By Chris Moon
Christ in Youth is looking forward to what could be a record-breaking summer—a welcome change after two years of depleted attendance because of the COVID-19 pandemic.Â
“We’re back up to full steam this year,” said Jayson French, president of the Joplin, Mo.-based youth ministry group.
CIY is planning 51 student conferences for high school and middle school students that span 10 weeks this summer. Attendance could climb as high as 50,000 students, which would be a record, French said.
That’s a breath of fresh air compared to the past two summers.
All of CIY’s 2020 conferences were canceled during the first year of the pandemic.
Last year’s attendance was down about 40 percent as CIY grappled with the lingering effects of COVID-19. CIY couldn’t host conferences at venues in some cities because of stringent health protocols there.
This year, more than 1,000 students are on a waiting list, hoping to get into a MOVE or MIX conference for high school and middle school students.
“We’re locked out of bed space at venues all over the nation,” French said.
CIY still is taking COVID-19 seriously, requiring churches to pre-screen students for symptoms prior to leaving home, French said. Youth ministers are asked to rapid test students if they exhibit symptoms during an event. All students with positive results will be sent home.
Still, French said COVID-19 no longer seems to be top-of-mind for youth pastors.
“Nobody’s really talking about it much anymore,” he said.
And venues aren’t putting strict health protocols into place this summer, which means CIY has returned to some regions where it could not host conferences last year.
“We’re pretty wide open,” French said.
HIGH INFLATION
This year’s “return-to-normal” is not normal in at least one way, however. CIY is facing inflation pressure, which has driven up the hard costs of each conference.
CIY operates eight to nine tractor trailers as it shuttles equipment to venues across the nation. Diesel prices have skyrocketed this year.
Other prices also have increased—from flights for speakers and staff to the electronics CIY uses for its productions.
CIY set its prices for this summer’s conferences back in August 2021, before various price increases had taken hold. CIY has vowed not to increase prices this summer “out of love of the church,” French said.
“We’re just eating it,” he said. “While we will have record attendance, we’ve been hit really, really hard by inflation. We are absorbing tremendous costs.”
CIY likely will raise prices for its 2023 slate of events, and French said the organization welcomes churches or individuals who would like to become regular donors to help offset costs.
A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE
Now, as CIY hopes to return to the growth curve it was experiencing before the pandemic, the organization is looking toward the future.
French said CIY is focused on three goals moving forward: increasing the number of events and locations it serves, raising up vocational ministers for the church, and ramping up its virtual production capacity.
CIY has received at least one large donation from a church to help it hold conferences in new locations. Doing so requires additional staff and gear.
CIY also has set a goal to raise up 3,000 ministers between now and 2030 as it recognizes many baby boomer pastors are retiring.
“We’re sensing a huge void right there,” French said.
Meanwhile, CIY is looking into how it can be a force for the gospel in the “metaverse”—reaching into online communities with the truth of Christ.
“We’re actively working on what the content will look like [in the metaverse] and what ministry will look like,” French said.
In each of these three areas, CIY is seeking financial resources to support its work.
“We have got to get ahead of the game,” French said. “Growth is good, but as a lot of our churches know, growth is hard.”
Chris Moon is a pastor and writer living in Redstone, Colorado.
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