Pitch and Praise
Pitch&Praise [1] is a non-denominational Christian event aimed at reaching out to high school students across Ontario. As one of the largest gatherings of youth in Ontario, Canada, it draws crowds of over 2,000 youth. It was founded in 1974 by the Evangelical Missionary Church and is held annually on the May long weekend. Pitch was held at Stayner Camp until 2006. Due to the ever growing attendance, limitation of the existing facilities, and noise complaints, Pitch&Praise was moved to Paris, Ontario and is now held at Braeside Pentecostal Camp which is maintained by the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.[2]
The attendees camp out in tents, trailers, or cabins and spend the weekend engaged in various activities. The central program of the weekend are the general sessions. Highlighted by a featured band and a speaker, these sessions are intended to provide an atmosphere in which the Gospel is communicated in relevant and contemporary ways. Over the years the message of Pitch has not changed though the medium has.
There are also sports tournaments, workshops (on such things as the DaVinci Code, scientific analyses of creation and evolution, dating, self-esteem, evangelism, etc.), video game tournaments, and an annual battle of the bands (in which the winner is awarded recording time in a studio). Added in 2002 the Club has become a successful feature of Pitch. With international recording artist DJ Kubiks, [3] at its helm alongside recent edition DJ Chris Harrington,[4] the Club continues the cutting edge outreach of Pitch and Praise.
In 1994 JR Pitch was established to reach out to JR High students (grades 6-8) and is currently attended by over 1,000 pre-teens from across Ontario. JR Pitch takes place annually during September and is currently held in Stayner, Ontario at the Stayner Bible Conference Grounds.