c. 2005 Religion News Service

NASHVILLE, Tenn. _ With a pop band on stage and more than 11,000 young adults singing along, the scene looked more like a concert than a worship service.

But the band and audience were singing praises to God at Passion ’05, a four-day event in this city known as the “Buckle of the Bible Belt.” The event, which concluded Wednesday (Jan. 5), drew high school and college students from across the country and eight foreign nations to a downtown arena where the NHL’s Nashville Predators play hockey.

Featuring Christian bands and nationally known speakers, Passion ’05 was designed to invigorate campus ministries nationwide by building enthusiasm among the most faithful students. It was among the largest assemblies in recent years that have fed a surging youth interest in Christian spirituality.

“We really see a movement of college students who really want to live for God in a significant way,” said Matt Morris, a volunteer program coordinator for the event.

The passion behind Passion ’05 came from Louie Giglio, who in 1996 left his ministry at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and founded Choice Ministries. Choice has been the parent organization for similar events across the country, including OneDay, which drew some 40,000 students in 2000 for a single day of prayer in Memphis. Organizers say the events are inspired by Isaiah 26:8, which says “your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.”

Choice Ministries also is a parent organization to a record label with four Christian artists. Seven albums inspired by the Passion and OneDay events together have sold more than 1.2 million copies.

In Nashville, students sang and swayed as the label’s artists _ Charlie Hall, David Crowder Band, Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman _ performed amid a swirl of lights and video images. The students in turns cheered and prayed as Giglio joined John Piper and Beth Moore, both authors and speakers, to address the crowd.

Students gathered in smaller groups to discuss Scripture and pray in sessions that were led by pastors and campus ministers from across the country. For some, these groups ended with hugs and tears.

Chuck Phillips of Cafe 1040, an organization that trains missionaries, was looking for recruits. He said he was struck by the number of students who at such a young age already had plans for a life of international mission work. He said students are even choosing college majors such as computer science and construction because they want skills they think will be valuable to the work force of a country, such as China, that does not welcome full-time missionaries.

Phillips called Passion ’05 just a small representation of what is happening coast to coast.

“It’s just scratching the surface,” Phillips said. “There is a huge movement afoot on college campuses. These are just the ones who were able to get here.”

(OPTIONAL TRIM FOLLOWS)

Some students are choosing a life of ministry because, unlike previous generations, fewer are expected to follow their parents’ career paths, said Michael Devall, 24, a graduate student in accounting at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, La.

He attended Passion ’05 with a group from his church.

“Our lifestyles aren’t set for us,” he said. “We just don’t know what the future holds for us, and so conferences like this help us answer those questions.”

Lane Wood, 23, attended church with his family as a youngster in Carnegie, Okla., but felt a stronger nudge to ministry while studying the recording industry at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. He graduated in August and traveled to East Asia to do mission work. After four days of worship and prayer at Passion ’05, he was overwhelmed.

“You walk away thinking, and you can’t stop thinking,” he said. “It will take the next several days to unpack what I’ve learned.”

MO/PH END RNS