ATLANTA – University students and other young adults will have a lot to talk about when they attend Antiphony, a conference focused on both vocational calling and global missions.

Sponsored by Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Global Missions and The Samuel Project, Antiphony will be held at the Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham, Ala., from Dec. 29, 2004,-Jan. 2, 2005.

With the theme “God’s Call, the World’s Cry, My Answer,” Antiphony is a conference devoted to the issue of discerning God’s call in a world of great need. “The whole emphasis on interaction and dialogue is unique,” said Amy Whipple Derrick, CBF associate coordinator for Global Service Corps and Student Missions.

Daily “chat rooms” led by a panel of experts will engage students in dialogue.

A sampling of chat room topics and panelists include:

• “Witnessing to Britney: What Do We Have to Say to Pop Culture” with Oteil Burbridge, bass player with The Allman Brothers Band;
• “Buy! Buy! Buy?! Christian Vocation in a Consumer-Driven World” with Cliff Vaughn, filmmaker and culture editor for EthicsDaily.com, and
• “Prerequisite-Compromise: Living a Christian Life in the Political World” with Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs.  

David Burroughs, president and CEO of Passport, Inc., described his enthusiasm about the chat rooms. “The opportunity for a college student to sit 10 feet from Brent Walker and have political discussions with him is amazing,” Burroughs said.

Large group worship will be led by Colleen Burroughs, executive vice president of Passport, Inc.; Julie Pennington-Russell, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Waco, Texas; recording artist Ken Medema; and the Dramatic Vagabonds.

Following the worship sessions, students will take part in “D groups” – discernment groups to help them process what they are experiencing with their peers. 

“I think we’re taking students very seriously with this conference,” emphasized Nick Foster, Samuel Project director and camp coordinator for Passport, Inc. “So they’re going to be pushed a little bit, challenged.”

The conference will also contain lighthearted moments. Nightly parties include a New Year’s Gala to ring in 2005.

The cost starts at $150 and includes conference fees and lodging. Online registration is available. Registration deadline is Nov. 15. Deposits are refundable until Dec. 1. For more information, go to the Antiphony Web site at www.antiphonyonline.org.

CBF is a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice. The Fellowship’s mission is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission.