Passion Conferences

Passion Conferences

Founded	1997
Founder	Louie Giglio
Type	501(c)(3)
Location	Atlanta, Georgia, US
Website	268generation.com

Passion Conferences is a Christian organization (also referred to as Passion and the 268 Generation, originally named Choice Ministries), founded by Louie Giglio in 1997, known for their annual gatherings of young adults between the ages of 18–25, more specifically college students. The organization is also responsible for sixstepsrecords, the Passion Worship CDs, and the church plant of Passion City Church in Atlanta, GA in 2009.^[1] Passion is legally registered in the State of Georgia as the For – Profit LLC "Passion USA 2011, LLC" of Roswell, Georgia.^[2] The first conference was Passion '97, held in Austin, Texas. Today, the headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia.^[3] The organization lists its purpose as "...uniting students in worship and prayer for spiritual awakening in this generation," using Isaiah 26:8 as their theme verse: "Yes Lord, walking in the way of Your truth we wait eagerly for You, for Your name and renown are the desire of our souls".^[4]

Since its start in '97, Passion Conferences has operated as a national conference. Then, in 2008, Passion Conferences launched a global tour that visited 17 different cities in 16 countries,^[5] kicking off in Kiev, Ukraine and finishing in Sydney, Australia. Since then, Passion Conferences have continued to host gatherings in the United States and all over the world. Passion World Tour 2010 also started in Kiev, and continued in London, Tokyo, Manila, Hong Kong, São Paulo and Vancouver. Passion World Tour of 2012 was held in Vancouver, Pretoria, Kampala, Durban and Cape Town.

History

In 1985, Louie and Shelley Giglio founded Choice Ministries at Baylor University in Waco, TX.^[6] Choice Ministries began as a campus-based student ministry and after 10 years of ministry at Baylor, Louie and Shelley moved to Atlanta, GA. It was here that the Passion Conferences was birthed, while still remaining under the banner of Choice Ministries, Inc.

Driven forward by a desire to gather college students to see a spiritual awakening happen all across the United States and the world, Passion Conferences became a reality in 1997. The first conference took place in Austin, TX where thousands of college aged students came together during January 1–4, 1997.

When Louie and Shelley began Passion Conference in 1997, they did so out of a desire to see the millions of college students^[7] (now over 20 million ^[8]) joined together under one banner of exalting the "name and the fame of Jesus." This vision began to take shape and gain momentum under the leadership of Louie and the board of Choice Ministries, Inc. After the first gathering in 97' in Austin, there were six national Passion gatherings (1997, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007).^[6] These conferences directly united thousands of college students during these years . Also, during this 10-year period, thousands of additional college students connected with Passion through one of several other gatherings, including the OneDay Gatherings in 2000 and 2003 ^[9] and the Passion Experience Tour, or through the Worship recordings and DVD's produced through Passion that have gone on to be released worldwide.

What then spawned was a movement that has circled the globe. Passion Conferences have gone on multiple world tours, reaching out to 24 different cities in 20 different countries. Passion has launched other tours throughout the years as the movement continues to grow. Some of these tours include: Passion NYC Subway Series, Regionals '07–'08, Passion 2010 University Tour, Passion 2012 University Tour, A Night of Worship with Passion Tour, Passion: Let the Future Begin Tour, and Passion: Take It All Tour. ^[10]

In 2016, Passion Conference was simultaneously held in three arenas in two cities: Toyota Center in Houston, Texas; Infinite Energy Arena in Atlanta, Georgia; and Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Through live streaming capabilities, students were able to see the various speakers and musicians from each of the three venues throughout the 3-day event.^[11]

In 2017, Passion held their annual collegiate event in Atlanta, Georgia's Georgia Dome, former home of the Atlanta Falcons before renovations.^[12] That year, Passion set out to ensure all that children awaiting sponsorship would be sponsored by their partner Compassion International. By the end of the conference, all children on the sponsorship waiting list from El Salvador, Rwanda, Indonesia, and Tanzania were all off the waiting list and then another 900 were sponsored from Bolivia which went above and beyond what was expected from event holders.^[13] Among the artists and speakers, Chris Tomlin, Crowder, and Passion Music all were present with surprise appearance by Carrie Underwood and the debut of sixsteprecords latest artist Jimi Cravity.

People

Artists

Chris Tomlin performing at the May 23–24, 2008 Passion Conference in São Paulo, Brazil.

Sixstepsrecords artists form the core group of artists performing at the Passion Gatherings, including Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, Charlie Hall, Matt Redman, Christy Nockels, and Kristian Stanfill.

Other artists that have performed at Passion Gatherings include Brett Younker, Lecrae, Hillsong United, Jesus Culture, Kari Jobe, Tenth Avenue North, Shane and Shane, SonicFlood, Gungor, Rend Collective, and Sean Curran of Bellarive.

Charitable contributions

Special notice has been given to causes, known as Worship + Justice, culminating in 2011 when over 22,000 students at Passion 2011 raised over $1.1 million towards multiple causes^[17] and in 2012 $3.3 million towards freedom^[18] and over 72,000 signatures were obtained towards a petition for freedom.^[19] At Passion 2013 attendees gave over $3.6 million towards various causes, and it was at this conference that Passion Conferences first launched its partnership with The END IT Movement.^[20]

At the 2015 Atlanta conference, attendees collected items to donate to Atlanta's City of Refuge homeless ministry.^[21] In 2016, attendees gave $811,813.39 towards Project Haraka حركة, a partnership with World Vision USA to fund the building of a health facility in Syria. This building is intended to serve as the first newborn ICU in opposition-controlled Syria.^[22]

Discography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Passion Conferences.

• Passion Conferences and 268 Generation

References