73rd National Youth Conference concludes with focus on unity among Churches of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) youth groups

More than 400 young people — from preschoolers to college-age — and 100 adult sponsors stayed in campus dormitories for the 73rd National Youth Conference at Oklahoma Christian University. Attendees represented 41 predominantly Black Churches of Christ from 16 states — the weeklong event’s highest attendance in five years.

Youths came together to hear speakers, worship and play games such as table tennis, football and pool. Church leaders competed against the campers in a softball game — the adults won.

Ramon Hodridge serves as the senior minister for the Lawrence and Marder Church of Christ in Dallas. He attended the National Youth Conference as a child. Now, as the conference’s chairman, he handles security, disciplinary issues and event insurance. Outside of his convention work, Hodridge works as the project lead for student experience at Dallas College, one of the largest community colleges in Texas.

Hodridge, a 2002 graduate of Abilene Christian University in Texas, intentionally invites youth groups from congregations that do not have nearby church neighbors. “I’ve encouraged them to come to our events so that their youth can engage with other youth,” Hodridge said. “The fact that we are separated into multiple congregations doesn’t make us multiple churches. Rather, we are one church split into multiple congregations.”

The conference had eight sessions throughout the week, all expanding on the theme “Standing on Business,” inspired by Ephesians 6:10-17 and Generation Z slang. The main song of the week was “How Shall the Young Secure Their Hearts?”

“Stand on business this week,” Oklahoma state Sen. Nikki Nice said during the opening session on Sunday. “When you go out in the community, when you go back home, show them who you are,” added Nice, who was invited to share her expertise as a community leader.

Conference counselors didn’t have to wait until the kids got home to see their response. “We have our invitation after the lesson is done, where we make a call out to our kids to come down and seek prayer if they need it,” said Robert Jackson, a counselor for teens from the East Side Church of Christ in Austin, Texas. “We’ve had at any given night, at the very minimum, 50 to 60 kids come down.”

Jackson has attended the conference since he was 13 years old. He said he likes to give back and help incoming youth attending the conference have a meaningful experience.

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