A definative ranking of my favorite years of Impact
For years I have reflected, disected and analyzed just about every aspect of Impact. I have always simply based my favorite years on how much I liked them. Honestly I have loved every year, but I am a habitual lister. Therefore, I constantly rank things and Impact is no different.
So I decided to really delve deep into ranking the Impacts. I did not go into this biased to my personal favorite years. This is NOT my personal list but an objective look. My personal favorites would look different. I broke it down into seven categories and did it on a points system. My categories were: Theme, Assemblies (Keynotes, Praise time and evening events), Personal Impact, Stage, Morning Impact, Skit, and T-shirts. Now to be fair T-shirts really should not play as large a role into the rankings, so I weighted the categories. The major Impact things like: Theme and Personal impact, and Assemblies were weighed more heavily. The stage and skit kind of messed with the rankings a little since both have become more prevalent as the years have rolled by, thus giving an advantage to later years, but that improvement in both areas has to be considered.
I should note that the more modern Impacts have an advantage based on the fact that we try to improve the product every year. I classify Impact in five distinct era's first the...
The Church Camp Era 1992-1994. This is when Impact was really just like a church camp or other week long Christian University camps but at Lipcomb.
The Transformation 1995-1997 This was when Impact really started to change, a skit, a set, only on a small scale, but it was not until 98 when it was obviously different.
The Next Level 1998-2003 This was a solid era, where every year seemed to build on the next. None of the Impact's probably had the feel of Impact today but they were the catalyst for what would happen. 98 was also when the praise sessions started to get really "exciting".
The Last of Alumni 2004-2006 These were really great years and 2006 is usually pointed to as maybe he best ever. These three years were probably the apex of what we could do in Alumni auditorium. These were the years where the theme just started to permeate throughout the entire week.
The Modern Era 2007-2011. This era is easily defined by the move to the Arena Based on the popularity of 06 we really started emphasizing the drama, and Impact just continued to be blessed by God.
Morning Impact was weighed next on a lower level and and then t-shirts had the least affect on the rankings.
1. 2006 "The Story" scored 362: 2006 scored high in every major category, no shocker here. This year just seemed awesome on every level. The theme, skit, and assemblies just seemed to go to another level. The last year in Alumni Auditorium.
2. 2011 "Hooked" I did not do the scoring thing I just placed Hooked where I thought it should be based on my ratings. This may have been the most incredible theme I have ever seen at a youth event. It was just the apex of what I think we can creatively do at Impact. Of course I am sure down the road if God will there will be an Impact that out does 2011, and 2006 but it may be a few years.
3. 2009 "hIDDEN" scored 331: A little suprised, reviewing the year though, I should not be, great year. The theme touched many of the staff and campers deeply. The skit was awesome, and the set and t-shirts scored high.
4. 2010 "Buried Alive scored 323: This one fell a notch in my second sweep a year later, however I still rank it as the forth best Impact of all time. Lots of really cool stuff, very original theme, etc...etc...This theme really hit home with a lot of the youth workers especially.
5. 2008 "Day of Reckoning" scored 304: Thought this one would be higher, but the formula did the work. The set, assemblies, and skit pushed this one up the ladder. I will never forget David Fraze taking us home driving the point in at Senior week.
6. 2004 "This Mystery" scored 303: A great year many rate higher, perhaps Morning Impacts greatest year. While there was some behind the scenes drama, it was still a great year. Many of the gags we still use today in Morning Impact began this year.
7. 2005 "Escape" scored 302: I knew the ratings would be kind to 2005. Missed the top five by one point. This was not the first year the skit has a spiritual ending but it was the first year the skit played out to be a living parable. Who will ever forget the largest Impact ovation ever when Col. Roger Ingvulson walked out on stage. I still get chills thinking about it.
8. 2007 "The Mighty" scored 242: Shocked this one rated so high, the great speakers, and theme pushed it high. The skit really dragged this week, but it ended great. That last night set change was a great suprise and the campers loved it.
9. 1995 "Live To Tell" scored 218: Clearly the best 90's Impact and my personal favorite ranks in the top 10. This was the year Impact started to move from old school camp to Impact as we know it today. This was also the year Impact started booking great Christian bands (a staple from 95-2006). Jars of Clay preformed just for the counselors!
10. 1998 "Go West" scored 209: Another of my personal favorites, no shocker that it scored higher than some of the more modern Impacts. Great atmosphere, and the first signs that Impact was going even beyond where it had been. The worship, and the set leaped forward. A great Morning Impact as well. The first of the "middle age" of Impact (98-2006).
