Today was the last day of the sold out Passion Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, which began on December 31, 2019. On Tuesday night, over 65,000 people brought in the New Year by worshiping Jesus.
“THE BEST NEW YEARS EVE EVER!!!!” wrote one attendee on Instagram. “Getting to worship the Lord tonight with thousands of other college students literally felt like a glimpse of heaven. But it’s so crazy to think heaven is going to be a million times better!!”
The Passion Conference Rings in the ‘roaring 20’s’
The Passion conference took place over three days at the Mercedes-Benz stadium in Atlanta and was livestreamed on the conference website. The second session on New Year’s Eve featured a flame that had been lit in Jerusalem and transported to Atlanta, symbolizing that Jesus is the light of the world.
We started our late night session with the flame making its way to Mercedes-Benz Stadium. We then had a moment we’ll remember forever as we rang in the new decade with @hillsongunited, lifting up a shout for Jesus at the stroke of midnight!
Doors open at 8am this morning! pic.twitter.com/kgDi3Lo9ww— Passion Conferences (@passion268) January 1, 2020
“It’s time again for the roaring 20’s,” the conference posted on Facebook, “but this time, it’s time for the lion of the tribe of Judah to roar. And it’s time for the church to rise up in the power of the spirit of Almighty God so the world can hear the roar of King Jesus.”
Over 65,000 people attended the conference, with the primary demographic being young adults age 18 to 25. According to Fox News, the number of attendees at last year’s Passion conference was close to 40,000, meaning this year’s attendance has increased by over a third. CBN reports that college students and leaders came from over 1,680 universities, 81 countries, and all 50 states.
The first Passion conference was held in 1997, with its purpose being to “glorify God by uniting students in worship, prayer and justice for spiritual awakening in this generation.” The key verse of the conference is Isaiah 26:8, which says, “Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.”
This year, participants got to hear from a range of speakers, including Tim Tebow, John Piper, Christine Caine, Ravi Zacharias, Sadie Robertson, and conference co-founder Louie Giglio.
.@christinecaine, thank you! Such a beautiful reminder that we are wells of living water. #Passion2020 pic.twitter.com/hQkpLCgenQ
— Passion Conferences (@passion268) January 2, 2020
The conference also featured worship and performances from Hillsong United, Lecrae, Andy Mineo, Kari Jobe, Crowder, and Trip Lee.
In addition to providing worship and teaching, the Passion conference also raises money to go toward various needs throughout the world. Last year, attendees gave over $400,000 to translate the Bible for deaf people. This year, participants gave money toward Share the Light so that the Bible can be translated in over 6,000 languages and also gave to the END IT Movement, which aims to end modern-day slavery and which has raised more than $8.3 million to date.
“I’ve been so blessed to have gotten to be surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses this week,” said one attendee. “It’s so amazing to see the Holy Spirit moving in my generation, with people I’ve known for less than a week…It’s so incredibly cool to see what God does when we just trust him.”
