GYC 2010

I was thinking about GYC the other day. Wondering if it is really worth going to. Is it just a fun place to be? a place to hang out with my friends? a place to be able to say I went? Have the three I've experienced really changed me?
As I pondered these questions I realized some things were true. It caused me to consider my true motives. It is a wonderful blessings to be surrounded by likeminded friends and enjoy their fellowship. But if that is my sole purpose for attending to the neglect of the spiritual renewal offered there then it's worth is lost on me. It is tempting sometimes to relish the thought of the chance to rub shoulders with the "elite" at such gatherings as GYC. But if I do not accept their challenge to live a life more fully surrender to my Savior, if I put them on a pedestal, if I consider it a greater privilege to make their acquaintance than to enter into the presence of the Almighty morning by morning, I have dishonored them and my Lord.
Am I perfect for having attended GYC? No. I come each year having gained victories, but also having encountered new battles.
In conclusion, GYC for me is a waymark. I can look back and see how things have changed since I was last here. I can see how God has led me, guided me, directed me, moved me, grown me, broken me, changed me, and remember His faithfulness to complete the good work He has started in me. It is a place I can look back to and see the commitment I made to God. It can encourage me when I feel like I am all alone in this pilgrim way to remember the thousands of young people around the world climbing with me.
Coming to GYC doesn't mean you will change. It is not a magical place. You cannot just come, sit back, and expect to be different when you leave. Change is possible. Change is what God wants. He wants to go deeper with us. But we have to give Him permission to search the depths of our soul. GYC provides a place to do that, but it is only realized by those who enter into that soul searching place with God.
For anyone considering attending this conference, whether for the first time or again, I would encourage you to do so. But I would also encourage you to not just let GYC a place. Make GYC a lifestyle. Let us live the commitments we make, use the tools we gain, witness as fervently and as unashamedly, all the other 360 days of the year.  Let us truly be the Generation for Youth for Christ.
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