If downtown Chattanooga seems to have been populated by more young adults than usual the past five days, it actually has been.
Some 5,000 college students and leaders have been here to attend the national conference of Campus Outreach, a network of interdenominational Christian organizations which focus on relationally based evangelizing and discipling college students worldwide.
“The state of Tennessee was a good rallying point for our ministry,” said Dave Russell, a Washington, D.C.-based regional director for the organization. “The city of Chattanooga and the [Convention and] Visitors Bureau wanted to work with us and were excited to work with us. Chattanooga is the right fit.”
Jennye Miller, director of religious accounts for the Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the gathering is the largest convention of college students here in her 30 years with the organization.
The 5,000 students and staff members, she said, are spread among 10 hotels and will generate an economic impact of $3.6 million.