Youth of the Nation Conference
Youth of the Nation was an annual Christian Youth Conference held for 15 years in Wanganui, New Zealand. Unlike many other Christian conferences, YOTN was not held by one specific church or denomination. Youth of the Nation conferences and events were hosted by The Youth Of The Nation Trust in collaboration with other churches from around New Zealand. For the first 8 years the conferences were hosted by the Wanganui Christian Youth Workers collective, a group of Christian youth pastors & workers from different denominations & churches across the city of Wanganui. This collective included representatives from Anglican, Apostolic, Assemblies of God, Baptist, Open Brethren, Catholic, Incedo, Presbyterian, Christian Outreach Centre—now known as International Network of Churches—, Elim, Salvation Army, & non-denominational. From 2012 until 2018, the YOTN Trust partnered with churches, not only in Wanganui, but from across New Zealand to host events in different cities.
Introduction
Youth of the Nation aimed to encourage and empower Christian young people to pursue Jesus Christ with a zeal that will impact their generation. As an event, the goal was to provide a 3-4 day event that was affordable for more New Zealand young people, while maintaining the standards & excellence of some of the leading national conferences.The vision to hold YOTN came from Wanganui A/G youth pastor, Ben Hoyle. In 2003, Ben approached the local city youth workers to hold the conference as a city. He recognised that for one church to put on such a large event was too much, and that together the city could pull its resources and achieve the goal. With many of the city youth workers on board, plans were made to hold the very first conference in July 2004.
Each year YOTN gained momentum seeing attendance grow and more young people leave excited about their faith.
"YOTN continues to build in its momentum, magnitude and excellence. It is great to see more and more young people coming and leaving radically changed. The greatest thrill for me is seeing the hunger in the younger generation for the reality of God and a deep desire to walk in God's ways. Long may it continue." - Ps Iliafi Esera
In 2011, the event moved from the Wanganui Central Baptist Church, where it had been held for 6 years, to the School Hall at Wanganui City College. Then in 2012, YOTN IX was moved to the War Memorial Hall Convention Centre which seats 1500 people, where the conference was held until 2015.
Ben Hoyle resigned as YOTN director in 2018 and Youth of the Nation Trust & events were absorbed into the Fearless Movement of the Assemblies of God NZ under the leadership of Ps Mike Coe from Timaru. YOTN held its final conference in April 2018 at Whanganui Central Baptist Church. The theme for 2018 was 'Possible' and involved reflecting on the past 15 years. Ps Ben Hoyle spoke the final message of conference and Ps Mike Coe closed the conference by announcing the future with Fearless.
History
Conferences
Starting with Youth of the Nation 2004, the conference has been held annually. The first decade of YOTN Conferences were headlined by guest speakers and guest artists.| Year | Title | Dates | Venue | Featured Speakers | Featured Artists |
| 2004 | Youth of the Nation 2004 | 2–4 July | Faith Community Church | Ps Graeme Brock Timo Tagaloa Ps Tim King | Wash Rapture Ruckus Colliding Traits |
