Our Story

The Niagara Youth Conference was born out of a vision to bring church youth groups together from all different denominations to experience a God-Encounter and to give the students and youth ministries one common goal: to bring the Gospel to every middle and senior high school in their area.

Sponsored by Buffalo/Western New York Youth For Christ, the conference began in 1993 in Niagara Falls, NY with 529 students and leaders in attendance. It was evident in that first conference that God had a plan to use the Niagara Conference to unite the Body of Christ together to reach lost and spiritually dying young people with the message of the Cross.

By 1998, in just five short years, this annual youth conference during Christmas break had grown to over 5,000 young people attending each year. God was in the midst of birthing an incredible movement whereby young people were encountering the Lord in a real way and having their lives changed. They were also receiving the vision and the training to go back to their schools and start on-campus ministry clubs, seeing themselves as missionaries to their schools.  

By 1999, over 100 schools had started Equal Access Christian Clubs on the public school campus and there was a network of over 70 youth workers who were meeting monthly to share what God was doing in the schools. Each one of the youth workers in that network had become a “Campus Coach,” where they were training, organizing and assisting student missionaries in their campus evangelism clubs.

In October of that same year, the Miles Ahead Youth Crusade was organized in downtown Buffalo. Former NFL player Miles McPherson was the evangelist for this 2-day evangelistic crusade. An incredible turnout was seen as over 30,000 students and adults came to Marine Midland Arena (the brand new home of the Buffalo Sabres). Over 7,000 decisions for Christ were documented. A spiritual awakening was taking place and God was on the move.

In that meeting on December 29, 2001 were youth workers from other states, two of which invited the Niagara Youth Conference to come to their cities. They were the cities of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Birmingham, Alabama. Out of that conference the ministry of Joshua Revolution was born - a national ministry that would go to other cities across America and host the Niagara Youth Conference. 

In 2002, New York State turned the Niagara Falls Convention Center (home of the Niagara Youth Conference) into a casino. With no other venue large enough to hold the conference in Niagara Falls, the Niagara Youth Conference relocated to Buffalo, NY for two years before moving to Rochester, NY for the next three years.

In the summer of 2006, Joshua Revolution held the first “Field of Miracles” Crusade at Frontier Field in downtown Rochester, NY. Over 17,000 young people and adults attended this 3-day event. Many were saved, healed and filled with the Holy Spirit. It was an amazing crusade!

In December of 2007, the Niagara Youth Conference came home, moving into a smaller venue in Niagara Falls. The Conference was held there from 2007 to 2012. The power of the Holy Spirit continued to touch and change the lives of young people and leaders.

But then, in 2018, God moved upon the hearts of the leaders of Joshua Revolution to bring back the Niagara Youth Conference and celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the event. Niagara ’18 “Experience the Power” was the same theme that God had given at the very first Niagara Conference in 1993. Niagara ’18 was a joyous celebration as the Lord touched the lives of all who attended.

Since 1993, God has used the Niagara Youth Conference to save thousands of young people, change the lives of leaders and impact youth ministries throughout Western New York and beyond! We give God all the Glory!