November 3, 1999
YouthLink will stage
lasting Texas ministry
___HOUSTON--The messages delivered at YouthLink 2000 in Houston hopefully will live on in the lives of thousands of students who attend the millennial event. But the stage from which those messages are delivered also will have a continuing impact.
___About 25 tons of lumber used to build the mammoth stage inside the Astrodome will be donated to Texas River Ministry and Texas Baptist Men disaster relief efforts after the Dec.29-31 event is over.
___The 104-by-76-foot tri-level stage was designed by Dennis Parrish, professor of communication arts at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. It was built this summer by a crew of Texas Baptist Men volunteers, saving event organizers an estimated $65,000.
___Right now, the stage is broken down and stored in four containers. About 3 a.m. on Dec. 28, 16 volunteers will arrive at the Astrodome to begin assembling the platform, which is 9 feet high in some places.
___When the stage is carefully dismantled Jan. 2-3, five truckloads of salvaged lumber will be sent to Texas River Ministry and Texas Baptist Men, according to Celeste Pennington, communications coordinator for YouthLink 2000.
___The lumber will be used to construct churches and build storage for a disaster relief warehouse, she said.
___During YouthLink 2000, however, the stage will support an all-star cast of musicians and speakers, including Big Tent Revival, Jaci Velasquez, Supertones, Audio Adrenaline, Caedmon's Call, Watermark, Louie Giglio, Voddie Baucham and Erwin McManus.
___More than 8,000 youth from 14 states already are registered for the Houston event, which will be linked via satellite to similar gatherings in six other U.S. cities. The coast-to-coast youth rally is a cooperative effort between the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board, International Mission Board, LifeWay Christian Resources and Woman's Missionary Union.
___Other YouthLink 2000 sites are Anaheim, Calif.; Atlanta; Denver; Philadelphia; St. Louis; and Tampa, Fla.
___"The creativity going on behind the scenes for this event just blows my mind," said Dean Finley, a youth ministry specialist with NAMB best-known for encouraging the nationwide "See You at the Pole" prayer rallies on school campuses. "It will give students a string of moments to remember, with individual vows spoken to God at midnight Dec. 31."
___Youth evangelist Jay Strack believes YouthLink 2000 will "be among the great movements that God has used to reach a generation."
___"I would compare it to the Jesus Movement of the '70s," he said. "Instead of worrying about Y2K, the church should be doing everything under its power to bring students to YouthLink 2000."
___The timing of the event alone will make it memorable, said Richard Ross, founder of the True Love Waits sexual abstinence movement.
___"The next generation of adults always will remember where they were at midnight Dec. 31, 1999. We want 200,000 Christian students to remember they were in the presence of God in a way that marked their lives forever," Ross said.
___The three-day event in Houston will feature lots of music, inspirational messages geared to a youth audience, missionary testimonies and opportunities for hands-on ministry.
___On Thursday and Friday afternoons, thousands of students equipped with lawn mowers, weed trimmers and plastic trash bags will fan out over inner-city Houston to help in a beautification project.
___Others will assist with a carnival connected with the Children's Museum of Science and Art, minister to people with AIDS or help with food and clothing distribution through Baptist centers.
___Some participants also will help repackage two semi-truckloads of bulk food for shipment to families in Third World countries.
___In addition to the live music and speakers on the Houston stage, the Astrodome will be connected via satellite to the six other YouthLink locations and to Israel, where Strack will talk about the historic Jesus while broadcasting from Golgotha, the Garden Tomb and the Mount of Olives.
___"We want to roll back the centuries to 30 A.D. to bring our U.S. audience to Israel via satellite, to ponder how Jesus and a handful of followers changed history," said Doyle Pennington, project coordinator. "Then we will challenge this generation of students to carry Christ's life-changing gospel into the next millennium."
___Speakers scheduled to address the nationwide audience via satellite include Darrell Scott, father of slain Columbine High School student Rachel Scott; A.C. Green of the Los Angeles Lakers; and Miss America Nicole Johnson.
___Among the 8,000 preregistered for the Houston venue are students from Hawaii, Georgia, New York, Virginia and Nigeria.
___Local organizer Greg Teal and a team of more than 100 volunteers are making final preparations with high expectations.
___"Historically, spiritual awakening often begins with students," Teal said. "Spiritual awakening takes a spark. YouthLink 2000 could be the spark that ignites the fire."
___Although 8,000 already are registered, there's room for thousands more, Celeste Pennington said. The cost is $90 per person.
___Individuals and groups may register on-line at www.youthlink2000.org or by calling (888) YOUTHLNK.
___A promotional video for use in churches also is available by the same means.
___Teal also is seeking at least 300 additional adult volunteers. For more information about volunteer needs, call him at (281) 277-8600.
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