| 2005 | Youth of the Nation 05 | 8–10 July | Central Baptist Church | Ps John Cairns Ps Paul Saunders Justin Duckworth | Moped Agent'c Assorted Sweets |
| 2006 | Youth of the Nation III | 30 June - 2 July | Central Baptist Church | Ps Don McDonell Adrian Bates Ps Daniel Paikea | Do Or Die Calling Elijah Fallen State |
| 2007 | Youth of the Nation IV | 29 June - 1 July | Central Baptist Church | Ps Don McDonell Ps Neville Bartley Ps Iliafi Esera | Zebulun Arms Reach Calling Elijah |
| 2008 | Youth of the Nation V | 16–19 July | Central Baptist Church | Ps Ben Houston Dave Wells Ps Sam Bayly | Outta Exile Dave Wiggins Zero-T Tom Watts |
| 2009 | Youth of the Nation 6 | 9–11 July | Central Baptist Church | Ps Christoph Zintl Ps Sam Bayly Ps Levi Marychurch Ps Daniel Paikea Ps Shane Meyer | E.M.T. Calling Elijah A Kiss Goodbye |
| 2010 | Youth of the Nation VII | 8–10 July | Central Baptist Church | Ps John Cairns Michael Jones Julia Wright Ps Kem Price Ps Levi Marychurch | The Frisk Dave Wiggins Jury & The Saints |
| 2011 | Youth of the Nation 8 | 21–23 July | Wanganui City College | Ps David Katina Ps Al Furey Ps Scott Bell Ps Steve Dunne Ps Christoph Zintl | Tokyo Keys Sio Vaelua Asher |
| 2012 | Youth of the Nation IX | 12–14 July | War Memorial Hall | Ps James Williams Ps Don McDonell Cindy Ruakere Ps Tim Cleary Ps Daniel Paikea | MADD Messenger Theophilus |
| 2013 | Youth of the Nation X | 24–27 July | War Memorial Hall | Ps Nick Khiroya Ps John Cairns Ps Esther Elliott Ps Don McDonell Ps Graeme Brock Ps Steve Dunne | Andy Campbell Black Boy Peaches |
From 2014, YOTN Conferences no longer headlined regular artists, putting more focus on guest speakers and introducing Tribal War games that had been tested at YOTN X with success.
| Year | Title | Dates | Venue | Featured Speakers | Extra Notes |
| 2014 | Youth of the Nation Plus | 17–19 July | War Memorial Conference Centre | Dr Allan Meyer Ps Luka Robertson Ps Daniel Paikea Ps Sam Bayly | #RunWellAotearoa |
| 2015 | Youth of the Nation Uproar | 9–11 July | War Memorial Conference Centre | Ps Ted DiBiase Ps Jadwin Gillies Ps Esther Elliott Ps Rocky Stocks | #IamtheUproar |
| 2016 | Youth of the Nation One | 28–30 April | Wanganui Racecourse | Ps Nick Khiroya Ps Steven Silcock Ps Daniel Paikea Ps Gary Grut Ps Gordon Fitch | One God One Body One Kingdom |
| 2017 | Youth of the Nation Ascend the Hill | 27–29 April | Central Baptist Church | Ps Brenden Brown Ps Steven Silcock Ps Byron Marchant Ps Gary Grut | |
| 2018 | Youth of the Nation Possible | 26–28 April | Central Baptist Church | Ps Daniel Paikea Ps Steven Silcock Ps Christoph Zintl Ps Ben Hoyle | F15TEEN YEARS |
Speakers
Youth of the Nation Conference has been blessed over the years with some great speakers from across New Zealand, along with many of the gifted ministers from Wanganui itself. Here is a list of all those who have spoken, either in main sessions or electives, over the years:| Speaker's Name | Organisation/Church | Conferences |
| Andrew Bailey | Elim Worship Centre | YOTN X YOTN Ascend the Hill |
| Kerran Bartley | Central Baptist Church | YOTN 2004 YOTN 05 |
| Neville Bartley | Scripture Union | YOTN 2004 YOTN III YOTN IV YOTN V YOTN VII YOTN IX YOTN X YOTN Uproar YOTN Possible |
| Asher Bastion | Life FM | YOTN 6 |
| Adrian Bates | Creation Ministries International | YOTN III |
