By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Louisiana Baptist youth and adult leaders are gearing up for the 35th anniversary of the Youth Evangelism Celebration, a statewide assembly focused on preparing the next generation to share Christ with the world.
Scheduled Nov. 20-21 in the Rapides Parish Coliseum, Alexandria, YEC will continue its storied mission of changing lives and equipping students with the necessary tools to share their faith with their classmates.
“Since its beginning in 1988, the heartbeat of YEC is the Gospel,” Louisiana Baptist Youth Strategist Brandon Lewis told the Baptist Message. “The two-fold goal has been to share the Gospel’s message of salvation through Jesus and to equip teenagers to share the Gospel in their hometowns. Each session is designed to accomplish this goal and an opportunity to respond is offered. All of this is packaged in an exciting event and gathers youth groups from across the state.”
Since 2,100 students attended the first YEC held at the Rapides Parish Coliseum in 1988, the event has grown to be the largest annual gathering of Louisiana Baptists. While Alexandria has hosted the event the most, YEC also has taken place in Haughton, Kenner, Lafayette, Pineville and Shreveport.
Notable past musical acts have included Mercy Me, Audio Adrenaline, Skillet, the Newsboys, Zac Williams, For King & Country and Crowder.
One of the most challenging years took place in 2020, when COVID-19 attendance restrictions caused the event to move to three smaller gatherings. The three gatherings drew a combined 1,100 students and resulted in 69 students making some type of faith decision.
Over the years, more than 8,000 participants have made spiritual decisions, including more than 3,000 who surrendered their hearts and lives to Christ.
“We have prayed over YEC 2022 for an entire year, and we are super excited to see everyone in Alexandria,” Lewis said. “Join us as we continue to pray and make final preparations.”
Throughout this year’s two-day event, Louisiana Baptist teens will be challenged to celebrate what Christ has done in their lives and to share their stories of how Christ changed their lives. Furthermore, they will be engaged in multiple ways to experience a message about Him:
— Shane Pruitt, National Next Gen Evangelism Director for the North American Mission Board, will share evangelistic messages;
— Rush of Fools will lead worship in song;
— Jared Hall will be emcee and entertainer; and
—We Are Messengers, an award-winning Contemporary Christian artist, will close YEC with a concert.
During the Monday afternoon session, Pruitt will teach students a clear, practical way to share the Gospel. After completing YEC, participants will be equipped to share the Gospel with their peers throughout the state.
This will be the sixth of a multi-year rotation to equip students with various tools and their own testimony to share Christ. Those who began the training as seventh graders during the 2016 YEC will be familiar with seven different evangelistic tools by the time they are seniors.
“We fully intend to have a blast at YEC,” Lewis said. “But if that’s all we do then we’ve missed our purpose. We really want to see students return to their hometowns excited to share Jesus and equipped to do so in a clear and compelling way. That’s what YEC is all about.”
Beginning Nov. 1, Louisiana Baptists can find a YEC daily prayer guide on the event Instagram (@labaptistyouth) and Facebook pages (@louisianabaptiststudentministry). YEC kicks off Nov. 20, 7 p.m., and is scheduled to end Nov. 21, 10 p.m. For more YEC information, visit labaptistyouth.org/yec.
