Until 11 April 2010, attendee registration and group registrations are $290.

From 12 April 2010, attendee registrations will increase to $349 and groups of 10 attendees or more for $320 each.

Adult volunteer prices remain at $150.

Registration includes 5 lunches and 6 dinners.

Please remember that accommodation costs are additional, and include breakfast, depending on which option you choose.

So use the extension well.

Visit the registration page for more details on registration and accommodation. Check out the congregation info pack available on the downloads page. Gather your information, promote in your church, youth group or small group and register before the final discount period finally runs out.

It contains the vital information you need to know as an attendee, group member, leader, youth worker, congregation member or minister who wants to know what ncyc11 is about.

Including:

Where, when, how & how much

Background, goals & purpose of ncyc11

Theme & program information

Location information, tour ideas, fundraising kick-starters

Preparing for and responding as a congregation to the challenges of ncyc11

Sending & returning liturgies.

Check it out – you need this resource!

1.  Start promoting NCYC early and getting youth to come along. This will help to overcome anxious feelings for first time attendees.

2.  Make sure groups have information on the theme and Bible readings to help them spiritually prepare before NCYC.

3.  Meet as a whole group a minimum of one month out from NCYC, either for a day or overnight to give everybody an itinerary, tour information, theme, elective and general event information, as well as to get to know the rest of the group.

4.  Get the congregation involved early so they can support you with prayer, preparation of materials and fundraising ideas.

5.  Include the congregation in what will be experienced at NCYC so they can support, listen to, respond and celebrate with your group.

6.  Use sending and receiving liturgies in worship before and after your group leaves for ncyc11.

7.  Don’t just ask your congregation to give towards fundraising but to help organise fundraising events for the community to participate in.

8.  Prepare a tour booklet that includes things to do on your journey to and from NCYC.

9.  Include worship and small group time into your journey.

10. Include getting to know you time for the trip to NCYC.

11. During ncyc11, include times and places where your group can check in or touch base with leaders from your tour, to share their challenges and experiences (in addition to their ncyc11 small group).

12. Include time for debriefing on the way back from your tour.

13. Have small groups within your tour group—for both to support each other and to get chores done!

14. Build relationships with churches along the way—they’re likely to accommodate you, cook for you and worship with you as well as stay in touch after NCYC.

15. Be prepared for new relationships, new ideas, new music, new challenges, and to be part of a deepening faith experience with your young people

16. Use the preparation for ncyc11 as a program and energy builder for your youth ministry throughout the year.

17. You’re never too old for NCYC. Encourage adults in your congregation to come along as adult volunteers and to act as leaders and mentors to your young people.

18. Don’t just hit the theme parks before or after ncyc11. Use the time to learn about the local areas, do mission, build relationships and worship God.

For Alison Cox, ncyc11 Coordinator, her most memorable NCYC experience was in 1991 in Toowoomba.

“We were at an evening worship time where Tony Campolo had spoken,” reflects Alison.

“The question posed that night was a specific ‘God is calling you, are you going to sit there or do something about it?’

“I realised that there was no way I could stay in my seat.

“My heart was pounding and I stood up having no idea that it would eventually mean moving interstate and having a completely different life from where I thought I was heading.

“I’d planned to be a psychologist in South Australia and now I’m ordained in the Uniting Church in Queensland.”

To survive ncyc11, Alison recommends a “head and heart ready for anything, open to what God might be saying” and she is constantly reminded of that as she coordinates the organising team preparing ncyc11.

“It’s exciting as it continues to unfold at this point, knowing that there is so much more to come,” said Alison.

“My dream for ncyc11 is to see young people together in a space where they are free to ‘be’,” said Alison.

“I’m really hoping the ‘Turn it up’ theme is embraced by more than just the attendees—I’m hoping that as a whole church we will consider what it means for us.

“We can’t send our young people to ncyc11 and not be willing to support them along the way—before, during and after the event.

“Here is an amazing opportunity for young people to continue to grow in their relationship with God—I just love seeing God at work in people’s lives!”

For the first time in NCYC history, ncyc11 begins in December, meaning that attendees will welcome 2011 with special NCYC style New Year’s celebrations.

Confirmed speakers for the conference include Gillian Best, speaker and Youth Ministry Coordinator for the Irish Methodist Church and Australian Christian comedian and magician, Christopher Wayne.

Welcome to the January update from the ncyc11 organising team… well sort of! I know it’s February, but there’s been lots happening that we need to let you know about.

If you’re like me and need a little help getting the year started, at the end of this email, you’ll find some tips to get you and your team motivated and setting youth ministry in motion for 2010.

Also included is an update on how we’re going getting our systems online. So read on, enjoy and if you have any questions or just want to share your ideas for ncyc11, contact us any time at the NCYC office.