| Sam Bayly | National New Life Churches Youth Director | YOTN III YOTN IV YOTN V YOTN 6 YOTN IX YOTN Plus |
| Ivan Beets | Wash | YOTN 2004 |
| Scott Bell | Inspire Church Albany A/G | YOTN 6 YOTN 8 YOTN X |
| Kirk Beyer | The Rock | YOTN Plus |
| Graeme Brock | CCC on Pascal | YOTN 2004 YOTN X |
| Brenden Brown | Hillsong Church | YOTN Ascend the Hill |
| Murray Brown | YouthTrain NZ | YOTN 05 YOTN IV |
| Morgan Burne | Citywestchurch A/G | YOTN Plus |
| Sam Burrows | YOTN IX | |
| John Cairns | John Cairns Ministries | YOTN 05 YOTN VII YOTN X |
| Andrew Campbell | St Paul's Symonds Street | YOTN 2004 YOTN X |
| Lorne Campbell | Christ Church Anglican Parish | YOTN V |
| Matthew Chamberlain | National Presbyterian Youth Director | YOTN Uproar |
| Tim Cleary | C3 | YOTN IX |
| Mike Coe | Connect Church | YOTN Possible |
| Matt Collier | City Church A/G | YOTN III |
| Patrick Coneglan | Equippers Church | YOTN III |
| Brendan Cooper | Faith City Church | YOTN Possible |
| Kerryann Cooper | Faith City Church | YOTN Possible |
| Paul Cornish | Central Baptist Church | YOTN IV |
| Malcolm Delamare | Porirua Christian Life Centre A/G | YOTN 6 |
| Ted DiBiase | WWE Hall of Famer | YOTN Uproar |
| Andy Dickson | Calling Elijah | YOTN 6 |
| Justin Duckworth | Global Education Centre | YOTN 05 |
| Mick Duncan | The Outsiders | YOTN Possible |
| Steve Dunne | Richmond Baptist Church | YOTN 8 YOTN X |
| David Elliott | World Outreach | YOTN One |
| Esther Elliott | Equippers Church | YOTN X YOTN Uproar |
| Penny Elliott | World Outreach | YOTN One |
| Marty Emmett | YWAM | YOTN Uproar |
| Iliafi Esera | Faith City Church A/G | YOTN III YOTN IV YOTN X |
| Dallas Eves | Ingestre Street Bible Church | YOTN 05 |
| Gordon Fitch | National Presbyterian Youth Manager | YOTN One |
| Al Furey | Al Furey Ministries | YOTN 8 |
| Rebecca Gane | Salvation Army HQ | YOTN X |
| Julia Gaze | Citywestchurch A/G | YOTN IV |
| Jadwin Gillies | Hillsong United | YOTN Uproar |
| Tania Goose | Riverstones Church A/G | YOTN Plus |
| Gary Grut | National Baptist Youth Team Leader | YOTN One YOTN Ascend the Hill |
| Mike Hadwin | Albany City Church A/G | YOTN 8 |
| Sam Harvey | Soul Survivor NZ | YOTN IV |
| Beki Hayward | Soul Survivor NZ | YOTN V |
| Justin Holm | The Base City Church | YOTN III |
| Travers Hopkins | Equippers Church | YOTN VII |
| Ben Houston | Hillsong Northern Beaches | YOTN V |
| Ben Hoyle | Faith City Church A/G | YOTN V YOTN 6 YOTN X YOTN Plus YOTN Uproar YOTN One YOTN Possible |
| Nigel Irwin | Central Baptist Church | YOTN One |
| Aaron Jackson | Actor | YOTN 05 YOTN Possible |
| David Jones | Citywestchurch A/G | YOTN 8 |
| Michael Jones | Former All Black | YOTN VII |
| Eugene Katene | Te Puna O Wai Ora | YOTN IV |
| Kinyua Kathuri | Ingestre Street Bible Church | YOTN Ascend the Hill |
| David Katina | Koinonia Christian Center | YOTN 8 |
| Nick Khiroya | Hillsong Church | YOTN X YOTN One |
| Tim King | Advance Ministry Training College | YOTN 2004 |
| Abby Kingi | Faith City Church A/G | YOTN 8 |
| Caleb Kingi | Cliff Life Church A/G | YOTN 8 YOTN One |
| Nick Kirk | Christ Church Anglican | YOTN 6 |
| David Mann | Hope Project | YOTN Ascend the Hill |
| Byron Marchant | Equippers Church | YOTN Ascend the Hill |
| Tawhe Mark | Christian Outreach Centre | YOTN 05 YOTN 6 |
| Levi Marychurch | Arise Church | YOTN 6 YOTN VII |
| Braden Matson | Harvest Christian Church A/G | YOTN IV YOTN V |
