Passion '05 Kicks Off First Day With 11,000 Plus In Attendance

By Justin Camacho, Christian Post Correspondent Tuesday, January 04, 2005

College-student focused ministry Passion made a return to its roots on Sunday in kicking off Passion '05, a four day gathering reminiscent of the group's first three conferences held between 1997 and 1999.

Opening night for the event, which will last until January 5th, saw more than 11,000 young adults from all 50 states fill the Gaylord Entertainment Center in downtown Nashville, TN to, "sink their hearts into the confession of Isaiah 26:8 and what it means to live all of life for the glory of God."

"This is about the choice of life," said Passion founder Louie Giglio during his message, "You can choose to be the starring role in your own very small story. But why hold onto a starring role in a very tiny story when you could be a part of a bigger story? You can choose to live your life in the middle of the grand story of God and not even know it, or you can wake up and accept the role he has for you."

Giglio continued: "We are here for a purpose: to taste and see that the Lord is good. To see what it means to "taste and see," and discover the hope of glory, Christ in you."

The event featured worship sessions led by numerous top artists, including Passion affiliates Charlie Hall, Chris Tomlin, and the David Crowder Band, as well as Shane and Shane, Mute Math and Candi Pearson Shelton, and Destinations featuring Amena Brown.

Along with large group praise sets, students also had a chance to interact in small "Family Groups" of about eight students each, which is a key feature of the conference as relayed by Giglio on the Passion website:

"The beauty of Passion '05 is that not only will students worship together in an arena packed with thousands of faces representing campuses from every corner of the nation, they will have the chance to sit and process what God is doing in their lives with a small group of 8-12 students they connect with through the smaller community groups that make up the fabric of the conference."

For more information on Passion '05, go to www.268generation.com.