| ROCK 2003 excites youth By Sarah Alsgaard Special to the UMConnection  How did ROCK 2003 start off this year? With thunderous applause, screams and whoops. And that was just going through the front doors. We like to welcome people and we try to make it fun, said Liz Anderson, a greeter at the front doors from Oakdale Emory UMC in Olney. Some people walked through, high-fiving everyone. Some broke out from somber faces to broad smiles. I feel so special, said Meredith Queen of Lakeside UMC in Waldorf, moments after she walked through the front doors. Thus, thanks to the greeters, the tone for ROCK 2003 was set the moment people walked through the doors.  The spirit continued when three improv comedians, Carl Crispin, Pete Vandersluis, and Jeff Ringo Vanhaitsma, better known as CPR, took the stage. For half an hour they managed to make everyone, no matter the age, laugh at the same jokes, something most comedians struggle with. Their secret? They do clean comedy only. Weve always been committed to doing our comedy clean because of the fact that were Christians and we want to stay morally pure and we want to make sure not to get into innuendos or anything like that, Vandersluis said. We can appeal to anybody, being clean. But those who are dirty, they immediately isolate a bunch of their crowd, said Vanhaitsma. More than 3,500 youth and adults laughed together as CPR played games on stage. It was an incredibly wonderful experience, one observer said, watching them on stage interact with everyone and bringing everyone closer together. Up next was the much anticipated band, Salvador. Crowds of people stormed the front of the stage as soon as they struck the first chords. Youth jumped up and down, dancing, waving their hands and enjoying the music. According to Nic Gonzales, Salvadors lead singer, We feel like our mission is to just show people that theres such a great joy when it comes to serving Christ. Thats the way that we approach everyday, making sure that we honor Christ with everything we got.  Screams of joy when the band finished were freshly echoing off the walls of the Ocean City Convention Center when Steve Fitzhugh walked onto the stage. Fitzhugh formerly played professional football for the Denver Broncos. Can I be real with you for a moment? he asked. God has a plan for you! With humor, rap and poignant stories, he told how Gods plan leads to a purpose and a destiny. Group discussions and workshops were held as part of the ROCK 2003 youth retreat. For the first time, a separate group of Hispanic youth from both the Baltimore-Washington Conference and the Northeast Jurisdiction were in attendance. On Saturday afternoon, the confirmation rally was held, with communion led by Bishop Felton Edwin May. Tom Price, leader of ROCK 2003, was proud of the number of people that attended. Were blessed, he said with a broad smile on his face. (ROCK) started out very small, maybe a hundred (people). Last year it was up to 2,700 and this year its probably about 36 to 3,700. This is the ninth year for ROCK. Many people have been coming back annually and plan to continue. I like the message, said Jerome Kimble of St. Mark UMC in Hanover. I believe its just of God from start to finish, said Price. Thats why I feel were on the right track. In the words of Steve Fitzhugh, Our God is an awesome God. Sarah Alsgaard is a junior at Chantilly (Va.) High School. | 
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