Passion Conferences "OneDay 03"

Passion Conferences OneDay gathering that was held in May of 2000 was the largest collegiate gathering of its kind in over 25 years, drawing more than 40,000 college students from all over the world. On Memorial Day Weekend, May 24-27, 2003, a completely new generation of college students will be able to experience this great event during OneDay03.

To be held on a private 400-acre ranch near Sherman, TX, OneDay03 is a solemn assembly, gathering college-aged people in worship and prayer for spiritual awakening in this generation. Hosted by Passion Conferences, the event will begin May 24 and build to the focal point, OneDay, on May 26. Prior to the final closing session Tuesday morning, May 27, various well-known worship leaders, bands, and speakers will lead the students gathered at OneDay03 through movements of intercession, celebration, confession, reflection, adoration, and repentance.

OneDay03 is opened to all those in the 18-26 age range, as well as graduate students, adult leaders, and students entering their senior year in high school. Detailed schedule and registration information can be found at www.oneday03.com, with discounts for early registration by January 31.

The theme of OneDay03 is quite simple yet powerful: God is amazing. Unrivaled. Glorious. Louie Giglio, Passion Conferences founder/director said that in large measure His praise is absent from the campuses of the nation and the world. Our desire is to see God magnified in this collegiate generation. That simple heartbeat fuels the vision for OneDay03.

OneDay is a belief that some things never change, continues Giglio. It is a conviction that we, as a nation, are in a desperate dilemma. The solution is not more stuff, another clever idea, some catchy program, a new plan or the next passing fad. The answer is the mercy of God unleashed through fervent prayer.

The Passion movement began in 1995 with a stirring in the heart of Passion founder Louie Giglio. Born out of a desire to see the 13 million college students of the nation awaken to the reality of a glorious God, the vision took shape under the leadership of men like Giglio, Jeff Lewis, and the board of Choice Ministries, the non-profit umbrella for Passion Conferences. Like-minded campus ministers then met together in 1996 and paved the way for the first Passion gathering in January 1997. Two thousand students converged on Austin, TX, for Passion ?7, seeking God for radical change in their lives and world.

Rooted in the confession of Isaiah 26:8, a generation began to emerge with a passion for God's glory among the nations. In 1998, 5000 students returned to Austin and in 1999, 11,500 gathered in Fort Worth, TX, for Passion. Challenged by leaders like Bill Bright, Beth Moore, John Piper, Louie Giglio, Gregg Matte, and others, students left Fort Worth centered on a God-ward lifestyle and inspired by the idea of a solemn assembly that was to become OneDay.

In May of 2000, Passion OneDay gathering was not a festival, nor a demonstration, but rather a sacred assembly of prayer, repentance, and worship, uniting tens of thousands of collegians from every state in the nation, and from around the world, on the expanse of Shelby Farms just outside Memphis, TN.

Following the first OneDay event, Passion embarked on the Passion Experience national tour in the fall of 2001 and again in the spring and summer of 2002. Featuring numerous workshops with popular worship leaders, the tour shared the Passion vision.

In the spring of 2002, Passion also hosted the Thirsty Conference, its first gathering specifically for campus ministers. On October 24 of that same year, Passion hosted a nationwide concert of prayer and worship by satellite linking students from coast-to-coast as Giglio and sixstepsrecords/Sparrow Records artists Chris Tomlin, David Crowder Band, and Charlie Hall led the students to seek the face of God for awakening in this collegiate generation. The Link was broadcast to an estimated 50,000 students on over 200 campuses and churches.

The unique purpose of Passion and OneDay03 is to gather college students from campuses and churches across the nation, uniting them across ministry and denominational lines to seek the face of God together in worship and prayer. Affirming and valuing the work of local churches and campus ministries, Passion seeks to foster unity and connectivity among them, encouraging them to draw strength and encouragement from each other, resulting in a louder anthem of God.

By Angela Lee