Louie Giglio: The Heart Behind the Passion

PASSION CONFERENCES
Louie Giglio’s desire is to see spiritual awakening come to the nation’s college campuses and to see the 16 million college students of the nation and around the world come to know God.

In 1985, after finishing seminary, Louie and his wife Shelley began a weekly Bible study called Choice Ministries at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Choice Ministries was a campus-based student ministry where, after several years, over ten percent of the student body attended the weekly study.

In 1995, Louie and his wife moved from their home in Waco, Texas, to Atlanta, Georgia, due to Louie’s father who became ill with a brain infection and later died. While flying from Texas to Georgia, Louie prayed and asked God what He had in store for his life. Afterwards, he decided to start a national gathering of Christian college students. Desiring to reach across denomination and ministry lines, Louie began 7:22, a Bible study designed to reach and impact single adults in the metro Atlanta area. Functioning under the umbrella of the local church, 7:22 unites 3,000 singles weekly for worship and teaching. Soon after, these ministries evolved into the Passion movement.

Passion Conferences became a reality in 1997 with the first conference being held in Austin, TX. It lasted four days, and thousands of young people gathered. With the help of the board of Choice Ministries, Inc., Louie and like-minded campus ministers paved the way for the first of six Passion gatherings (1997, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2007) that united over 71,000 college students.

The Passion Movement is based on Louie's life verse, Isaiah 26:8 - "Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts."

In 2007, over 22,000 students gathered in Atlanta, GA, focusing on the "Do Something Now" campaign. This raised $1.5 million dollars for global ministries on six continents.

Louie and the Passion ministry held regional events around the U.S. in late 2007 and early 2008, and then went to the nations of the world in 2008 with the Passion World Tour.

PASSION CITY CHURCH
On May 11, 2008, Chris Tomlin announced that he was leaving his church to start a new church in Atlanta with Louie (called Passion City Church). Louie confirmed this rumor on The Passion Podcast on June 27, 2008.

Passion City Church held its first service on February 15, 2009, in Atlanta at The Tabernacle. Louie and his wife were members of North Point Community Church in Atlanta for 13 years until the founding of Passion City Church.

There is no official staff of Passion City Church; however, among the core team are Louie and Shelley Giglio, Chris Tomlin and band, Matt and Beth Redman and Nathan and Christy Nockels, among others.

A 268 GENERATION
The 268 Generation is a radical generation of Christ-followers rooted in the confession of Isaiah 26:8. During the early days of the Passion vision, God connected them to Isaiah 26:8, specifically the last phrase which says, “For Your name and renown are the desire of our souls.” The heart of Passion is God’s glory, and God is most glorified as a generation emerges with this confession in their mouths. Fueled by a passionate pursuit of God and a desire to spread His glory throughout the earth, all are convinced that life is about God.

More than a conference organization, the Passion movement is headquartered in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta. In addition to these events, millions have connected to Passion through one of several gatherings: OneDay and the Passion Experience Tour.

In 2000, Louie and others formed Sixsteps Records, a record label for Christian worship artists. Sixsteps' list of signed artists includes David Crowder Band, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Charlie Hall, Kristian Stanfill, and Christy Nockels. It also releases live albums from the Passion conferences. They’ve produced Passion worship recordings and DVDs, which have sold over one million copies.