Korea Campus Crusade for Christ (KCCC) will be hosting its annual conference for youth and college students once again, this year from December 21 to 24 at the Town and Country Resort & Convention Center in San Diego, CA.
Higher Calling Conference, which was attended by some 1,500 last year, focuses on creating a space for young people to discover their God-given callings, and to be inspired to take part in sharing the gospel in various contexts, including their homes, schools, workplaces, and overseas. Though for many years, the conference had been exclusive to college students, KCCC has been partnering more and more actively with local churches in Southern California since 2010 to invite their youth groups to the conference. Almost 50 percent of last year's conference attendees were youth.
"I think coming to this conference allows our youth to have a much bigger perspective on what the body of Christ, the church, looks like, beyond what they see in their own local churches each Sunday," said Jacob Cho, the college pastor and youth director at New Life Vision Church. "The youth are exposed to older people - college students - who are passionate about the gospel through the conference, and have the opportunity to learn "holy habits' from them."
"As a local church youth pastor, I would say that what is accomplished in Higher Calling Conference cannot be done by any one local church for their youth," said David Yoon, the youth pastor at Cerritos Mission Church.
Higher Calling Conference, themed "Go Beyond" this year, will feature plenary sessions with speakers such as Eugene Cho, the lead pastor of Quest Church, and Harold Kim, the lead pastor of Christ Central of Southern California, as well as elective seminars with various topics. The conference also features evangelism training specific to age group, as well as a youth track that allows more age-specific issues to be explored.
A distinct aspect of Higher Calling Conference is the randomly assigned small groups that allowed students to share and fellowship with other students that they have never met before. Every night, these small groups allow for a more intimate context for the students to reflect on what has been learned through all of the other program sessions throughout the day.
Though previously, middle school, high school, and college students were all randomly assigned into small groups, this year, middle school students will be separately placed into small groups with their church leaders and members.
The conference, co-hosted by Holy City Movement and NexGen Pastors' Fellowship, will also feature a pastors' track for youth pastors to network and learn from more seasoned pastors on how to minister to middle and high school students.
"Higher Calling Conference exists not for the sake of hosting a conference, but rather to challenge young people to live with a missional perspective and to help reach the unreached," organizers stated. "We long for the light of Jesus to shine across this nation and to lead this generation to repentance. As we lift up the glory of Jesus Christ, we believe that He will draw all people to Himself as we become the light of the world."
For more information, visit www.highercallingla.org.