11. 2002 "Sheild About Me" scored 205: Another fun year. Best T-shirt of all time and a great Morning Impact helped. Possibly one of the loudest ovations in Impact happened at the end of the last days skit. This was easily the most ambitious set ever, and who will forget those soft foam swords we gave out the last night?
12. 1999 "Unmasked" scored 199: The year I missed some of the week due to the death of my mom during Impact. I will never forget the worship that year. This was the year Impact worship went to another level.
I had been gone two days and when I came back the worship was insane, teens were litteraly screaming out in worship.
13. 2003 "Deep" scored 193: Did not think this one would be as low. Great atmosphere, but it scored in the middle of the pack in the major categories. The first year the skit had a serious ending, but it was still primarily just a venue for inside Impact jokes. The set was cool and the auditoium had this underwater feel.
14. 2001 "Ten" scored 175: While the stage was fantastic, the skit was funny, the theme which confussed some and the t-shirt brought the scores down. The t-shirt's print wore off after the first wash. People still ask me what the real theme was that year. Still a great year though just like the rest of them.
15. 1992 "Impact" scored 172: Being the first year led to a distinct disadvantage, no set, no theme, no skit. However, of the old school Impact (92-97) this one was just magical. Probably my personal second or third favorite. Eevry camp starts somewhere and this start was great.
16. 2000 "The Journey" scored 164: Of the "middle age" Impact's (98-06), this one probably had the least impression on me. It did produce two of the greatest t-shirts ever. The tornado ETS created for the opening night will never be forgotten. This was the first year we decided to go big on the first night.
17. 1997 "We Are Not of This World" scored 125: This year was the transition from old school Impact to the newer style. It was not fully as over the top as the next level of Impact's but there were signs of changes. The first year Morning Impact became officialy "Morning Impact".
18. 1996 "Major League" scored 80: As I pointed out in the 1997 entry, 1996 was another year where changes started to happen. It still was not the Impact we know yet, but there were glimpses. The skit that year was mostly on video and largely just a repeat of 1995.
19. 1993 "Change Your World" scored 64: Honestly I remember less about this year than any other. I do remember that this was one of two years were there were nearly 100 baptisms, so something big happened.
20. 1994 "Give It Away" scored 54: The last place finisher was still a great year, and it is another that is a blur to me. It was 16 years ago. I do remember there were so many baptisms that we had to use a sauna in the baseball locker room. The first year in Alumni Auditorium.
So I decided to really delve deep into ranking the Impacts. I did not go into this biased to my personal favorite years. This is NOT my personal list but an objective look. My personal favorites would look different. I broke it down into seven categories and did it on a points system. My categories were: Theme, Assemblies (Keynotes, Praise time and evening events), Personal Impact, Stage, Morning Impact, Skit, and T-shirts. Now to be fair T-shirts really should not play as large a role into the rankings, so I weighted the categories. The major Impact things like: Theme and Personal impact, and Assemblies were weighed more heavily. The stage and skit kind of messed with the rankings a little since both have become more prevalent as the years have rolled by, thus giving an advantage to later years, but that improvement in both areas has to be considered.
I should note that the more modern Impacts have an advantage based on the fact that we try to improve the product every year. I classify Impact in five distinct era's first the...
The Church Camp Era 1992-1994. This is when Impact was really just like a church camp or other week long Christian University camps but at Lipcomb.
The Transformation 1995-1997 This was when Impact really started to change, a skit, a set, only on a small scale, but it was not until 98 when it was obviously different.
The Next Level 1998-2003 This was a solid era, where every year seemed to build on the next. None of the Impact's probably had the feel of Impact today but they were the catalyst for what would happen. 98 was also when the praise sessions started to get really "exciting".
The Last of Alumni 2004-2006 These were really great years and 2006 is usually pointed to as maybe he best ever. These three years were probably the apex of what we could do in Alumni auditorium. These were the years where the theme just started to permeate throughout the entire week.
The Modern Era 2007-2011. This era is easily defined by the move to the Arena Based on the popularity of 06 we really started emphasizing the drama, and Impact just continued to be blessed by God.
Morning Impact was weighed next on a lower level and and then t-shirts had the least affect on the rankings.
1. 2006 "The Story" scored 362: 2006 scored high in every major category, no shocker here. This year just seemed awesome on every level. The theme, skit, and assemblies just seemed to go to another level. The last year in Alumni Auditorium.
2. 2011 "Hooked" I did not do the scoring thing I just placed Hooked where I thought it should be based on my ratings. This may have been the most incredible theme I have ever seen at a youth event. It was just the apex of what I think we can creatively do at Impact. Of course I am sure down the road if God will there will be an Impact that out does 2011, and 2006 but it may be a few years.
