With Special Guests for 2011 confirmed and MANY more to be announced, it is shaping up to be a killer year.

Featuring Aaron Gillespe with his band the ALMOST, along with Reach Records and their Australian tour stopping in just for us... you've already got a fair idea that his will be an amazing day. And if anyone was there at this year's event, you'll know that we accidentally let slip about something pretty exciting... we'll let you know as soon as we can about that!

Make sure you save the date, start planning your School Exo Days and filling buses to see as many of your mates coming as possible. In the meantime, keep checking our page, keep following us on twitter and facebook, and keep sending your exo highlights, thoughts, and images to events@youthalivensw.com!

Once a year, every March, we gather the brightest and finest of NSW's Youth Pastors and Key Youth Leaders for two quality days together at Bondi Beach, Sydney. Each year, we see leaders encouraged, inspired, refreshed, connected into relationship with other like-minds, and EVERYONE leaves changed for the better.

If you are a Youth Pastor, leader OR if you know someone who is, then get yourself down to Bondi Beach this March.

We have JUST confirmed Pastors Brian and Bobbie Houston as our key speakers for Youth Pastors Retreat. Brian and Bobbie are the senior pastors of Hillsong Church, and are pioneers in our nation in many different facets of church life, evangelism, community impact and of course, youth ministry. Hillsong church is known the world over as a church that is shaping the way we "do ministry", and Brian and Bobbie are a wealth of wisdom when it comes to building the church. DO NOT miss this opportunity to get up close and personal with two of the most influential and sought after speakers around the globe!

Often, the best thing that you can do for yourself as a leader is to pull yourself away from the day to day of what you do, and surround yourself with creativity, inspiration and motivation! What better place than Bondi Beach, the surf, the sun, the food, the atmosphere... it's all here. And most of all, what will make it incredible is if YOU are there with us!

Mark the 2nd and 3rd of March (Wed and Thu) in your diaries! It will be the best retreat we've ever had guaranteed! You will be able to register soon, so keep an eye out...

Mental health problems affect young people more than any other group. In fact, an alarming 40% of young people aged 16 to 24 have experienced a mental disorder at some point in their life. Mission Australia is taking action to tackle what has become an epidemic.

Kelly* is a Mission Australia client - here's her story:

Aged only four years old Kelly was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, a behavioural condition characterised by social isolation and eccentric behaviour. By the time she was 17 Kelly had been hospitalised for anorexia and her agoraphobia – an anxiety disorder associated with fear of public places – became worse. Diagnosed with depression, she began to self-harm and attempted suicide three times. She then turned to alcohol and developed an addiction.

Kelly’s life took a turn for the better when she completed an intensive 12-week program at Triple Care Farm. With professional treatment from a psychologist, Kelly began to address each of her problems. Since completing the program in May 2010 Kelly has learnt to manage her multiple mental health issues and has conquered her reliance on alcohol. She is taking regular medication to control her conditions and receives ongoing counselling from a mental-health service in her home town.

Triple Care farm helped Kelly back on her feet, learn more about how you can support youth services like Triple Care farm. 

Mission Australia Youth services - http://www.missionaustralia.com.au/community-services/pathways-through-a-successful-youth
Triple Care Farm - http://www.missionaustralia.com.au/community-services/1631-triple-care-farm-tcf
Triple Care Farm fact sheet - http://www.missionaustralia.com.au/community-services/1631-triple-care-farm-tcf
 
*Client name changed to protect privacy

We've never had a zone like this before, and here at the YA headquaters we are straight up FROFFIN over this brand new zone... the Pressure Cooker!!! With insane mash ups, funk, heavy bass and electro to propell you into a whole new world of sound sensation, the Pressure Cooker is fast becoming the most talked about thing among the Exo crew. 

With beats courtesy of Sydney/ Canadian Electro Pioneers techyes*, to the smooth sounds of DJ Mandex, SWNSCRM, DJ Cuddles and the fabled "Los Torros", this zone will be an instant favourite for sure. Make sure you get down to the Hordern Room nice and early, because there's a capacity limit and let's face it... you DO NOT want to miss this! 

And yes, glo sticks have been ordered in epic proportions, so bring some coin for those... See you there!

Check out all of our FANTASTIC sponsors this year: CLICK ON EACH SPONSOR BELOW TO FIND OUT MORE!

Our sponsors are a key part of what we do, and with out them, the Big Exo Day would not be a reality. Make sure you check out the links below to see who's contributed to this year's event, and how YOU can be involved in some of these amazing initiatives! A massive thank you to all of our sponsors this year!

