Sydney-based Youth ministry The RICE Movement is growing from strength to strength and last Saturday's RICEfest was no exception.
Over 1800 teenagers and youth leaders attended the RICEfest at Sydney Olympic Park's overflow on Saturday afternoon making it one of the biggest RICEfests in RICE's seven-year history.
English congregation pastor at the Burwood Chinese Presbyterian Church, Eugene Hor, Moore College student and former St Paul's, Castle Hill youth pastor Sam Low and RICE Movement founder and director Steve Chong gave evangelistic talks amidst the carnival atmosphere of RICEfest.
"RICEfest was incredible - the best one yet. I think the youth who came were fired up more than ever about seeing their friends come to know Jesus," Mr Chong says.
"The RICE café was flooded all day by people keen to talk about Christian things."
According to RICEfest co-ordinator Sam Mak, at least five teenagers that he knows of became Christian.
"We preached boldly and God did amazing things on that day. It shows God is still working in the hearts of young people. We look forward to him changing more hearts this Saturday," Mr Mak says.
The second Sydney RICE event, RICErally, is on at the Sydney Entertainment Centre this Saturday evening and has moved to this larger venue for the first time following rapidly increasing numbers at each previous year's RICErally.
"We only had 100 spare seats at the 3000-capactiy Darling Harbour Convention Centre last year and when we held the rally at the smaller capacity Town Hall in 2006 we had to turn away 400 high school youth," Mr Chong says.
Mr Chong is hoping the Sydney Entertainment Centre's 3500-seat capacity will be able to cater for those attending the evangelistic event.
However, with Mars Hill Church's senior pastor Mark Driscoll giving the evangelistic talk, Mr Chong believes this event could also be a sell-out.
"It's exciting to have Mark Driscoll. I think we can expect a cracker of a talk there. With Driscoll preaching Christians can be certain that their non-Christian friends will hear the gospel preached clearly," he says.
"At this event people will be confronted with the person of Jesus. We are going to see people come into kingdom that night."
At last year's RICErally 250 youth walked out to get counselling to become Christians, according to Mr Chong.
Earlier in the day, prior to the RICErally, Mark Driscoll will also launch new RICE Movement ministry RICEregenerate in the foyer of the Entertainment Centre and Mr Chong says 800 young adults are already committed to attending the launch.
Expanding RICE phenomenon
The aim of RICEregenerate is to target Christians aged between 25 and 40, whom Mr Chong regards as a "traditionally difficult age group".
"This age group can get tired after doing several passionate years of youth ministry. They often hit their first job, get married and have kids and so have lots of pressures," he says.
"How do we keep them passionate and stop them slipping back and become pew warmers while also keeping the from burning out?"
Mr Chong hopes both current and former RICE leaders plus many workers who have never been involved in RICE will attend RICEregenrate as he wants to see a generation of lay leaders involved with the RICE Movement growing into future church leaders.
"RICE would be a failure if in 30 years we look back and the sum total of the ministry is that we merely put on some fantastic youth events for high schoolers but had no lasting effect in resourcing churches with the leaders of tomorrow," Mr Chong says.
"If RICEregenerate takes off we will see a lasting impact in generations to come."
Mike Raiter will speak at the first RICEregenerate on October 18 at Sydney University.
RICE has also expanded north of the border with RICE Brisbane holding its first RICEfest and RICErally on May 3 and 10.
"We were really blown away by how well it was received. When we launched in Sydney seven years ago we had 120 kids from six churches at RICE," Mr Chong says.
"In Brisbane this year we had 200 kids from five churches and over 40 young people walked outside for counseling to become Christian."
For more details RICE visit the website. Steve Chong is inviting people interested in attending the RICErally this Saturday with a view to becoming RICEsupporters to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
