KNOXVILLE, TN (July 15, 2018)—The energy is off the charts. The music is thumpingly energetic, the light show, state-of-the-art.
It’s the kickoff to CHIC 2018.
More than 5,000 students and leaders are here at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, to play, worship, learn, and connect with other teens from the U.S., Canada, and abroad. It’s the largest event in the Covenant.
This afternoon’s Welcome Party featured a giant water slide, a foam pit dance party with a DJ, tons of food (hot dogs, sno cones, and pizza), a selfie studio sponsored by Covenant Retirement Communities, and giant inflatable games. Three-dimensional letters spell out “UNITE,” the theme for the week, where students can sign their names each day.
On the MainStage tonight Joseph Sojourner was the host, welcoming students, introducing a new tradition, the CHIC hand shake, and initiating a dance party onstage.
Then Chris Durso, youth pastor at Misfit NYC church, took the stage, focusing on John 14:6: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
“Do you feel like you aren’t ready yet? You haven’t read enough yet, you haven’t prayed enough?” he asked. “God isn’t looking for you to be perfect. He’s just looking for you to be available.”
Evening sessions throughout the week will be live-streamed here, beginning at 8:00 EST. National Covenant Properties is sponsoring the livestream.
