news article

Exciting changes for CCYM

July 17, 2017 / By Julio Guity

Every year the Conference Council on (CCYM) gathers for five days at one of the six Conference camp and retreat centers to talk business and (hopefully) have some fun in the process. It is a great meeting of the minds, and this is where the planning for the next year of events begins.

Since the inception of the Upper New York Annual Conference, the CCYM has been doing things the same way. The Up!Word and Fall Gathering formulas have remained mostly unchanged for eight years, but this year, things are changing. On the first day of the meeting, the youth and adults on the council sat down and discussed thoroughly the mission statement that had been set in place, amending it until it truly represented the goals of the CCYM.

Groups of CCYM youth were created to think critically on the successes and failures of past Fall Gathering and Up!Word events. After a great deal of discussion amongst our groups, we came together to discuss our ideas for renewing these events. After bouncing back and forth many grand plans for the future, the leadership team met and created an outline for the new events now called Inward and Outward as opposed to Fall Gathering and Up!Word, respectively. From that point on the different committees on CCYM got right to work planning for these ambitious events.

As far as changes go, here's what you have to look forward to. We as a CCYM have decided that our events have become too flashy. In all our frantic planning to get people to come to our events, we lost sight of God. At our two Inward events in the fall, we are putting aside the theatrics in favor of a truly profound, God-filled experience. With a focus on small-group time and prayer, we aim to make an event from which you can leave saying you've experienced God. Late night worship times are an option as well, but it won't be the same type of worship that we usually have. It will be a quiet time in which you can truly reflect upon your life and relationship with God. And to the relief of all the youth and adults, breakfast and worship will start later on the next day. This type of spiritual experience is what we hope will set us apart from other similar events for youth. While they might have the flashing lights and expensive entertainers, we have God.

Now on the topic of Outward, as the name suggests, this event will focus more on an outward expression of God’s love. Youth groups will have an opportunity to get a taste for mission work by going on short excursions away from the hotel in which this event is hosted. During this event, youth groups will have more opportunities to do things together, and work towards creating a God-like community around them.

This year for CCYM is looking to be the best one yet , and  we hope you are all as excited as we are for these new events! The CCYM will continue to work diligently to provide the best possible experience for all who attend our events, and we hope that you may be inspired to change the world after Inward and Outward!