"...I will make you an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations." Isaiah 60:15
GYC 2003 is now a memory, but the excitement lives on! Over 800 young
people gathered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for the second annual
conference, December 17-21. They came from across North America and
several other countries: South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong,
Philippines, Japan, New Zeeland, Australia, Mexico, and Canada. They
were an army of young people training for service.
GYC 2003
inspired each of us to reach "Higher than the Highest" in our academic,
spiritual, and professional lives. It challenged us to give God our
best and to surrender our lives completely to Him. It called us to
share the distinctive message of Adventism with the world. It changed
our lives forever.
Even if you were not at GYC 2003 you
can still experience the blessings. There are many memories of the
conference on this site. Enjoy them and plan to join us for the next
GYC conference.
What GYC 2003 Did for Me …
“Heading home after GYC 2003 I had to come up with one word
summarizing the weekend that I might share with others what I had
learned. The only word that I could find to describe it was
‘life-changing.’ I went to the conference not expecting anything more
than a youth rally, where we would all get excited and then the fire
would die as we went our separate ways. But I left GYC 2003 a changed
person. My life has been turned upside down, and I am a much happier
person now. It has become a joy to read and memorize God’s Word on a
daily basis. God is truly dwelling in me. What a blessing it is!”
- Lindsey Sands, GYC attendee, Michigan
“GYC was the first youth event that I have ever gotten excited about.
It was the first time I have been able to meet other young people who
want to make a mark, who want to show the world who JESUS really is! It
was encouraging to be with others who strive for excellence … I will
forever be changed.”
- Eric Ollila, GYC attendee, Colorado
“GYC was probably one of the closest things to heaven on earth! Hearing
stirring messages that inspired and challenged you, joining voices with
hundreds of others to sing beautiful songs rich in depth and meaning,
fellowshipping with other young people overflowing with a love for
Jesus and a heart for ministry. I’ve heard more than one person agree
with me that they’ve sometimes felt like lone Elijahs, but at GYC God
shows them there are many others who also have ‘not bowed unto Baal’ (1
Kings 19:18)!”
- Hannah Ko, student, Andrews University
“This conference has helped me realize what is most important in life.
I had been caught up in my own dreams and plans, and had lost focus of
my mission to bring people to Jesus. But this has helped me to refocus
on what my priorities are to be in life. While I’ll still be pursuing
my college degree, before all this will come my relationship with
Jesus, standing up for what I believe in, and leading my friends to
Jesus. I’ll put Christ’s priorities first.”
- Kyle Allen, Student Association Vice-President, Columbia Union College
“From the moment I walked into the Sheraton Lobby, I had a sense that
this was no ordinary youth meeting. The messages that Elder Skeete
passed along to us, and the challenges by Pastor Asscherick were all
meat in due season, but more than that it was the Spirit behind those
men of God that was pricking my own heart. GYC is more than just a
social gathering, more than just a church function. It is a catalyst
for reflection of the motives of my experience and yours. It is an
event that clearly and forcibly declares the verity of the Seventh Day
Adventist Movement.”
- John Triplett, missionary, Central Michigan University
“In an age of ‘fun, frolic and folly’ posing as church services, GYC
blew the trumpet for standards that are higher than the highest. I came
away firmly impressed that armies of SDA youth are poised to turn the
world upside down with the gospel.”
- Randy Skeete, Campus Evangelist, University of Michigan
“As a member of the GYC Executive Committee, I know our motto by heart:
‘An army of young people on a mission to proclaim the Three Angels’
Messages to the whole world.’ However, not until this conference did it
truly become my experience. When David Asscherick began his appeal
Friday evening for missionaries to go to foreign lands to share God’s
love with people who are presently totally unreached, I told myself,
This appeal is not for me. It is for the youth here who have no present
direction in their life. Personally, I am settled in the career of my
dreams and have a job I absolutely love. Foreign mission service is not
for me. I can’t explain how it happened but God made a call to my heart
to give a tithe of my life—to consecrate the best of my young adult
years to the plans dearest to His heart—saving lost people who would
never be reached if someone didn’t go. Later that night the Lord led me
to Isaiah 49:6 which reconfirmed the call: ‘And he said, It is a light
thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of
Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee
for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the
end of the earth.’ Accepting a call to be a missionary was the last
thing I expected to do while at GYC, but as a leader in this movement
it is the best way I can live out our motto. Hopefully, my example will
lead other youth to do the same.”
- Staci Osterman, GYC Vice-President for Public Relations
“I was blessed by the constant turning of my mind to the Word of God.
The speakers repeatedly reminded us not to be followers of them, but to
search for ourselves in the Bible. And even now I’ve continued with a
Scripture memory program that I started since GYC.”
- Christine Neal, teacher, Ouachita Hills Academy, Arkansas