3. 2009 "hIDDEN" scored 331: A little suprised, reviewing the year though, I should not be, great year. The theme touched many of the staff and campers deeply. The skit was awesome, and the set and t-shirts scored high.
4. 2010 "Buried Alive scored 323: This one fell a notch in my second sweep a year later, however I still rank it as the forth best Impact of all time. Lots of really cool stuff, very original theme, etc...etc...This theme really hit home with a lot of the youth workers especially.
5. 2008 "Day of Reckoning" scored 304: Thought this one would be higher, but the formula did the work. The set, assemblies, and skit pushed this one up the ladder. I will never forget David Fraze taking us home driving the point in at Senior week.
6. 2004 "This Mystery" scored 303: A great year many rate higher, perhaps Morning Impacts greatest year. While there was some behind the scenes drama, it was still a great year. Many of the gags we still use today in Morning Impact began this year.
7. 2005 "Escape" scored 302: I knew the ratings would be kind to 2005. Missed the top five by one point. This was not the first year the skit has a spiritual ending but it was the first year the skit played out to be a living parable. Who will ever forget the largest Impact ovation ever when Col. Roger Ingvulson walked out on stage. I still get chills thinking about it.
8. 2007 "The Mighty" scored 242: Shocked this one rated so high, the great speakers, and theme pushed it high. The skit really dragged this week, but it ended great. That last night set change was a great suprise and the campers loved it.
9. 1995 "Live To Tell" scored 218: Clearly the best 90's Impact and my personal favorite ranks in the top 10. This was the year Impact started to move from old school camp to Impact as we know it today. This was also the year Impact started booking great Christian bands (a staple from 95-2006). Jars of Clay preformed just for the counselors!
10. 1998 "Go West" scored 209: Another of my personal favorites, no shocker that it scored higher than some of the more modern Impacts. Great atmosphere, and the first signs that Impact was going even beyond where it had been. The worship, and the set leaped forward. A great Morning Impact as well. The first of the "middle age" of Impact (98-2006).
11. 2002 "Sheild About Me" scored 205: Another fun year. Best T-shirt of all time and a great Morning Impact helped. Possibly one of the loudest ovations in Impact happened at the end of the last days skit. This was easily the most ambitious set ever, and who will forget those soft foam swords we gave out the last night?
12. 1999 "Unmasked" scored 199: The year I missed some of the week due to the death of my mom during Impact. I will never forget the worship that year. This was the year Impact worship went to another level.
I had been gone two days and when I came back the worship was insane, teens were litteraly screaming out in worship.
13. 2003 "Deep" scored 193: Did not think this one would be as low. Great atmosphere, but it scored in the middle of the pack in the major categories. The first year the skit had a serious ending, but it was still primarily just a venue for inside Impact jokes. The set was cool and the auditoium had this underwater feel.
14. 2001 "Ten" scored 175: While the stage was fantastic, the skit was funny, the theme which confussed some and the t-shirt brought the scores down. The t-shirt's print wore off after the first wash. People still ask me what the real theme was that year. Still a great year though just like the rest of them.
15. 1992 "Impact" scored 172: Being the first year led to a distinct disadvantage, no set, no theme, no skit. However, of the old school Impact (92-97) this one was just magical. Probably my personal second or third favorite. Eevry camp starts somewhere and this start was great.
16. 2000 "The Journey" scored 164: Of the "middle age" Impact's (98-06), this one probably had the least impression on me. It did produce two of the greatest t-shirts ever. The tornado ETS created for the opening night will never be forgotten. This was the first year we decided to go big on the first night.
17. 1997 "We Are Not of This World" scored 125: This year was the transition from old school Impact to the newer style. It was not fully as over the top as the next level of Impact's but there were signs of changes. The first year Morning Impact became officialy "Morning Impact".
18. 1996 "Major League" scored 80: As I pointed out in the 1997 entry, 1996 was another year where changes started to happen. It still was not the Impact we know yet, but there were glimpses. The skit that year was mostly on video and largely just a repeat of 1995.
19. 1993 "Change Your World" scored 64: Honestly I remember less about this year than any other. I do remember that this was one of two years were there were nearly 100 baptisms, so something big happened.
20. 1994 "Give It Away" scored 54: The last place finisher was still a great year, and it is another that is a blur to me. It was 16 years ago. I do remember there were so many baptisms that we had to use a sauna in the baseball locker room. The first year in Alumni Auditorium.
Comments