| Don McDonell | Inspire Church Albany A/G | YOTN III YOTN IV YOTN IX YOTN X |
| Jacob McGregor | Faith City Church A/G | YOTN Plus |
| Karina McGregor | Faith City Church A/G | YOTN One |
| Chris McKenzie | St Andrew's Presbyterian Church | YOTN IV YOTN IX YOTN X YOTN Ascend the Hill |
| Andrew McKerrow | Salvation Army | YOTN VII |
| Allan Meyer | Careforce Lifekeys | YOTN Plus |
| Shane Meyer | City Church A/G | YOTN 6 |
| Mo Morgan | St James' Presbyterian Church | YOTN One |
| Ray Moxham | Freedom Christian Church A/G | YOTN Plus |
| Rachel O'Connor | Youth For Christ | YOTN III |
| Daniel Paikea | Paikea Ministries | YOTN III YOTN V YOTN 6 YOTN 8 YOTN IX YOTN X YOTN Plus YOTN Uproar YOTN One YOTN Ascend the Hill YOTN Possible |
| Whetu Pohio | Turning Point Church | YOTN IX |
| Joshua Pound | Central Baptist Church | YOTN Ascend the Hill YOTN Possible |
| Kem Price | Kem Price Ministries | YOTN VII |
| Rosanne Rea | Ingestre Street Bible Church | YOTN 8 |
| Teina Rima | Good News Emanuel Faith Fellowship A/G | YOTN Plus |
| Luka Robertson | Manukau Hope Centre | YOTN Plus |
| Scott Rosene | Youth For Christ | YOTN 05 YOTN III YOTN IV |
| Glen Rowe | Colliding Traits | YOTN 2004 |
| James Roy | Equippers Church | YOTN X YOTN One |
| Cindy Ruakere | Northcity Church | YOTN IX |
| Paul Saunders | Global Task | YOTN 05 |
| Vivian Schwartfeger | Why Ministries | YOTN 05 YOTN VII |
| Steven Silcock | Revolution Church | YOTN One YOTN Ascend the Hill YOTN Possible |
| Kent Somerville | SALT Church | YOTN VII |
| Andrew Stanbrook-Mason | Faith City Church A/G | YOTN 2004 YOTN V |
| Rocky Stocks | Grace Vineyard Church | YOTN Uproar |
| Timo Tagaloa | Athletes in Action | YOTN 2004 |
| Iliesa Tamaniyaga | City Ministers Association | YOTN V |
| Rob Thompson | Central Baptist Church | YOTN V |
| Greg Tichbon | Youth For Christ | YOTN 2004 |
| Sean du Toit | Alphacrucis | YOTN IX |
| Lyndon Tongs | Christian Family A/G | YOTN III |
| Selepa Vai | Te Awamutu A/G | YOTN Uproar |
| Jordan Vailima | Life City Church | YOTN Possible |
| Christine Waitai-Rapana | Faith City Church | YOTN Ascend the Hill |
| Daryl Warburton | Waitara High School | YOTN Possible |
| Dave Wells | Bible College Of NZ | YOTN V |
| Stephanie West | The Base City Church | YOTN 2004 |
| Paul White | Levin A/G | YOTN VII YOTN 8 YOTN Possible |
| Dave Wiggins | Comedian | YOTN V YOTN VII |
| Annette Williams | St Andrew's Presbyterian Church | YOTN 2004 YOTN 05 |
| James Williams | Peninsula City Church | YOTN IX |
| Simon Williams | St Andrew's Presbyterian Church | YOTN 2004 YOTN 05 |
| Petia Wilson | MADD Messenger | YOTN IX |
| Melody Winters | Incedo | YOTN VII |
| Julia Wright | Christian Broadcaster | YOTN VII |
| Christoph Zintl | The Story Vineyard Church | YOTN 6 YOTN 8 YOTN Possible |
Youth of the Nation: Preliminary event
YOTN held a special preliminary event, held in Term One of the school year. It served to bring youth groups and ministries together in cities around the nation. It also gave young people a taste of what the actual conference held later in the year would be like.| Year | Title | Date | Venue | Speaker | Notes |
| 2006 | YOTN InFocus | 11 March | Faith City Church A/G, Wanganui | Ps John Cairns | Wanganui band Fallen State performed |
| 2007 | YOTN IV InFocus | 15 February | Faith City Church A/G, Wanganui | Ps Don McDonell | This was the first full meeting Ps Don ministered at following his quad-bike accident in Nov 2006 |
