By Kristen Shepard
Editor in Chief

“Just picture 60,000 Christians in one arena,” Gracepoint Church youth pastor Charley Hellmuth said. “It is like Jesus meets the Super Bowl.”

Local churches and students have nothing but praise and excitement when mentioning the Passion 2014 Conference in Houston starting Friday. One of the largest conferences for Christians in the world, Passion is committed to changing lives and spreading the gospel on a large scale.

Coppell church, Gracepoint, is taking 15 seniors to the Houston conference, in hopes of having a life changing experience.

Passion is a conference that is made up of six sessions. Two sessions occur on Friday, and four on Saturday. At each session, a respected preacher will deliver a message that applies directly to college-age students. Passion as a whole is directed towards young adults, specifically those in college.

Worship will be lead by Hillsong United with some of the top Christian artists as guest. These names include The David Crowder band, Chris Tomlin and Stephen Curtis Chapman.

The conferences are more than sessions, however, and each conference is based around a social cause.

“Last year, the cause Passion supported was stopping Human Trafficking, which has become a global problem. This year, it is bringing the Christian faith and scripture to Iran,” Hellmuth said.

New Tech High@Coppell 2013 graduate Sara Hayes received more than a spiritual wake up call after attending the 2013 Passion Conference. Hayes made the decision to become personally involved in last year’s project to help end human trafficking.

“Passion taught me that that the world is a broken place that needs God,” Hayes said. “To sum it up, Passion burst my Coppell bubble.”

Even though Hayes’ schedule will prevent her from attending this year’s conference, she is confident that everyone who goes will have an incredible experience.

“I know that God will do amazing things in the lives of the people who attend and through the lives that leave doors each session,” Hayes said.

Just from hearing what past seniors have said about Passion is enough to excite this year’s group traveling to Houston.

“I cannot wait to be worshipping with 60,000 people who share my faith and love for God,” senior Cole Hansen said.

Annually, the conference attracts over tens of thousands of Christians at each location: one in Houston and one in Atlanta. Last year, over 20,000 young Christians packed the Georgia Dome in Atlanta to worship and celebrate God.

“People think that our generation is not religious enough, but Passion shows them otherwise,” Hansen said.

This year’s conference provides more than just entertainment: attendees will leave the conference with new ambitions and renewed confidence in today’s Christian community.

“We take high school seniors for two reasons,” Hellmuth said. “One, we want to reward our seniors for all that they have given to our youth ministry. We also want them to know that when they go off to college or into the world next year, that they can find passion, college-age students who share their faith.”