“Identity Theft†is the theme of the conference that InterVarsity’s Black Campus Ministry and Multiethnic Ministry staff will be promoting to students as they return to campus in the next few weeks.
For its 5th national conference in 13 years, coming up December 27-31, 2005, InterVarsity’s Black Campus Ministry has chosen a new and larger venue, the Renaissance Atlanta Hotel Downtown. More than 550 delegates are expected for Atlanta 05, up from 350 at Atlanta 02 when students had to be turned away.
With the theme “Identity Theft: Expose, Reclaim, Prevail,†delegates will be exposed to the lies that social conformity impose, urged to reclaim their redeemed identity in Jesus Christ, and to prevail over their circumstances by embracing that redeemed identity.
“Our community is diverse,†says Atlanta 05 conference director Boris Collins, “and we acknowledge that diversity. We’re not just Afro-American, but Afro-Caribbean, bi-racial, multi-racial, as well as first generation immigrants from Africa.†Boris hopes that delegates will not just reclaim their personal identity but also re-identify with their community of fellow believers. “We exist as part of a community and part of a body,†he says.
Speakers at Atlanta 05 were chosen for their ability to be relevant to college students and include Paula Fuller, InterVarsity vice president for Multiethnicity; Ed Ollie, InterVarsity Associate Regional Director from St. Louis; Harvey Cozart, Campus Staff Member from Kentucky; Sheldon Nix, professor and consultant from Pennsylvania; Cheryl Sanders, pastor and professor from Washington D.C.; Byron Williams, pastor and syndicated columnist from Oakland CA; and Esther Ibanga, pastor from Jos, Nigeria.
On a larger scale, the goal of Atlanta 05 matches the goal of Black Campus Ministries, to develop a generation of Black Christian leadership, and promote authentic reconciliation in the Body of Christ
