about current developments, resources, and trends related to leadership and ministry-skill development, especially as they relate to youth leaders and youth ministry.
– Serving as a resource for other leaders, especially in the area of leadership and developing leaders.
