A student is eligible to participate if they graduate from high school between 2026 and 2030. This means you’re eligible to attend if you’re in 8th-12th grade during the 2025-2026 school year.

The age cut-off is 19 years old.

Airfare costs will be determined at the end of 2025 or beginning of 2026. A good ballpark figure would be $600.00 per round trip flight, but please keep in mind that this is only an estimate.

The registration process is done completely online. Once you’ve completed the online registration, you’ll need to submit your $200.00 deposit to your local church.

NYC requires that we provide at least one adult sponsor for every eight students. Sponsors must register online and pay on the same schedule as student participants. It is the hope of CCD NYI that each local church will do what they can to provide financial assistance to adults that will be participating. Sponsors must be 23 years old by July 1, 2026. Every adult attending NYC must complete two requirements prior to the event: Ministry Safe Sexual Abuse Awareness training and a qualifying background check that utilizes local, state, and national registries.

The Central Field is comprised of eleven districts found in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana. The Chicago Central District (CCD) is one of those districts. To kick off NYC ’26, each field gets together for a fun-filled field event.

If you’d like to hear more about our event, and what to expect, click here!

USA/Canada NYI (Nazarene Youth International) has a set list of criteria for NYC host cities. There must be a convention hall and arena that can host 10,000 participants. Additionally, there must be enough hotel rooms within a certain radius that can house all of the participants. NYC is committed to partnering with the host city to leave a lasting impact through MWO (Ministry with Others) projects.

Our specific hotel location will be announced March 2026. District leadership will do their best to honor roommate requests. Each room will come equipped with two large beds, and each room will house four students. Adult sponsors will be housed two to a room.

To access venues, participants must pass through a security checkpoint. Venues will also provide a list of prohibited items that will not be allowed into the event.

No. The cost of $1675 + airfare will cover all meals, housing, transportation in Utah, and excursions (each local church is responsible for transportation to and from the Chicago airport). It also covers district shirts, as well as the group photo poster and other event materials on site. Students are encouraged to bring a little extra money for miscellaneous snack purchases, in addition to any souvenirs they may want to purchase throughout the trip.

Attached to this registration packet is a payment chart. It is intended to serve as a visual that the earlier you register, the smaller the initial payment will be. Student participants and adult sponsors can utilize the chart to help break up the overall cost of the event into more manageable chunks.

The online registration system that we are using requires us to put in a dollar amount for the cost of NYC ’26. It is not possible for us to put in “$1675 + airfare.” When you are on the registration page, you will see that the student/sponsor selection is $2,225.00. With that in mind, please understand that you’ll only pay the actual cost of the flight. No extra fees will be added!

All participant payments are to be submitted to the local church. The church will write one check to the district to cover that total payments for all participants and adult sponsors registered from that church. We cannot accept online payments of any kind due to the revenue loss associated with online fees. The district will send an invoice to each local church on October 1, 2025, January 2, 2026, and May 1, 2026. The payments will be due on the following dates: October 15, 2025, January 15, 2026, and May 15, 2026.

We recognize the significant costs of attending NYC and the various points of uncertainty associated. In order to enhance confidence toward registration and protect individuals, families, and district groups from financial losses due to unforeseen circumstances we have secured insurance coverage to mediate a wide variety of known risks and potential loss.

As a part of the NYC program fee all registered participants are covered by trip cancellation and interruption insurance due to verifiable triggers (such as medical related issues, travel restrictions, state/CDC advisory, family emergency).  This provides, through an individual claims process after the event, opportunity to recoup non-refundable portions of event related expenses (including registration fees, travel and transportation costs, food and lodging expenses, and pre/post event excursions) if a transfer of fees and services to a new participant is not applicable.

NYC participants will be covered under the NYC event and cancellation insurance. Event coverage includes accidental death & dismemberment and accident medical. Trip Cancellation coverage includes medical emergencies, sickness, quarantine, natural disasters, and travel restrictions from the CDC. The cancellation policy will help recoup a portion of travel and registration funds should a participant need to withdraw from the event after the registration transfer deadline.

No. However, to assist families with the overall cost of NYC ’26, we think it’s a good idea to spread the payments out over a longer period of time. Registering by July 1, 2025 will make completing the payments more manageable. At the end of this packet, you will find a chart showing the deposit payment and subsequent payments you will need to make. This will vary, depending on when you actually register and begin the process. You will notice that the later you register, the larger your first payment will be. This is necessary to reserve your place and assure that you are on track at crucial times during the process.

The last day of the Early Bird registration ($500.00) is October 15, 2025. Beginning October 16, 2025, the registration fee will increase to $575.00.

The last official day to register is January 15, 2026. Refunds of any kind or amount will not be possible after plane tickets have been purchased.

We recognize the significant cost of an event like NYC ’26, and CCD NYI would like to encourage all participants and local churches to consider creative fundraising efforts to minimize the financial impact associated with the registration fee. Be sure to talk with your local church pastor and/or youth leader to brainstorm further fundraising ideas.

Attached is one, simple fundraising idea that, if completed, will raise close to $500. Click here to download it!

The NYC Coordinator for the Chicago Central District is Joel Heald. You can email him by scrolling to the bottom of the page.

If you’d like more general information about the event, please visit www.nazareneyouthconference.com