A youth rally for generations
RICHARDSON, TEXAS — There weren’t nearly enough visitor cards for all of the guests at the Waterview Church of Christ on a recent Sunday.
“I hope you don’t mind,” minister Reed Swindle told his congregation. “I invited 400 to 500 of my closest friends to join us.”
The metro Dallas church, which usually has about 400 souls in attendance, more than doubled in size thanks to the Challenge Youth Conference, an annual gathering that drew young believers and parents from 34 Churches of Christ from Texas all the way to Wisconsin.
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CYC, as it’s called, sprang to life a quarter-century ago in the Great Smoky Mountains. That event, held at a convention center in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., has grown to more than 12,000 youths, chaperones and ministers.
The smaller North Texas CYC began in 2014 with participants gathering in hotels and conference centers. This year for the first time, organizers moved the event inside a church building.
In Waterview’s auditorium, built to amplify and enrich the singing of a cappella hymns, Jon Podein stood on a diamond-shaped stage as he led worship for the combined congregation. Podein, outreach and engagement minister for the Calhoun Church of Christ in Georgia, and other CYC organizers conducted the service. The combined congregation joined their voices for youth-oriented songs, including “Listen to our Hearts,” and rousing standards like “Revive Us Again.”
Lonnie Jones preaches during the CYC Dallas conference in the Waterview Church of Christ’s auditorium. The facility, built in the early 1960s, was designed by Aubrey Hallum, a Fort Worth architect who developed a set of construction guidelines specifically for Churches of Christ.
“It’s outstanding! The excitement is wonderful!” Waterview member Linda Nordstrom said after the service. She and her husband have been part of the congregation for more than three decades. In that time, much of the flock has grown gray, she said, so the infusion of youthful exuberance uplifted her spirit.
As for the visitors, “this is definitely not Pigeon Forge,” said Cheyenne Lee, 15, who’s been to the Tennessee event. But while this gathering didn’t have thousands upon thousands of singers, “I think the acoustics are better in here,” added 17-year-old Brady Honeycutt.
The teens were part of a 25-member group who spent more than six hours in a van to reach Waterview from Neosho, Mo., where they worship with the Hillcrest Church of Christ. It was the first CYC for Logan Blake, 16, who described the experience as “pretty nice” and said, “I got to meet a lot of new people.”
After worship, members of the Hillcrest Church of Christ youth group gather for the trip back home to Missouri.
It’s not just the worship service that makes CYC memorable, said Caleb Boggs, Hillcrest’s youth minister for the past six years. Time together — in the hotel and on the long bus rides — unites young believers in a way few other experiences can.
For more than just youths
Between CYC’s big assemblies, which featured minister comedy duo Ben Hayes and Travis Creasy (Ben and Travis) and keynotes on the theme of “Look Up! Thinking Like Jesus,” the 550 participants broke into groups for Bible studies.
Travis Creasy, minister for the Riverside Church of Christ in Fayetteville, Tenn., speaks to youths during a Bible class at the Dallas CYC.
As the teens discussed various aspects of Christian living, Hayes and Lonnie Jones conducted a class for youth leaders. The ministers, who also are licensed professional counselors, fielded questions about the influence of social media, which has created an “anxious generation” of overstressed and anxiety-laden teens, Jones said.
It’s OK for parents to limit their children’s exposure to chaotic influences, said Jones, intergenerational minister for the Meridianville Church of Christ in Alabama.
For kids with peanut allergies, the argument “but all the other kids are eating peanuts” is invalid. In the same way, Jones said, “some kids are allergic to social media.”
Adults pack a classroom at the Waterview Church of Christ during CYC Dallas for a class focused on leading youth groups.
There was standing room only in the parenting class, despite the classroom’s size.
Carol Lyn Rhymes may know why.
“Our group brings as many adults as we do kids,” said Rhymes, a member of the Carriage Oaks Church of Christ in Bossier City, La. The church, which has about 80 in attendance, brought a group of 21, only a handful of whom are still in high school.
Rhymes first brought her family to the Dallas event in 2015, where they heard Lonnie Jones preach on “David’s Mighty Men.” The sermon made a big impression on her 10-year-old son, Cole. Now 20, he preaches for a small church near Louisiana Tech, where he’s studying electrical engineering. One of his first sermons was “David’s Mighty Men,” a discussion of the highs and lows in the life of King David that show how God can use someone even after a great failure.
Cole, Carol Lyn and Ty Rhymes meet after Bible classes during the Dallas CYC.
Cole’s older brother, Ty Rhymes, delivered a keynote, “Look Up and be a Servant,” at the Dallas CYC. The conference introduced him to Christians from the Shoals region of Alabama, which led him to congregations including the Stony Point Church of Christ in Florence, Ala., which recently named him youth minister. He also teaches at nearby Mars Hill Bible School.
“CYC has opened doors for my family,” Ty Rhymes said.
‘It sticks with them’
Lonnie Jones has been a part of CYC since its East Tennessee beginnings in 2000. Now 61, he’s encountered Christians in “all walks of life, doctors, lawyers” who remember his sermons, he said. He’s thrilled to see parents who grew up going to CYC now coming back with their kids.
Lonnie Jones preaches on “Look Up and Be Holy” during Sunday worship at the CYC Dallas.
For preacher’s kid Dale Sheehy, CYC reminds him of the conferences he attended as a young man, including Youth In Action in Jonesboro, Ark. Now he’s youth minister for the Lake Shore Drive Church of Christ in Waco, Texas, which brought 15 youths to the Dallas event.
Dale Sheehy
Sheehy previously took teens to a similar event, Winterfest, but switched to CYC in 2015. The conference is a kind of “mountaintop experience,” he said, but he’s also seen evidence in the past decade that it plays a role in the students’ spiritual formation.
“Off and on you’ll hear them quote something they heard here, just out of the blue,” Sheehy said. “It’s not just about the fun they have. It’s the little nuggets they take away. It sticks with them.”
And this year’s event, which culminated in the intergenerational Sunday worship service, is something members of the Waterview church won’t soon forget, said Jerry Barker, one of the congregation’s elders.
“The singing has been glorious. The classes have been great,” Barker told the combined congregation. “The Lord’s church really has been strengthened this weekend.”
Dale Jenkins reads Scripture during Sunday worship at the CYC Dallas. At right is CYC executive director Larry Davenport.
Reed Swindle speaks on “Look Up and Think Like Jesus” during the Dallas CYC.
Youths listen as Lonnie Jones preaches about sexual purity during Sunday morning worship at the CYC Dallas.
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