My time at CHIC was an exciting time. Everything about it was fun, even the bus ride there and back. I was able to experience a lot of cool things that brought me closer to God. Everyday started off with a nice breakfast then a time where you were able to meet new people from all over the country and some from out of the country! After that we were able to have a little variety; we were able to go to a big group discussion about many different topics. This is where I was able to meet the producer of some of my favorite movies: the X-Men trilogy! That part of the day was always fun. The weather was always really hot so lucky during free time I was able to go to the huge pool they have outdoors to cool off and yell at all of the people on the diving boards to do a belly flop. The last part of the night was always exciting. Main stage is where everyone gets together in the basketball arena to worship. The bands were great and the CHIC band was also good. It was great to be there with thousands of other Christians praising God. It was a great time to become closer to God and just goofing off.
–Tim
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CHIC was an amazing experience. Everything about it was fun: the small groups in the morning, then focus sessions, chilling in the pool, winning the hula hoop contest at the luau, the main stage bands and speakers were all amazing. One of my favorite parts though was most definitely going to main stage. The first time I walked into that arena I was just awe struck by all the people. I knew CHIC was big and everyone told me about how amazing it was but their words were not enough to express that feeling you feel when you walk into the arena. Even though I had heard so much about how big and amazing it was I was still awe struck at its enormity. I loved being there with so many kids my age who go through the same struggles I go through and knowing that many of them were Christians just like me. It’s good to know that there are people out there my age who do believe strongly in their faith because at school there seems to be so few. 
“This one week has defined my faith and truly deepened and strengthened my relationship with God. I arrived at CHIC unsure of what kind of experiences God had planned for me but now I have a glimpse into the lifestyle he wants me to lead. The CHIC experience has moved me in so many ways; i now want to praise and worship God in everything I do, from when I wake up ’til I lie in bed at night…
CHIC. Whenever people mention it, I am overwhelmed with so many feelings and memories. I went as a student to CHIC in 1997. I got on the plane, headed out to Colorado, and when I came back I wasn’t the same. I know each student interacts with the experience differently and takes something unique from it. I point to CHIC as one of the touchstones in my walk with Jesus – so it was very exciting for me to be on staff, ‘on the other side,’ and take a group of kids into this experience. It was really neat for me to watch everything: new friendships form within the youth group, students ROCKING OUT during worship, listening to how speakers were challenging them. I loved watching it all happen. But, equally exciting for me, was to be invited into it all. Being allowed to be a part of the new friendships, freely worshipping with the students, being challenged myself by the speakers’ words…this was really special for me. I didn’t feel like an outside observer – I felt like a participant. How I LOVED hanging out with our group! Hanging out in the pool every day yelling “belly flooooooop!,” laughing at myself when I got so tired at the end of every day and just enjoying our time together. CHIC continues to shape my life in significant ways. Thanks to everyone at Trinity for all of your willing support – we were blessed by the experience!
My time at CHIC had both its up and downs. The traveling process to get there was just as long as the time we spent in Tennessee. I really enjoyed traveling down with other churches and I liked stay over night at a hotel so we could get to know other people better. The only downside of the traveling was the length was extremely long and at points it felt like we were traveling forever.
CHIC is an event in my life that continues to shape who I am. The first lesson I learned at CHIC is that the body of Christ extends across the entire U.S. and even around the world. I guess I knew in my head that Christians come from all cultures, but for the first time I experienced meeting with thousands of other youths. Second, CHIC opened up my heart to worshiping with fellow brother and sisters for the glory of Christ. I still can hear the worship of a packed out auditorium of passionate worshipers. Third, even after CHIC ended, I still communicated with people at CHIC (for example: I e-mailed Matt Lundgren who replied back).
Everyone has struggles in their lives and one of my biggest struggles was growing up without a dad. My parents divorced when I was two so I never had a relationship with my dad. When I was younger it never really fazed me to think about not having a dad around, but in the last couple of years it has. There were times I would lie in bed and cry because all I longed for was a father. I saw friends with their dads and I wished I had one. When I went to CHIC, I attended to a workshop about growing up without a father and there was also a woman speaker that talked about how God has helped her with her relationship with her dad. Through this experience, I realized that God is my father. On that trip, God replaced that
I felt that CHIC was a great trip for me to go on. At first I was dreading the bus ride, but it was much shorter than I expected. When we got there, it seemed like the whole area had a great atmosphere. The first night we had a meeting in the UT stadium, and it was amazing how many people were there. As the week progressed, I found that there were many different things that I wanted to experience. There were some interesting seminars, which were always thought provoking and often enlightening. Afterwards, there were so many things that I wanted to do. Different activities, ranging from bowling to pickup soccer games, were all very entertaining and provided possibilities to meet a lot of new people. At night there were concerts and then several speakers would give a message. Combined with all of this was some excellent time spent with the church group and some other people we met. CHIC was a fun experience for me, and I hope that everyone else can have a similar (or better) experience than I had.
“At first, I wasn’t all that excited to go, but all of that changed on the first night at worship. All of the speakers were amazing, but Judy especially spoke to my heart. On tuesday night when we sat close to the stage on the floor was when God first started working on me. The message was about Jesus being no ordinary healer. As I went forward (with a friend) to kneel all the hurts and pain I;ve been through recently just be lifted! All I had to do was ask and God heard my prayers…
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