Students worship together during a time of high-energy praise music at the 2023 Youth Evangelism Conference, which was held this year at three sites: First Baptist Church, Bartlett; New Vision Baptist Church, Murfreesboro; and First Baptist Church, Concord.
FRANKLIN — Even if the travel distance was short, the spiritual sustenance will surely go a long way for the students who took part in the 2023 Youth Evangelism Conference.
Hosted at three regional sites across the state — thereby cutting down on the mileage for many youth groups — the annual event drew a total of nearly 3,000 attendees and celebrated 80 professions of faith. There were also 15 students who responded to calls to the ministry.
This was the second year that YEC was held at multiple sites. Prior to the change, YEC had traditionally been held at one central location (normally a venue in downtown Nashville) during most of the event’s 50-plus year history.
“It’s been fun to watch the dream of our regional approach come to life over the past two years,” said Jay Barbier, youth specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. “We simply want to make it easier for our local churches to be able to attend an event that is focused on Jesus and offer students an opportunity to hear the gospel.”
Students gather in the concourse during YEC 2023.
He said God’s presence was felt at each of three venues that hosted YEC.
“We watched students come to know the Lord, and we even saw a youth leader make a profession of faith,” he said. “We also saw attendees flood the altar at the response time to pray. It was awesome to watch.”
The regional sites for the 2023 event included:
• First Baptist Church, Bartlett, which hosted the West Tennessee event on March 3-4 and drew 950 attendees representing 74 churches;
• New Vision Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, which hosted the Middle Tennessee event on March 10-11 and drew 1,600 attendees representing 101 churches; and
• First Baptist Church Concord in Knoxville, which hosted the East Tennessee event on March 24-25 and drew 400 attendees representing 31 churches.
Barbier
“The biggest reward for all of us — in terms of the regional approach — is that it has allowed us to minister to churches all across Tennessee,” Barbier said.
This year’s YEC was especially meaningful for Barbier, who has been battling cancer for more than two years.
“It has been incredibly special to me after going through everything I’ve gone through,” said Barbier. “I missed two of the three events last year due to chemotherapy and a weakened immune system. It was difficult not being able to attend and not being able to watch the hard work unfold. But YEC 2023 has been such a great reunion. It’s been so good to be back with students and their leaders.”
Students and leaders come to the altar for a time of prayer during YEC.
Barbier noted the change to regional sites has been challenging in some ways, but said the decision was made after much prayer — and some unexpected circumstances.
“The pandemic helped pave the way for us to think outside the box and run with this idea,” he
YEC 2023
said. “There are certain things that I miss about doing one event in one weekend. But I’m grateful that we now are able to give every church an option that can fit in their schedule.”
This year’s lineup of speakers included evangelist and author David Nassar and evangelist Garrett Wagoner, founder and president of Garrett Wagoner Ministries.
“Our preachers were on point,” said Barbier, “and they delivered very timely messages centered on Jesus and the HOPE that He gives humanity.”
Christian hip-hop artist Tedashii shakes hands with students during his concert at YEC.
The event also featured Christian hip-hop artist Tedashii Anderson (known to most simply as “Tedashii”), who is a member of the hip-hop group, 116 Clique, and has also released five solo albums. Worship music was led by Journey Worship Co., who serve at The Journey Church in Lebanon.
“The students really enjoyed the energy from our concert with Tedashii,” said Barbier, “and our worship team — Journey Worship Co. — was amazing. They brought us to the throne of grace and each set with them was some of my favorite theologically-driven experiences through music I’ve ever been a part of.”
Barbier said he sensed from the students in attendance that they were not only longing for Christian “togetherness” — which was, of course, mostly absent during the pandemic — but that they were also craving something even deeper.
“It was apparent to me that students today are longing to see a mighty movement of God,” said Barbier. “And we’d love to think that this helped make that happen.” B&R
