Passion 06 set for Jan 2-5 in Nashville

Gathering Leaders Include Louie Giglio, Chris Tomlin, John Piper, David Crowder Band, Beth Moore, Matt Redman, Others




Passion Conferences is returning to Nashville, TN to host Passion 06, a four-day indoor gathering for college students from around the nation and world, January 2 - 5, 2006. Leading the gathering will be renowned speakers Louie Giglio, John Piper and Beth Moore, among others, as well as such acclaimed artist-worshipers as Charlie Hall, David Crowder Band, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Shane and Shane, Nathan and Christy Nockels, and more.

Passion 06 will be held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center (GEC) in the heart of Downtown Nashville. Not only will students worship together in an arena packed with thousands of faces representing campuses from every corner of the nation, but they will also have the chance to sit and process what God is doing in their lives with a small group of students they connect with through the smaller community groups that make up the fabric of the conference.



Similar to last January's Passion 05 in Music City, Passion 06 will provide smaller sessions through Community Groups, Family Groups and Late Nights in various venues throughout the downtown area within walking distance from the GEC. The Community and Family groups will allow students to unpack what they learn throughout the week in small group environments and the Late Nights give students a chance to "hang out" after the evening session ends each night.

"Not only are we thrilled and humbled by the growing number of students making their way to join us in Nashville, we are excited about the possible impact of these four days on the collegiate culture as a whole," notes Louie Giglio, Passion Conferences founder/director. "Millions of students are searching for a meaningful encounter with their Creator and we are praying Passion 06 becomes fuel for a generation that will amplify the name of Jesus to the world."

With students registering many times faster than last year's Passion 05, which brought together more than 11,000 college-age students representing every state, 1,100 campuses and eight foreign countries, thousands have already registered for Passion 06. Students are encouraged to register early, as space is limited. Early registration closes Dec. 1. Detailed schedule and registration information can be found at http://www.oneday03.com/. Registration fee includes conference materials and lunch on Jan. 3 and 4.

In order to make Passion 06 happen, over 1000 volunteers are also needed to serve throughout the conference in various jobs. For people over the age of 25, Passion Conferences requests they attend as a volunteer or as a leader of a group. Those interested in volunteering at Passion 06 are asked to submit a volunteer application at www.268generation.com before the Dec. 1 deadline.

As Passion 06 approaches, an experience of last year's Passion 05 can be heard on sixstepsrecords' eighth Passion project, Passion: How Great Is Our God. The recording features music recorded live from the main stage at the Passion 05 gathering. Capturing the heart of the gathering with 13 live tracks, the recording released April 12 to wide critical acclaim and became the No. 1 best seller in its first week out on the SoundScan Christian Retail sales chart. The album also landed at No. 74 on the Billboard Top 200 sales chart.

The Passion movement began in 1995 with a stirring in the heart of Passion founder Louie Giglio. Born out of a desire to see the 13 million college students of the nation awaken to the reality of a glorious God, the vision took shape under the leadership of men like Louie Giglio and the board of Choice Ministries, the non-profit umbrella for Passion Conferences. Like-minded campus ministers then met together in 1996 and paved the way for the first of three Passion gatherings (1997, '98 and '99) that united over 18,000 college students with the desire to see God magnified in their lives, their campuses and throughout the earth.



Since then, millions have connected with Passion through one of the several gatherings, such as the OneDay gatherings and the Passion Experience Tour featured by the New York Times, CNN, among others, or through eight Passion worship recordings and three DVDs that have been released worldwide, selling well over one million copies. The domino effect has spawned a movement that has circled the globe.

The unique purpose of Passion is to gather college students from campuses and churches across the nation, uniting them across ministry and denominational lines to seek the face of God together in worship and prayer. Affirming and valuing the work of local churches and campus ministries, Passion seeks to foster unity and connectivity among them, encouraging them to draw strength and encouragement from each other, resulting in a louder anthem of God's renown.