The National Christian Youth Convention (NCYC) is a national week long conference

Academic conference

An academic conference or symposium is a conference for researchers to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.-Overview:Conferences are usually composed of various...

 for people aged 16-30 years held by the Uniting Church in Australia

Uniting Church in Australia

The Uniting Church in Australia was formed on 22 June 1977 when many congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, the Presbyterian Church of Australia and the Congregational Union of Australia came together under the Basis of Union....

 every second January. It is held in a different Australian city each time in the long summer school and university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 holiday

Holiday

A Holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observance is warranted. It is generally an official or unofficial observance of religious, national, or cultural significance, often accompanied by celebrations...

s. It attracts over 1,500 delegates from around Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 plus visiting delegations from Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 countries. It is one of the biggest events for youth on the Uniting Church's calendar.

NCYC 2011 was held at The Southport School

The Southport School

The Southport School , is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for boys, located in Southport, a suburb on the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia....

 in Gold Coast

Gold Coast, Queensland

Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...

, Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, with the theme Turn It Up, between 29 December 2010 and 4 January 2011.

History

NCYC began in 1955 with an evangelical campaign run by Rev. Dr. Sir Alan Walker

Alan Walker (theologian)

Sir Alan Walker OBE was an Australian Christian minister, theologian and evangelist.Walker was:*involved in the formation of the World Council of Churches...

 as an activity of the Central Methodist Mission

Wesley Mission

Wesley Mission is a name used by several Uniting Church congregations which are a part the Uniting Missions Network of UnitingCare Australia. Wesley Missions grew out of the inner city missions of the pre-union Methodist Church of Australasia...

 in Sydney held at the Royal Showgrounds

Sydney Showground (Moore Park)

The former Sydney Showground at Moore Park was the site of the Sydney Royal Easter Show in New South Wales, Australia from 1882 until 1997, when the Show was moved to the new Sydney Showground at Homebush Bay, which was built for the Sydney 2000 Olympics...

, from 16-23 January 1955. The theme was "God Works". Keynote

Keynote

A keynote in literature, music, or public speaking establishes the principal underlying theme. In corporate or commercial settings, greater importance is attached to the delivery of a keynote speech or keynote address...

 speakers included Dr A. Harold Wood

A. Harold Wood

Rev. Dr A. Harold Wood OBE was a 20th-century Australian churchman, educator, writer, hymnologist and advocate of church union.Born Alfred Harold Wood in Geelong on 4 May 1896, the son of Salvation Army officers, Wood was educated in Sydney...

, Alan Walker, and Dr Roy L. Smith from the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 who also led the Bible studies

Bible study (Christian)

In Christianity, Bible study is the study of the Bible by ordinary people as a personal religious or spiritual practice. Some denominations may call this devotion or devotional acts; however in other denominations devotion has other meanings...

. It was designed to reach the entire Christian community, not just that of the Methodist Church of Australasia

Methodist Church of Australasia

The Methodist Church of Australasia was a Methodist denomination based in Australia.It ceased to exist in 1977 when most of its congregations joined with the many congregations of the Congregational Union of Australia and the Presbyterian Church of Australia to form the Uniting Church in...

 (see Methodism

Methodism

Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...

).

The 50th anniversary NCYC was held in January 2005 at the Gawler

Gawler, South Australia

Gawler is the first country town in the state of South Australia, and is named after the second Governor of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is located north of the centre of the state capital, Adelaide, and is close to the major wine producing district of the Barossa Valley...

 campus of Trinity College to the north of Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

 in South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

.

Here is a full list of every NCYC held since 1955:

• 1955. New South Wales, Sydney. Theme: God Works
• 1957. South Australia, Adelaide.
• 1960. Queensland, Brisbane.
• 1963. Victoria, Melbourne.
• 1966. Western Australia, Perth.
• 1969. New South Wales, Sydney.
• 1973. Queensland, Gold Coast.
• 1975. South Australia, Adelaide. Theme: Three Worlds - One World - For God
• 1977. ACT, Canberra. Theme: Turning Point
• 1979. Western Australia, Perth. Theme: Directions
• 1981. New South Wales, Sydney. Theme: Focus
• 1983. Queensland, Brisbane. Theme: Witness
• 1985. South Australia, Adelaide. Theme: Dreams and Visions
• 1987. Victoria, Ballarat. Theme: Being There
• 1989. Western Australia, Perth. Theme: Cross the Desert
• 1991. Queensland, Toowoomba. Theme: Breaking New Ground
• 1993. ACT, Canberra. Theme: Love In A Dangerous Time
• 1995. SA, Adelaide. Theme: "Living On The Edge"
• 1997. Tasmania. Theme: Living the Legend
• 1999. Victoria, Geelong. Theme: It All Depends
• 2001. Queensland. Theme: Now is the Time
• 2003. NSW, Newcastle. Theme: Shaking The Foundations
• 2005. SA, Gawler. Theme: Live This Life
• 2007. WA, Scotch College Perth Perth, Western Australia
  Perth, Western Australia
  Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
  
  . Theme: Agents of Change also had an inaugural Adult Convention.
• 2009. Victoria, Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne
  Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne
  Methodist Ladies' College is an independent, non-selective, day and boarding school for girls, located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
  
  . Theme Converge
• 2011. Queensland, Gold Coast. Theme: Turn It Up

Organisation

Leadership is by a local organising committee utilising existing networks within the responsible Synod and coordinated, typically but not necessarily, by a young minister of religion

Minister of religion

In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community...

. Older adults are mobilised to support and assist.

Sometimes a university campus and its accommodation has been the base for the event. A range of accommodation options are offered, ranging from camping in tents to live-in accommodation and billeting.

External links

• NCYC 50th Anniversary site includes summary of each conference since 1955
• NCYC 2007 "Agents of Change"
• NCYC 2009 "Converge"