Winterfest Vital Details
Click here to download the Vital Details Document for Winterfest 2012.
About Winterfest
Every winter, hundreds of students from around northern Illinois and northwest Indiana gather together to be challenged and stretched in their faith. At Winterfest, students participate in one of several tracks to focus on specific areas of growth. Campus fellowships have times together to pray and share. The entire conference gathers together for whole group worship and prayer.
As people gather from different types of schools and backgrounds, we receive the blessings that a broader and more diverse Christian community can offer. Whether you have never believed in God or you have been in a spiritual journey with Jesus for years... there is something in store for you at Winterfest!
2012 Plenary Speaker
Ram Sridharan is leads the InterVarsity staff at the Ohio State University’s ministry. Growing up as a third culture kid, living most of his life in Tanzania, Kenya, South India and then the United States for his college education, Ram is uniquely gifted to communicate to diverse audiences. Ram has multiple degrees in the fields of microbiology, folklore and human resources, positioning him to speak intelligently and prophetically to many different types of audiences. Ram is a visionary, prophetic expositor, able to speak to creatively and interactively to diverse audiences.
2012 Worship Leader
Sandra Van Opstal, a Chicago-born, second-generation Latina, is a preacher, trainer, and worship leader who is passionate about bridging the divide to create atmospheres where people of different cultures can come together in peace to experience the presence of God.
Sandra previously served as director for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship’s Chicago Urban Program. In this program, college students from across the nation live in an intentional Christian community during which they examine issues of justice, poverty, racism, racial identity, and reconciliation in the context of service and evangelism. Prior to that she was a campus minister at Northwestern University with InterVarsity’s Multiethnic, Latino, and Black student fellowships.
She currently serves as director of worship for the Urbana Mission Convention. Sandra has led multiethnic worship teams at Urbana Mission Conventions, Evangelical Covenant Conferences, Willow Creek Association conferences, and many colleges. She has been a featured preacher on issues relevant to urban ministry, missions, and worship at Wheaton College, North Park University, and various churches. She has been published in The Narthex (a journal of the Evangelical Covenant Church), as well as in Missions Frontier. She is a contributor to the Small Group Leader’s Handbook (IVP) and is working on the book called Mission of Worship (IVP)
She holds a Masters of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in IL, and an undergraduate degree in Music Business/Vocal Performance from Millikin University in IL. She and her husband enjoy living in Humboldt Park, Chicago and serving at Grace and Peace Community Church.
There are several conference packages:
Note: $60 Registration Fee
A $60 non-refundable and non-transferable registration fee is required with your registration. This amount is included in the total cost of the package you select.
Additional Costs
Although not required, we encourage you to budget money for the following costs not included in the conference packages:
Plan on arriving at 6:00pm on Friday, February 17, 2012. Winterfest is officially over at 12:30pm on Sunday, February 19, 2012. You can download a detailed schedule here (PDF).
Winterfest will be held at the Doubletree Hotel Chicago in Oak Brook, IL. Students will be housed four per room. Saturday's Lunch and Dinner are also included in the registration costs. For further information about the hotel, visit the hotel's website.
The hotel is located 15 miles west of downtown Chicago just off of I-88. For detailed directions, enter your starting address on the Google Map directions page.