Youth Conference - November 3-4, 2011

International Baptist College hosted 75 high school students at "Explore Today", the 2011 Youth Conference. The students came from across Arizona and surrounding states to enjoy 28 hours filled with fun and spiritual blessing.

This year's keynote speaker was Mr. Nathan Mestler, IBC's Dean of Students. The son of missionaries to Africa and a graduate of IBC, Nathan has been involved in ministry for many years. His messages emphasized listening to wisdom's call.

Students attended workshops taught by youth pastors from attending churches with topics such as dealing with divorce, relationship advice (a split session for guys and girls), and Christian maturity. In addition to the spiritual emphasis, the students also had fun playing group games. A campus-wide scavenger hunt on Thursday night involved finding items scattered across campus then creatively assembling them into rockets and spaceships. On Friday afternoon the students played a challenging big-ball game, survived a gauntlet of balls and water balloons, and enjoyed smaller group sporting challenges.

The teens experienced dorm life by staying in IBC's Singleton Hall on Thursday night with college students and attended an IBC class on Friday.

The conference ended with a testimony service in the Tri-City Baptist Church lobby where many teens shared decisions they had just made. Giving a public testimony helps the students solidify their decisions and also blesses the youth conference workers who can see what a difference their work had made in the lives of those who came.

IBC will host more events for teens in the upcoming months. Experience IBC: College Days (March 29-30, 2012) provides high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to participate in college classes and feel like an IBC student. Next July teens are invited to spend a week or two of intensive musical instruction and practice during Fine Arts Summer Camps (July 9-13, 2012 and July 16-20, 2012). Mark your calendars now for the 2012 Youth Conference: The Journey (November 1-2).