It doesn’t take long for that gratitude to turn into hope and lead to excitement.
Whenever I talk to people (youth ministers across the country, my daughter’s principal, estranged family members) they all have one question: how’s CIY feeling about this year? My answer is short. And shorter to estranged cousins. I tell them, “we’re excited.”
We experienced all the ups and downs of 2020. But as we sit back and reflect on how good God was to us, knowing we lost over a year’s worth of event revenue and we’re still here, we can’t help but be grateful. It doesn’t take long for that gratitude to turn into hope and lead to excitement. Here’s a not-so-short answer in the form of 21 reasons why we’re excited for 2021.
- Young people like Max continue to inspire us through simple acts of Kingdom work.
- Over 200 churches will host a SuperStart/AT in their buildings this year. No nationally touring preteen event but the call to Kingdom work continues.
- There’s a mom in South Carolina, who along with her son, hosted a SuperStart/AT. She attended CIY events when she was a high schooler. Her son attends MOVE every summer. She told us that partnering with CIY to produce the /AT event was a “dream come true.”
- The research is alarming. But we’re doubling down on the church. More than ever, kids need shared experiences that connect them to their church.
- #KWNeverStops
- The MOVE and MIX themes, “For All Forever” are all about the Gospel. Join us in praying for the tens of thousands who will hear it for the first, and 50th, time.
- We get to say thank you a lot. Our shared mission of calling young people to Kingdom work continues because of people like you. We mean it: thank you.
- Our content team created a brand new curriculum. The result: youth groups around the country are using Engage Experiences every weekend to mobilize their teens to do Kingdom work.
- It’s no longer 2020. That counts for something.
- Warmer Joplin weather means Chacos and Pineapple Bliss.
- We’re going to do events this summer.
- Say it with me: we’re going to do events this summer!
- We believe that God has brought us this far for a reason.
- 2020 wasn’t wasted. 2021 opportunities won’t be missed.
- Our team misses traveling.
- Dozens of college students will join our team this summer as event staffers. We’re excited to see them.
- MOVE will proclaim the call to vocational ministry to thousands of young people. We know what that means to Ozark Christian College and other Bible college partners.
- We get to tell people about the Kingdom work Mustard Seed is doing in Japan.
- Live worship. Not Zoom worship but live worship.
- The best is yet to come for CIY. But more importantly, for the Kingdom.
- It’ll be a summer like no other.
Join the movement to call young people to Kingdom work at ciy.com/donate.