| 2008 | YOTN V InFocus | 22 February | Christ Church Anglican, Wanganui | Ps John Cairns | |
| 2009 | YOTN6 InFocus | 5 March 6 March | St Andrews Presbyterian, Wanganui Life City Church A/G, Wainuiomata | Ps Daniel Paikea | The first InFocus held outside of Wanganui was held in Wellington. |
| 2010 | YOTN VII InFocus | 6 March 24 April | Salt Church A/G, Palmerston North Life City Church A/G, Wainuiomata | Ps Scott Bell Ps Christoph Zintl Ps Levi Marychurch | The first InFocus held in the Palmerston North. These were whole day events. |
| 2011 | YOTN8 InFocus | 25 February 26 February | Equippers Church, Wanganui Hutt City Baptist Church, Lower Hutt | Ps Braden Matson | |
| 2012 | YOTN IX Tour | 18 March 20 March 21 March 22 March 23 March 24 March | Living Waters Christian Church, Auckland City Rock Church, Napier Faith City Church A/G, Wanganui Hutt City New Life Church, Wellington Richmond Baptist Church, Nelson South City Christian Centre, Christchurch | Ps James Williams | InFocus was renamed Tour and YOTN held events in multiple cities. |
| 2013 | YOTN X Tour | 5 April 6 April 7 April 8 April 9 April 10 April 11 April 12 April 13 April 14 April | Nations Church, Dunedin Aranui Primary School, Christchurch Richmond Baptist Church, Nelson The Rock Church, Wellington The Miracle Centre, Hastings St Andrews Presbyterian, Wanganui citywestchurch A/G, New Plymouth South Waikato Events Centre, Tokoroa Otara Recreation Centre, South Auckland Inspire Church Albany, Albany Auckland | Ps Daniel Paikea | Celebrating 10 Years in 10 Cities over 10 Days. |
| 2014 | YOTN Plus Tour | 27 March 28 March 29 March 30 March 31 March 1 April 2 April | Nations Church, Dunedin City East Church, Christchurch Faith City Church, Auckland Inspire Church, Taupo Equippers Church, Wanganui The Miracle Centre, Hastings The Rock Church, Wellington | Ps Christoph Zintl | 'Run Well Aotearoa' |
| 2015 | YOTN Uproar Tour | 20 March 21 March 22 March 24 March 25 March 26 March 27 March 28 March | Freedom Christian Church, Hamilton Mt Zion A/G Manurewa, Auckland Inspire Church, Taupo Elim Worship Centre, Wanganui Equippers Church, Masterton Kings House Church, Napier Hutt City Baptist Church, Wellington Nations Church, Dunedin | Ps Esther Elliott Ps Kirk Beyer Ps Ben Hoyle | #IamtheUproar |
| 2016 | YOTN One InFocus | 11–12 March | Hutt City Church A/G, Wellington | Ps Ben Hoyle Ps Christoph Zintl Ps Gordon Fitch | Due to the change of Conference dates to April, the Tour was put on hold and replaced with this InFocus event. |
| 2017 | YOTN ATH Tour | 24 March 31 March | Ormiston Senior College, Auckland Hutt City Church A/G, Wellington | Ps Steven Silcock Ps Byron Marchant | Steven spoke at the Auckland event, and Byron spoke in Wellington. |
| 2018 | YOTN Auckland Possible | 14 April | Ormiston Senior College, Auckland | Ps Teina Rima |
Youth of the Nation: Leadership Event
Following the 10th Anniversary Conference in 2013, YOTN launched a leadership development event held in the later part of the year. "The Aim is to bring youth pastors, leaders and workers together from across Aotearoa to be encouraged, empowered and equipped."| Year | Title | Date | Venue | Speaker | Notes |
| 2013 | YOTN Leaders Plus | 16 November | The Rock Church, Wellington | Ps Luka Robertson | |