Accommodation online

We’ve updated the accommodation information available at ncyc11.com.au so now you can find out a bit more about your accommodation choices. And when you register online, you can now specify your accommodation choice (budget, dorm, private, arrange your own or group accommodation).

 If you’ve already registered, visit the Register page of the website, enter your access key and you’ll be able to enter your accommodation preference.

Please note that when you book online, it will display a “per night” price, and your total will display as you progress through the booking process.

Registration discount closes soon

The current registration price of $290 runs out at the end of February, so register online now to secure your place before the price rises to $349.

You’ll help us out by paying for your registration within 10 working days of making your booking.

Please call us or email us if you have any problems or questions about the booking and payment process and we’ll do our best to help you out. Register now.

Congregational information pack

We’ve been working hard to update our congregational information pack so that it has all the information you need to get the people in your congregation excited and ready for NCYC.

There’s lots to do to plan a tour and spiritually prepare your group for the experience of a lifetime at ncyc11. It also contains up to date venue, price, logistic and program information.

We must acknowledge the work of previous NCYCs (NCYC 09 and NCYC 03) for the work they have done in preparing some of the materials. We’ve shamelessly borrowed them because we think they’re excellent!

This resource will be available on our website within the next week or two, so stay tuned to facebook, twitter or our website for the green light.

New promotional materials

The marketing team has been working hard to prepare some fresh promo materials to help you spread the word about ncyc11.

Stay tuned to Facebook, Twitter and ncyc11.com.au so you know when the new ncyc11 ads and trailers are ready to go.

In the meantime, you can download posters, designs for your desktop… and all sorts of stuff to get you hyped early for ncyc11.

Tips for kicking off youth ministry & good relationships in Twenty10

By now you’ve probably caught up with your group and leaders since the holidays, found out who else might want to be involved, worked out your program and discovered the things that may have changed since last year.

Here’s some simple things you can do whether a leader or member of a group that could make a difference to your year:

• Pray for your group – as a whole and individually – and pray often!
  • Who else could you invite to pray for your young people? The group doesn’t exist in isolation and the whole church can be involved and feel connected in various ways.
  • Pray for your leaders and your own growth and well being as you lead the group

• Think about the bigger picture of the whole year…
  • What might be in store for your crew this year? Think about how you can be intentional about the direction your group heads in this year.
  • What are the key events the group might want to be involved in?
  • Where do you think God might want the group to be in 12 months? Spiritually, emotionally, relationally…

• Plan to make ncyc11 an integral part of your year – it’s not just something to go to at the end of the year.
  • Connect each of your potential delegates with someone in your congregation who can meet with them regularly to pray for them and help them to get prepared for the ncyc11 experience. They can meet together afterwards to share the ncyc11 story, and support each other.
  • Plan fundraising activities throughout the year that can bring the group together on a shared project, and minimise costs for your young people
  • Organise a tour group, and plan ways to be challenged and grow emotionally and spiritually along the journey i.e. which churches in smaller communities could you visit and serve in and share with along the way?
  • Talk with your church council about how to give your young people more empowerment within your church.

• Help your young people to find ways to connect with and learn from those more experienced in life and faith from your congregation.

  That’s all for the “January” ncyc11 update. Stay tuned for the February update. It’ll be here before you know it and will have program updates, new blog announcements and more!

At 23, Allison Tyquin is an NCYC veteran.

The National Christian Youth Convention (NCYC) is held by the Uniting Church every two years in different locations across Australia; ncyc11 at the Gold Coast will be Allison’s fifth convention.

“Even though I was told about NCYC before leaving for my first convention, I didn’t really know what to expect,” said Allison.

“My first whole convention gathering was amazing—just so many young people worshipping together.

“The environment that is created at NCYC is like nothing I had experienced before—everyone is so friendly and you can be stupid and not have to worry what other people think of you.”

When asked what would be in her NCYC survival kit, the top thing on Allison’s list is not chocolate, a pillow or her mobile phone, but “to make the most of every opportunity—you never know what you might take away from it.”

It’s this attitude that led to Allison’s most memorable experience of NCYC, during “submersions” at NCYC 2009 in Melbourne.

“During submersions, everyone goes out into the community in groups or spends time learning about something important within the community,” said Allison.

“A group came out to us and set up a simulated activity on asylum seekers.

“Some people played asylum seekers in Australian detention centres, others of us played lawyers advising the asylum seekers what they should do.

“It really showed us how difficult and lengthy the process is and helped us to better understand what it would be like to be in that position.”

Check out his website: http://www.gospelmagic.com.au/

She has led 9 international mission teams to France, Ibiza, London, Nicaragua, Zambia and Romania, 6 of them with Christian house building charity Habitat for Humanity.

She loves nothing more than seeing young people get their eyes opened to the need in the world and engages with people through working alongside them as they build their own home.