This year’s Youth Quake unveiling (previously known as YQ kickoff) brought the same energy, the same excitement, and the same kind of fun as previous years’ kickoffs, but with a different purpose. Just as YQ has gone in a new direction with the freefall initiative that encourages students to reach beyond themselves, YQ leadership wants the unveiling to reach beyond the walls of Briercrest College and Seminary and be a night of ministry.

The elimination of the traditional skit will allow the YQ team to “launch” YQ in other major Saskatchewan cities the rest of this week—“the cities we care about so much,” according to Kevin Fawcett, YQ’s spiritual director.

The night began as students from Briercrest and the surrounding area streamed in, the air so thick with excitement it was almost tangible as they waited to see what YQ ’09 would bring.

After a video that highlighted previous YQs, the traditional countdown began, which had the entire auditorium shouting along.

Briercrest’s Refined/Undignified opened the show, and they were greeted with a roar of excitement. Audiences know by now what to expect from R/U—top caliber dancing, show-stopping flips and stunts, and musical medleys that make sitting still nearly impossible. They closed their act with a spectacular “Transformers” routine—members of the team stood on top of one another, “transforming” themselves into the robots that make the story so popular.

What followed was a less polished yet wildly enthusiastic parody of R/U—members of the YQ team formed a troupe called “Refined/Unqualified,” and their lengthy repertoire that included the likes of Rednex’s “Cotton Eye Joe,” ABBA’s “Dancing Queen,” and Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” had the crowd immediately. Then AJ Crocker, who co-hosted the unveiling, shouted, “We’re turning this into a workshop! Get out of those pews!” The mosh pit filled in seconds as students sang along.

Kevin Fawcett, YQ’s spiritual director, elaborated on YQ ‘09’s theme, Act 2: Play Your Part, pointing to Isaiah 61: “[God] calls us to act two—to play our part in the story that is unfolding between the cross and the crown....Find your place in his story, and play your part.”

Perhaps the most anticipated part of the night, the unveiling of YQ’s guest list, came next. The crowd cheered as one-by-one, pop sensation Britt Nicole, Grammy-nominated RED, popular youth speaker Brett Ullman, comedy group Panic Squad, and world-renowned trapeze artists and acrobats The Flying Wallendas were announced. The largest roar, however, was reserved for the main speaker, because YQ never calls the same speaker two years in a row. But due to very popular demand, the one and only Jared Herd is coming to YQ ’09.

The night concluded with an update on one of last year’s freefall winners and a powerful dramatic presentation from Refined/Undignified that depicted Jesus’ sacrifice for humanity.

And there’s more to come. The next YQ launch takes place tonight, October 23, at Moose Jaw Alliance Church at 7:30 p.m. Another launch will take place at Saskatoon’s Lakeview Church on Oct. 24, and the final one will take place at Regina’s Celebration Lutheran Church on November 7.