Jóvenes for Christ grows despite founder’s death
ABILENE, TEXAS — More than 240 campers gathered at Abilene…
73rd National Youth Conference completes, unifies churches
Youth groups across the nation come together to play, perform and worship.
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
OKLAHOMA CITY — More than 400 young people — from preschoolers to college-age — and 100 adult sponsors stayed in campus dormitories for the 73rd National Youth Conference at Oklahoma Christian University.
Attendees represented 41 predominantly Black Churches of Christ from 16 states — the weeklong event’s highest attendance in five years.
Related: Jóvenes for Christ grows despite founder’s death
Youths came together to hear speakers, worship and play games such as table tennis, football and pool. Church leaders competed against the campers in a softball game — the adults won.
Ramon Hodridge serves as the senior minister for the Lawrence and Marder Church of Christ in Dallas. He attended the National Youth Conference as a child.
Ramón Hodridge
Now, as the conference’s chairman, he handles security, disciplinary issues and event insurance. Outside of his convention work, Hodridge works as the project lead for student experience at Dallas College, one of the largest community colleges in Texas.
Hodridge, a 2002 graduate of Abilene Christian University in Texas, intentionally invites youth groups from congregations that do not have nearby church neighbors.
“I’ve encouraged them to come to our events so that their youth can engage with other youth,” Hodridge said. “The fact that we are separated into multiple congregations doesn’t make us multiple churches. Rather, we are one church split into multiple congregations.”
“I try and do more things that help us show unity,” he added.
‘We’re here to serve God’
The conference had eight sessions throughout the week, all expanding on the theme “Standing on Business,” inspired by Ephesians 6:10-17 and Generation Z slang. The main song of the week was “How Shall the Young Secure Their Hearts?”
“Stand on business this week,” Oklahoma state Sen. Nikki Nice said during the opening session on Sunday.
Oklahoma state Sen. Nikki Nice speaks at the National Youth Conference.
“When you go out in the community, when you go back home, show them who you are,” added Nice, who was invited to share her expertise as a community leader.
Conference counselors didn’t have to wait until the kids got home to see their response.
Related: An empty tomb — and a packed convention center
“We have our invitation after the lesson is done, where we make a call out to our kids to come down and seek prayer if they need it,” said Robert Jackson, a counselor for teens from the East Side Church of Christ in Austin, Texas. “We’ve had at any given night, at the very minimum, 50 to 60 kids come down.”
Jackson has attended the conference since he was 13 years old. He said he likes to give back and help incoming youth attending the conference have a similar experience to what he had.
Attendees at the National Youth Conference play softball.
“I work with a great team,” he said. “It’s been really good working with great counselors and … being able to see it come full circle.”
Brittany Blair, also from the Eastside congregation, attended the conference in her youth. Her transition from camper to counselor means she’s watched the same campers grow and mature.
“Everyone here has one mindset: We’re here to serve God. We’re here to serve people.”
“You get to see your people that you’ve made connections with and the relationships you’ve built at the conference,” Blair said. “Everyone here has one mindset: We’re here to serve God. We’re here to serve people.”
The second evening of the conference, several students got on stage and formed a panel — a tradition Hodridge said they adopted based on evaluations from participating churches.
Michael Greene, a biblical studies major at Oklahoma Christian University, speaks at the National Youth Conference.
“The youth asked for it,” Hodridge said. “Sometimes it’s easier to hear from your peers than it is from someone my age or older. It did very well with the students.”
The panels gave students a platform to share their experiences with a broad audience.
“If they don’t have an answer, they can be like, ‘Hey, we don’t know this, that’s a good question,’” Hodridge said. “Then, one of us older people can go up and respond. It’s not like we’re leaving them out there just to sink or swim.”
Christ on a stage
On the conference’s fifth night, campers came together in Oklahoma Christian’s Baugh Auditorium for a pageant.
In preparation for the big night, the conference required the 14 participants to send three recommendation letters and an essay of at least 100 words describing why they should receive one of the conference’s four sought-after titles. Once on stage, the youths gave a short speech on the conference’s theme and presented their talent.
Makayla Todd, a 16-year-old from the West Oak Grove Church of Christ in Hernando, Miss., won Miss National Youth Conference.
Makayla Todd, a 16-year-old from the West Oak Grove Church of Christ in Hernando, Miss., compelled her audience to imagine a world where every young person stood boldly in their faith.
“This is the world we can create when we stand on God’s business,” Todd said in a speech that won her the event’s Miss National Youth Conference title.
“Let’s make sure we’re serving the right Christ, not some wolf in sheep’s clothing that’s got you enticed.”
“Let’s make sure we’re serving the right Christ, not some wolf in sheep’s clothing that’s got you enticed,” she continued in her talent, a soliloquy.
Jayden Moore, 15, from the Greeneville Avenue Church of Christ in Richardson, Texas, won the Mr. National Congeniality award. During his speech, he described his embarrassment at his parents making him use a flip phone.
Jayden Moore, this year’s Mr. National Congeniality, describes how a flip phone helped his confidence.
“I would turn my back and hide it when I had to send someone a text message,” Moore recounted. “But thanks to those jokes, and that temporary humiliation, I was able to strengthen my armor. I do not care what people think of me.”
Moore’s flip phone gave him the grit he now credits for sharing his faith.
“When I worship God, I do it without hesitation. Thanks to this (flip) phone, I have no problem telling them about a verse that I like, praying at lunch or even reading my Bible openly.”
“When I worship God, I do it without hesitation,” he said. “Thanks to this phone, I have no problem telling them about a verse that I like, praying at lunch or even reading my Bible openly.
“I feel protected from persecution with my armor.”
The National Youth Conference chorus performs at this year’s event.
For his talent, Moore played the guitar and marimba and sang.
“One way that I stand on business,” Moore said, “is by using the talents God has given me to connect with my culture.”
ANDREW RENEAU is a summer intern for The Christian Chronicle. He is a senior multimedia journalism major at Harding University in Searcy, Ark. He is a member of the Memorial Church of Christ in Houston and has attended Camp Bandina both as a camper and as a counselor.
