Sydney Anglicans are right behind a booming youth ministry which was created five years ago by non-Anglican churches.
RICE (Rice Inter-Church Evangelism) had a record number of 2000 largely Aussie-born Chinese youth and leaders filling The Overflow at Homebush for its annual Big Day Out on Saturday, an increase of 400 since last year.
"We're already hearing reports of young people becoming Christians, which is great," says RICE’s founder and director, Steve Chong.
RICE was formed five years ago as a lay-run, Presbyterian-based ministry to reach Australian-born Asian youth.
Today it is open to all and is supported by well-known Sydney Anglicans including the Rev Ian Powell, the Rev Ray Galea, and Bishop Al Stewart.
"In 24 years of ministry work and itinerant gospel preaching, I cannot remember a better or more exciting gospel opportunity than RICE 2005 at the Sydney Town Hall,” says Bishop Stewart.
An evening rally was held in Darling Harbour on August 18, the second of RICE’s two annual events.
Last year, over 400 high school youth had to be turned away from the rally because the Sydney Town Hall did not have enough seating.
"Nothing broke my heart more than hearing about those 400 or so youth who missed out last year," says Mr Chong.
"But this year God has been gracious enough to provide us the Sydney Convention Centre so we can fit more than ever before."
RICE started in 2002 with five churches, a handful of youth leaders, and a modest number of youth.
This year 44 churches and over 300 youth leaders took part, with over 2000 youth expected at to turn up.
"The night at RICE was one of the most life-changing and exhilarating experiences of my life because that night I gave it to Jesus," says one teenager who went to RICE last year.
He is one of over 200 youth who made Christian commitments at the 2006 events.
Teens line up for Godtalk
One surprising success was a ‘tough questions stall’ in the RICE cafe, a chillout area which also featured food and a live band.
Teenagers chose from a menu of tough questions and joined a long queue to hear the answers from leaders manning the stall.
"I thought it was going to be a dead zone, but it was the most packed out stall," says Mr Chong.
"I can't believe that a teenager would queue up to sit down and talk about God stuff."
