ICYC is the Indiana Christian Youth Convention for High School students. It is a gathering of thousands of teens from all over the state for the purpose of worshipping God and experiencing Him in a fresh way. Our three day conference is filled with main sessions (featuring a main speaker, worship and opportunities to give to missions), concerts, workshops, and plenty of great opportunities to discover God. who should attend? We would love for your group to bring teens who know God and teens who have yet to fall in love with Him. We feel our convention is a great introduction to Christ for a non-believer, as well as a refreshing boost to those students who have grown up in the church. We understand that many youth groups do not separate Jr. High students from Sr. High students. ICYC is planned and organized with Sr. High students in mind, so we ask that if at all possible your group only brings Sr. High students. We do recommend other conferences such as Christ In Youth's Believe happening all over the country or the Jr. High Journey conference happening in Indianapolis. a letter from the president... Deuteronomy 6:4 says that "The LORD our God, the LORD is one." It's a fairly simple concept, rather basic in language, and yet very profound. Moses writes this reminder to Israel shortly after reviewing the Ten Commandments and reminding them that they are to be obedient to the law. He would follow this passage with the command that Jesus would remind us is the greatest commandment, to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your strength." It as if Moses was telling the people, "Don't be fooled. Your faith may seem complex with many rules and regulations. But the truth of the matter is that your faith in God ought to be rather easy. There is one God, and you are to love him." One God. Love Him. Simple. But we have a tendency to complicate it, don't we? We often make up our own rules and policies and guidelines that honestly have nothing to do with the essence of our faith. And often these rules are the things that divide us as Christians all over the world. One group of Christians adds an idea to their faith, while another group has this belief about that. It is no wonder we have a difficult time convincing people to follow Christ when we tend to ask them to follow a complicated system of beliefs. Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus that "There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." He also advised them to "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Sounds like a good idea, rather simple. Perhaps this is really the way for us to find our faith in God. This year at ICYC we are focusing on the idea of "ONE": the idea that we are part of one kingdom, the idea that there is one way to heaven, the idea that there is one answer to the hunger of our souls. Jayson French will speak at our four Main Sessions about "One Love", "One Body", "One Journey" and "One Call". Kevin Galloway is returning from ICYC04 to lead us in worship again. We're bringing in Tait, Sanctus Real, 321improv and Mike Altman for some of the best entertainment you'll experience this year. If you have students who have grown up in the church, we think they'll find clarity of their faith at this year's convention. And if plan to bring students who aren't Christians yet or are just trying to figure this thing out, we know that they will hear a message that is undeniable. We look forward to sharing this weekend experience with you. We're praying for you and your youth groups already. See you in Anderson… Jason Sell ICYC 2005 President