Nearly 2,500 students in grades 6-12, group leaders and chaperones traveled to Orlando, Fla., for the Jan. 16-19 event sponsored by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), The Episcopal Church and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
The gathering is thought to be the only nationwide ecumenical event for youth sponsored at the denominational level.
“This is the only thing we do that brings young people together with people of other denominations,” said Brian Prior, a regional youth ministries coordinator for The Episcopal Church.
Among those attending the event were eleven young people from First Presbyterian Church in Morganton, N.C., led by the church’s associate pastor, Adam C. Bowling.
The tri-denominational gathering featured worship services from each faith perspective. The worship each night was in a different style. “It was neat for the youth to get together and talk about what they have in common and what is different,” Bowling observed.
Tony Campolo, professor emeritus at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa., challenged students to “move from beyond being a believer to becoming a disciple.”
“The difference between a believer and a disciple is a believer has it in his head,” Campolo said. “A disciple is somebody who is willing to take the dare and hear Jesus say, ‘If you would be my disciple, forsake all, take up the cross, follow me.’”
Campolo “dared” students to live lives characterized by prayer, joy, and love toward others. “It’s about time we break out of our cultural boxes and recognize that all kinds of people are wonderful, not just the kinds of people that society says are wonderful.”
Campolo said being a disciple also involves courage to move beyond what society expects.
“When Christ is in you, you become daring, and you dare to become friends with people who society pushes off to the margins,” he said. “You dare to reach out to those that church people have questions about.”
Youth studied Bible verses in interdenominational small groups graded by age, including one morning session exploring multiculturalism and faith at Disney’s Epcot Theme Park.
Disney’s Youth Education Series — a program for youth groups that uses Disney theme parks as a behind-the-scenes classroom setting for subjects like arts and humanities, leadership development, and natural and physical sciences — modified a regular curriculum about understanding other cultures to allow Passport to add a faith component using Bible verses and discussion questions.
Students at Epcot’s Morocco pavilion, for example, learned about similarities between Christianity and Islam, while those at the England pavilion discussed church history including the Protestant Reformation and Anglican Church.
This was the second Faith in 3-D event. The first was held in 2006, growing out of contacts youth leaders made on the Ecumenical Youth Ministries Staff Team of the National Council of Churches.
