Begin IYC Experience Early: Try NAC 2012!

April 30, 2012

By Carl Stagner

From the same team of students and staff that bring you the incredible International Youth Convention, come five awesome days of worship, fun, and life change just fewer than two weeks before IYC. Before thousands of students ascend to the mile-high city in early July, students from across the country will already be drawing closer to God as a result of their participation in the youth activities at NAC.

For 125 years, Church of God people have come together to worship the Lord and get equipped for ministry. Many come back every year because NAC is the highlight of summer. They will tell you that nothing compares to being in one place with believers from around the world. Even the children and youth can point to the difference Kid’s Place and youth-ins have made in their lives. This may be the perfect year for you (or your youth) to give NAC a try.

From sports to water wars, from inspiring worship services to conferences designed exclusively for students, NAC 2012 promises to thrill and renew. Charlie Holcomb, IYC intern, says his favorite NAC activity is Monday afternoon’s “Oasis.” “It’s a time where we pull out a bunch of water activities and get to know the students. Many don’t really get to do a whole lot of stuff like this unless they go to a summer camp. We want to give them the opportunity to experience these thrills at NAC.”

For IYC intern Lainey Priddy, the youth worship services are worth anticipating. Did you know you can get a sneak peek of the IYC2012 High School Band at NAC? After the convention in Anderson, “they’ll be going straight from here out to IYC to lead worship there,” Priddy explains. “I’m looking forward to getting to know them, as well as seeing the kids from churches around the area and from different states worshiping all together. It’s a really cool thing.”

IYC intern Tyler Williams is excited for the student conferences that will be held Monday and Tuesday mornings. “We’ve got the IYC High School band to lead worship for us,” he explains, “and then Kristi Knight, an intern at Madison Park, will be the speaker. I’m really excited to hear her come speak and share what God has on her heart.”

If you’re a student who comes to NAC and you haven’t yet experienced the student activities, make it a point to participate this year. Priddy recalls some years when a student has come with a puzzled expression, as if to say, “Why am I here? Or, why did my parents drag me to this?” She recalls that “by the end of the week, they’re a completely different person, and they make a lot of friends—friends with people they didn’t even know a few days ago.”

Before the convention draws to a close, students will have the chance to reach out and make a difference. The IYC students and staff are working with United Way to set up a service project, through which students can show God’s love to the community. “It inspires a servant’s heart,” Holcomb says. “It’s the example Christ has set for us.”

There’s even an event planned just for pastor’s kids and missionary kids (PKs, MKs)—laser tag! Priddy urges pastor’s kids to attend. “It’s really cool to get to know kids who have a similar background to you. Whenever you’re in your hometown, you might feel like you’re the only one, but when you come together, it’s a really cool time. You know you’re in the same boat. You don’t have to talk about it, but it’s enough just to know.”

Students, would you like to jump-start your IYC life-changing experience? Come on out to Anderson, Indiana for the 126th North American Convention of the Church of God, June 22–27. To register for NAC and the PK/MK retreat, visit www.chog.org/NAC. To view the schedule of youth activities at NAC, click here.