 

 COMPASSION/ KOORONG / ALPHACRUCIS / MISSION AUSTRALIA /

GLORIA JEANS: WITH HEART FOUNDATION /

AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN CHANNEL /

SALVATION ARMY / LINE UP / HOPE 103.2 /

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you're into Op Shopping you'll probably be VERY excited by this news. We aren't talking a stall with a few racks here... The Salvo's are bringing a whole tent full of all sorts of bargain Op Shop finds! Whether it's some winter boots, a new tee, an "old favourite" pair of jeans or a summer frock, you're bound to find a keeper at the Op Shop. 

Not only are we having fun and scoring new wardrobe finds at bargain prices, but everything spent will go toward the incredible work of the Salvo's in our community. What an opportunity to have fun AND be involved in something significant! 

Make sure you check out our sponsors page to see all of our great sponsors and what they're bringing to the Big Exo Day, AND how you can be involved! 

(Image via Lookbook.nu)

Do you have a way to get to The Big Exo Day yet??

Jump on the Exo train!!!
Coming from Southern and Western Sydney, the Exo Train will pick you up at your local station and bring you straight to Olympic Park and then bring you home again.  Below is the timetable for each stop as well as times of departure.  You can buy your Exo Train ticket combined with your Big Exo Day ticket here online and if you have already bought a ticket don’t worry; just Exo Train tickets are available here too!

Southern Line

TO THE BIG EXO DAY//   AND HOME AGAIN//

Wollongong  9:14am   Olympic Park TBC
Fairy Meadow  9:19am  Sutherland TBC
Helensburgh 9:58am   Helensburgh TBC
Sutherland 10:21am  Fairy Meadow TBC
Olympic Park 11:21am  Wollongong TBC

Western Line
 
TO THE BIG EXO DAY//   AND HOME AGAIN//
Lithgow  9:00am   Olympic Park 10:14pm
Katoomba 9:47am   Blacktown 10:34pm
Springwood 9:22am   Kingswood 10:47pm
Blaxland 10:32am  Blaxland 11:08pm
Kingswood 10:56am  Springwood 11:19pm
Blacktown 11:15am  Katoomba 11:53pm
Olympic Park 11:38am  Lithgow  12:50am
 
 Click here to buy Exo Train Tickets!

Hey guys and girls!  

The team at Youth Alive have been working hard to bring you what I believe will be the best Big Exo Day ever… and I know there have been rumours of another guest announcement…  And here it is! We are excited to announce our headliners for this year’s Big Exo Day! 

Having relocated from New Zealand to Australia, a band of brothers debuted on the music scene with their record ‘Dreams’. With many of their hits going massive globally, and even featured on tv shows like the OC and others, they've definitely made their mark. Maybe you’ve heard their sounds play on the radio: think 'Running', 'Ride on', ‘Light Surrounding You’, ‘Between the Lines’, or ‘Hey Boys and Girls’. Oh yes, we are pleased to present to you our main stage headliner for the Big Exo Day 2010… EVERMORE!!!

It doesn't stop there, we have the winners of Australia’s Got Talent 2010 - Justice Crew! They’re gonna be bringing something pretty epic to our Hip Hop stage. You don’t want to miss out. Also from this year’s Australia’s Got Talent series: Aimee Elizabeth will be joining the stage to wow us with her amazing opera sounds. 

And as you may already know, we also have coming Mike Pilavachi from Soul Survivor, Preston Centuolio, both fantastic and gifted communicators, Australian Idol winner Stan Walker and from the US, Everyday Process. Not to mention, Australia’s own Hillsong United have been touring the globe, and they're making it to The Big Exo Day just for us! Check out a full list of our confirmed guests here. 

This year’s Big Exo Day will be better than ever! In celebrating the weeks leading up, why not hold an Exo Day at your own school. It’s run for students by students – you can hold a BBQ, giveaways, games, music, anything! So if you planning an Exo day, make sure you register it on our website. We’d love for you to write back to us about your Exo Day and how it goes.

With all this exciting news and just under three months till the date, you gotta get your tickets fast! The premium sections are selling out quickly. You can purchase cheaper tickets if you buy them online by September 17 at 10pm. After that it’s $45 at the gates.

So get pumped and let the people in your world know about The Big Exo Day, and bring them along! Don’t forget to follow the Big Exo day for updates on Facebook and Twitter. We are excited about what’s ahead and looking forward to seeing you there!

Sanga.