| 2014 | YOTN Leaders Uproar | 10–11 October | Faith City Church, Wanganui | Ps Iliafi Esera Ps James Roy Kirk Beyer Melissa Beyer Ps Ben Hoyle | |
| 2015 | YOTN Leaders One | 2–3 October | Faith City Church, Wanganui | Ps Sam Monk Ps Mike Coe | |
| 2016 | YOTN Ascend the Hill Leaders Conference | 30 September - 1 October | The Rock Church, Wellington | Ps Sy Rogers | |
| 2017 | YOTN Fathers of the Faith Leaders Conference | 10–11 November | The Rock Church, Wellington | Ps Iliafi Esera Ps Kem Price |
YOTN Championship
In 2008, the conference added a sports extension. The YOTN Championship is a sports tournament where different churches/youth groups attending the conference entered teams to compete for the YOTN Championship Trophy. It is a fun competitive event.| Year | Conference | Venue | Winners | Runners-up |
| 2008 | YOTN V | Wanganui City College Gymnasium | St Paul's Presbyterian Church | Faith City Church A/G |
| 2009 | YOTN6 | Wanganui City College Gymnasium | Levin A/G | YOTN6 Worship Team |
| 2010 | YOTN VII | Wanganui City College Gymnasium | Faith City Church A/G | Levin A/G |
| 2011 | YOTN8 | Wanganui City College Gymnasium | Living Waters Church | Levin A/G |
| 2012 | YOTN IX | Wanganui Collegiate Gymnasium | Faith City Church A/G | Levin Life Church |
| 2013 | YOTN X | Springvale Stadium | Turning Point Church | Good News Emmanuel Faith Fellowship |
| 2014 | YOTN Plus | Springvale Stadium | Faith City Church A/G | Hutt City Church A/G |
| 2015 | YOTN Uproar | Springvale Stadium | Hutt City Church A/G | CliffLife Church |
| 2016 | YOTN One | Springvale Stadium | Hutt City Church A/G | Porirua Christian Life Centre |
| 2017 | YOTN Ascend the Hill | Jubilee Stadium | Faith City Church A/G | Life Changers Church |
| 2018 | YOTN Possible | Whanganui High School Gymnasium | Good News Emanuel Faith Fellowship | Faith City Church A/G |
Websites
- - official website
News articles
- - article in Challenge Weekly Vol 63 Issue No 30 Page 5
- Youth of the Nation Conference 05 - article in Empowered Magazine Spring 2005 Edition Page 13
- Youth of the Nation III Conference - article in Empowered Magazine Spring 2006 Edition Page 14
- Youth of The Nation IV Report - article in Empowered Magazine Spring 2007 Edition Page 10
- Youth of the Nation V - article in Empowered Magazine Spring 2008 Edition Page 7-8
- Youth of the Nation - article in The Wanganui Chronicle Saturday 11 July 2009 Page A4
- Youth of the Nation VII Conference Wanganui - article in Empowered Magazine Spring 2010 Edition Page 31
- - article on Firezone 3 August 2011
- The Message - article in The Wanganui Chronicle Monday 16 July 2012 Page A4
- - article in The Wanganui Chronicle Thursday 25 July 2013 Front Page
- Youth of the Nation Conference Celebrating 10th Anniversary - article in The River City Press Vol. 29, No 27, July 25, 2013 Page 3
- - article in The Wanganui Chronicle Saturday 27 July 2013 Page 2
- Youth of the Nation 2016 - article in Empowered Magazine Edition #2 July 2016 Page 18
- Ascend the Hill, Leaders Summit - article in Empowered Magazine Edition #3 December 2016 Page 22
- YOTN God Doesn't Give His Heart in Pieces - article in Empowered Magazine Edition #2 August 2017 Page 20
- Ascend the Hill - article in Empowered Magazine Edition #2 August 2017 Page 21
- 15 Years Of Youth of the Nation Conference - article in Empowered Magazine Edition #2 August 2018 Page 18-19