Christ In Youth

Christ In Youth (CIY) is an organization, based out of Joplin, Missouri, that specializes in connecting young people with Jesus Christ. CIY believes that God is opening doors to incredible opportunities them to minister to this generation of students. It is their vision that one million teenagers will have a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ through CIY during this decade. A Christ In Youth conference or event is a special place where young people can come to experience God and His Word in a way that is relevant and transforms their lives. CIY is committed to providing students and leaders with life changing experiences that will affect hundreds of thousands of teenagers during the next few years.^[1]

History

In 1968, Bob and Nell Stacy were led by the Holy Spirit to develop a ministry that would adapt to the needs of youth in the American culture. Bob Stacy, who was then an Ozark Christian College professor, answered the call to develop Christ In Youth. Within the first few years, volunteer students led CIY by conducting youth rallies and high school assemblies. In 1970, CIY held its first summer conference in the Kiamichi Mountains in Oklahoma, which had 585 students in attendance. That next year its attendance doubled. Within the next couple of years CIY projects that it will be reaching more than 50,000 students and leaders through the 100+ programmed events.^[2] In the first several years of CIY's existence, it focused primarily on conferences and events for high school students, however in the 1980s, the ministry began looking at new ways to encourage the church. CIY began to open the gates and develop new events such as youth leader training, urban and international mission trips, service projects, preteen, middle school, high school, and college geared events. In 2008 Christ In Youth celebrated its 40th anniversary. Christian Standard

Belief of CIY

Doctrine Belief

Christ in Youth believes that the Bible is the fully inspired Word of God. Faith in Jesus and obedience to His teachings are essential for salvation. Jesus is fully God. Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died a death of atonement on a cross, was bodily resurrected, and is coming again in judgment of all men. Heaven and Hell are literal, as taught in the Bible. CIY is committed to the restoration of New Testament teaching, principles, and practices.^[3]

Mission Statement

Christ In Youth (CIY) exists to connect young people with Jesus Christ. The mission at CIY is to provide opportunities for young people to experience God and His Word in a way that transforms lives. CIY's mission is accomplished in three ways: through conferences, service projects, and mission trips for young people as they stand at the crossroads of their lives and through training and resources for the adults who work with them.^[3]

Divisions of CIY

Christ In Youth has several different conferences and programs for a variety of ages, from 4th graders to adults, that reach churches around the world. The different programs are as followed from youngest to oldest : SuperStart!, Believe, MOVE, KnowSweat, Engage, and Wilderness. Each of these programs are designed to reach a specific audience and provides relevant work for the targeted age group.^[4]

Superstart!

SuperStart is a two-day event put on by Christ In Youth that is specifically for pre-teens. During the event, SuperStart wishes to provide avenues for age-appropriate worship, relevant teaching, drama and fun. You can expect the weekend to be filled with Biblical teaching, worship, enthusiasm, small group opportunities and off-site recreation.^[5] SuperStart tours around the United States during the Fall and Spring seasons. SuperStart travels to around 10 states per year, those locations are generally; Missouri, Michigan, Florida, Kentucky, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana. SuperStart is the nation's biggest Christian preteen event.^[6]

Believe

Believe is a two-day event specifically created for jr. high school students only. Believe tries to make each weekend filled with high-energy worship, Biblical teaching, and one-on-one interaction. Christ In Youth believes that two days at Believe will change the lives of the students in attendance. Believe feels that it has the best jr. high speakers in the country, drama elements perfectly crafted for the age-appropriate messages, and a worship experience that engulfs the students in a community encounter with Christ. Believe is committed to the community and life change that it believes small group interaction brings. Throughout the past several of years Christ In Youth Believe has brought in artist and entertainment such as: Robert Pierre, The Rubyz (Joy Williams),^[7] Eric Timm, Foundation Red, 321 Improv Comedy, Brent the Stunt Guy, Hetti Marie, Untitled Skateboards, Bob Smiley and many more. Believe has also brought in speakers from around the United States that were specifically focused on preaching to the jr. high age group. Believe travels to over ten states throughout the Spring to reach many middle-school teens. Some of those locations include cities such as; Anaheim, Tulsa, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, Orlando, Arlington, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Holland, Portland, and Baltimore.^[8]

