YouthLink 2000, a Southern Baptist sponsored millennial celebration for youth at the end of December 1999, resulted in more than 15,000 public decisions for Christian service and reached 46,081 young people at a total investment of $9.3 million, final figures show.
Financial accounting on the seven-city event was completed in early August, indicating participant registrations accounted for $2.7 million of that investment, with the balance of $6.6 million invested by denominational sponsors. LifeWay Christian Resources provided 43.89 percent; the International Mission Board, 37.85 percent; the North American Mission Board, 15.52 percent; and Woman’s Missionary Union, 2.74 percent. The Dec. 29-31, 1999, event involved young people meeting in arenas and conference centers to worship and listen to speakers and musical groups emphasizing the need to reach the world with the gospel. They also participated in hands-on missions activities.
Gatherings in Anaheim, Calif.; Atlanta; Denver; Houston; Philadelphia; St. Louis, Mo., and Tampa, Fla., were linked by satellite for special features. Live satellite feeds from the Holy Land were included several times during the conference.
A total of 9,131 students made decisions saying that they were willing to be missionaries if God called them, and 4,985 said that they felt God was calling them into full-time Christian ministry.
In addition, more than 4,000 promised they would spend a summer, semester or year doing God’s work fulltime before they graduate from college. North American Mission Board officials reported increases in several youth summer mission programs this year, and the International Mission Board anticipates growth in 2001, when groups will have had time since their YouthLink experience to plan international projects.
While organizers had hoped for nearly 200,000 youth, budgeting for the event was based on 132,000 participants. The lower-than-expected turnout was attributed to fears of Y2K-related computer problems, prompting many parents and churches to avoid youth activities involving travel surrounding New Year’s Day.
James T. Draper, president of LifeWay Christian Resources, said he believes “the investment by our denomination of $143 for each of these young people for a three-day conference represented a commitment to the future of the Southern Baptist Convention. I regret that so many others missed this opportunity out of Y2K fears that proved unjustified.”
(BP)
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