Summer Tour 07 Begins Tomorrow

Excitement is building for Summer Tour 07. Chi Rho leaves tomorrow and heads south to Florida. The following is a recent newsletter article that gives a nice overview of the trip.

The Chi Rho Youth Choir will be leaving this Saturday, June 2, for their annual summer tour. This year the choir will be traveling to Florida. Chi Rho has been invited to sing as a demonstration choir at the national meeting of the Southern Baptist Church Music Conference. This annual conference will be held at First Baptist Church, Winter Park, Florida. Their performance at the SBCMC will be on Monday afternoon.

Prior to arriving at the Conference, the youth choir will be staying at the Norman Park Baptist Conference Center in southern Georgia. They will be singing at First Baptist, Norman Park on Sunday morning and at First, Apopka, Florida on Sunday evening.

Following the conference, Chi Rho will depart Winter Park on Tuesday and drive east to the Kennedy Space Center. After a tour of the NASA facility, the choir will visit Cocoa Beach.

On Wednesday, the choir will visit St. Augustine before arriving in Jacksonville for an evening concert. The concert will be held at Southside United Methodist Church which is where Fran Owen serves as minister of youth. Fran has organized a conclave of twelve churches for the evening. She has invited Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian youth groups to the evening concert and fellowship meal.

Activities for Thursday involve returning to Norman Park for the evening. Chi Rho will present a concert at an assisted living home in Moultrie, Georgia in the afternoon. Following dinner, the choir will sing a program for the other guests at the Norman Park Conference Center.

On Friday, June 8, the choir will drive home and should return in the evening. Choir director Jonathan Nelms observes, “Our summer tour is always a great time of ministry, outreach, and fellowship. Our youth grow closer to one another and to the Lord. We ask everyone to pray for the safety and effectiveness of our trip.”

A record fifty-one youth and adults are planning to participate in this year’s tour. The seven-day trip will include numerous performances at churches, Christian ministries, and public venues. The choir usually sings a few songs at restaurants, hotels, tourist areas, and anywhere people will listen. Their singing opens doors to witness and share the Gospel. They pray that God will open hearts and minds as the share their faith with others.

Details and daily reports from the choir tour can be found at http://xpyc.blogspot.com. Jonathan will be posting prayer requests, comments, and photos to the blog throughout each day of the tour. Prayerful support of the youth choir is essential to its continued success.

The youth choir season will conclude with a home concert and share service on Sunday evening, June 10, at 6:00 p.m. Encompassing the evening worship service, this meaningful annual event is followed by a fellowship where photos, anecdotes, and awards are presented. The service and fellowship is open to all church members and their families.