MOVE

Formally known as Summer Conference, MOVE is a 5-day high school only event held all over the country, designed to amplify the call of Christ in the student lives to become Kingdom Workers for the sake of the Gospel. MOVE is held at college campuses across the nation and brings in lights, sound, and speakers. Christ In Youth designed MOVE to be a high school only culture with no "junior high drama". It is designed to bring "Truth, Fresh, engaging, and energizing biblical messages." This summer CIY expects over 30,000 students on 5 different continents to follow Christ because of MOVE. Students who are going into ninth grade or just graduated high school are welcome to attend, as well as the adult sponsors. Some of the locations MOVE is held are as follows: Milligan College, Anderson University, Hope College, Fort Lewis College, Johnson Bible College, Lee University, University of Scranton, Southern Illinois University, Biola University, and Oregon State University. Since the beginning of MOVE, it has brought in many popular musical artists as well as other comedic entertainers. Some of the artists are: David Crowder Band, Aaron Pelsue Band, Caleb Miller Band, Taylor Mason, Matt Bayless, Mark Moore, and many others.^[9] The past couple of years, MOVE has been partnering with an organization called Rapha House, which is to prevent sex trafficking around the world, specifically in Cambodia. Christ In Youth gave $60,000 that was raised by teens all across the country that attended Christ In Youth. Rapha House is a refugee house from woman who were caught up in sex slavery to find shelter and a safe home. MOVE also partners with many different colleges around the United States. Each year, colleges and universities across the nation partner with Christ in Youth in support of CIY programs. We encourage you to check out these schools online or stop by their booths at one of our events to speak with a representative at one of the MOVE events. The list of partnering colleges are: Cincinnati Christian University, Florida Christian College, Great Lakes Christian College, Hope International University, Kentucky Christian University, Milligan College, Anderson University^{[disambiguation needed ]}, Southwestern College^{[disambiguation needed ]}, Boise Bible College, Central Christian College of the Bible, Johnson Bible College, Lincoln Christian College, Manhattan Christian College, Mid-Atlantic Christian University, Nebraska Christian College, Ozark Christian College, Saint Louis Christian College, and William Jessup University.^{[10] [11]}

KnowSweat

Know Sweat is a program of Christ in Youth located in Joplin, MO that began in 1995 with a single week of work projects. At that time it was called Jr. High Service Projects and was designed only for junior high students. Things have changed since those early days but the focus on service projects remains strong. Know Sweat has expanded the number of locations available and offered opportunities for senior high students to serve as well. Know Sweat still amplifies the call of Christ for junior and senior high students to be kingdom workers through age appropriate work projects. Life change occurs when the hearts and minds of students are challenged to demonstrate their faith in God and love for Jesus Christ by meeting the physical needs of people at a week of Know Sweat service projects. In 2010 Know Sweat will offer 16 summer service project trips in 10 cities in the United States. There are six junior high only and 10 junior and senior high weeks that are intentional and age appropriate at all levels from programming to project assignments.^[12]

Engage

Christ In Youth has been participating in short-term mission trips with students for 25 years. In 1985 Steve Sigler led the first trip to Haiti with what was then called CIY Missions. Since then, thousands of students have partnered with CIY to impact the Kingdom in 37 counties worldwide on more than 325 trips. In 2010, CIY Missions officially changed its name to “Engage” to better encompass the spirit of the program: Engaging the Kingdom of God throughout the world. Engage exists to give students opportunities to see what God is already doing in their own backyard and around the world. Through these short-term experiences youth will be placed alongside men and women promoting and proclaiming the Kingdom of God through different industries (church planting, poverty alleviation, healthcare, business, etc.). Its prayer is that God’s call on student lives will be amplified while they engage God and His Kingdom throughout the world. As a part of the entire organization of Christ In Youth, Engage is positioned to support the local church in showing and telling students who God is and what He is doing all around us. Engage is about learning, seeing, and experiencing the work of God in our lives and in the lives of others. Engage is about preparing students for being conduits of mercy, service, and justice as a result of what Jesus has done and is doing in and around them. Engage believes that God is using youth all around the world now. Some of the locations the Engage goes to are; Atlanta, Los Angeles, Cambodia, Honduras, Mexico, Brazil, China, Buffalo, Chicago, Toronto, Seattle, Ecuador, Panama, Pittsburg, Washington D.C., New York City, and Romania. ^[13][14]

Wilderness

Wilderness is 5 days in the Rocky Mountains for youth leaders only. During the time in the Rocky Mountains the youth leaders discuss things that matter most in ministry, while practicing rest, solitude, and listening to God, as well as growing closer to each other in a "spiritual way". At Wilderness there aren't any crowded convention halls, seminars, or informational booths, just the open air. Wilderness is a retreat for youth leaders that focuses on digging into the heart of why they feel called to be where they are. There are separate trips taken for men and women in youth ministry.^[15]

References

1. ^ http://www.weamplify.com/
2. ^ http://www.christianstandard.com/articledisplay.asp?id=640 Christian Standard
3. ^ ^{a b} http://www.ciy.com/about
4. ^ http://www.ciy.com
5. ^ http://www.christianstandard.com/articledisplay.asp?id=641
6. ^ http://www.ciy.com/superstart
7. ^ http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/news/2008/04/22.iSHINE%20PARTNERS%20WITH%20CHRIST%20IN%20YOUTH%20BASED%20IN%20JOPLIN%20MO%20TO%20MEET%20NEED%20IN%20TWEEN%20MARKET.asp
8. ^ http://www.ciy.com/believe/philosophy
9. ^ http://www.ciy.com/move
10. ^ http://www.ciy.com/collegepartners/
11. ^ http://www.koamtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10389552
12. ^ http://www.ciy.com/knowsweat
13. ^ http://www.ciy.com/engage/
14. ^ http://www.shorttermmissions.com/org/christ_in_youth?handle=christ_in_youth&STM=1e061b3e59e96f327583f65c3c4f828d
15. ^ http://www.ciy.com/wilderness/men/