CST23 - Event Recap
It was a treat to gather with loads of young adults across our Commission family on Saturday, 18th November. The day was packed with wonderful worship, prophetic encouragement, great speakers, practical application, good food and new connections. This was so important as over 50% of those in attendance hadn't been to CST before, and for about a third, it was their first-ever Commission event.
"God uses our passions for his purposes"
The theme of the event was about being all in for Jesus. In the morning, Steve Petch encouraged us from the story of Hannah and how when we're all in for Jesus, he can use our passions for his purpose. Hannah had a great desire and passion to have a child, but she also had a great desire to worship God and be obedient to him. She was passionate in prayer (so passionate Eli thought she was drunk), passionate that any gift from God would be for his purposes (Samuel would serve the Lord), and passionate in her obedience (even in the face of being mocked and misunderstood). She was passionate about worship, ultimately prophesying the coming of 'His anointed'. God desires that in whatever area we operate in, in whatever our passions are, we submit them to him for his purposes and glory. Many came forward for prayer following a time of prophetic pictures speaking into specific situations. God was at work doing business, yet the day had only just begun.
"Questions are how we learn"
For many years, one of my sayings has been, "Questions are how we learn". Throughout my life, asking others questions about faith, life, relationships, and the bible has given me wisdom from others. So, after lunch, we gathered the seminar speakers for a Q&A session. Within seconds, the questions started flying in. 70 were asked in total, and they were around the following topics: How to hear God's voice and know his purpose for my life; How to manage my anxiety and mental health; How to reach people for Jesus who aren't like me; How to be content in my singleness; how to know if I should marry my bf/gf; How to feel included in church life; Handling differences with other Christians; Handling same-sex attraction; how to stay faithful in prayer when it feels like there's no answer. Lots of great questions – How can you continue the conversation with your young adults? As you can imagine, we only started to scratch the surface of these.
"When we died to our old self, the hardest bit about mission was done"
Andy McCullough leads the Unreached network and is the author of Global Humility; he spent many years on mission in Turkey. Andy led a fantastic seminar on looking at Isaiah 49 verses 1-6 and how God shapes us in the quiet place of the quiver to send us out like arrows of light across the world. In our baptism, we showed how we have already died to our old selves and been risen in Christ, so the hardest bit about mission is already done!
Rosie Hopley is the founder and former CEO of the charity Beloved and co-founder of a social enterprise, LoveWell, among others. She leads Jubilee+ Voices, which gathers people with lived experience of poverty to help shape future church-based social action. She encouraged all in her seminar to turn love for others into everyday actions and seek him for how they might make a change in their community.
Sarah Britton spent 6 years on mission in Poland, after 3 years in East Asia. An American on a mission to share the good news of Jesus, she has known in lots of ways what it means to say no to the things that our societies encourage us to say a big YES to. Her seminar on 'Counting the Cost' showed that by being all in for Jesus, we declare with our lives that He is worth it, no matter the cost. Through testimony, she shared how dying to self and living for Christ in every area of our life (including sex & sexuality) is worth it.
John Groves & Mark Landreth-Smith led our busiest seminar of the day on what it looks like to hear God's voice. They looked at how we know His purpose for our lives and receive his guidance on big matters. Wisdom and prophecy are part of the everyday walk of Christians, and these young adults are eager and ready to press into these gifts.
"Change is hard because it requires commitment; commitment is hard because it requires surrender"
At Commission Prayer and Fasting, we prayed that this wouldn't just be a day of fuzzy feelings but that every individual would go away with some next steps. Peter Roxburgh has trained over 1000 leaders from global companies like Lego and Tesco to local churches in many nations. Priscilla Roxburgh is a senior communication specialist and has spent 20 years building teams and implementing strategies for non-profits. So, as you can imagine, these two were the perfect couple to help our young adults think about what steps they can practically take to step into the things they desire and feel God has called them to. "The reason why people quit the gym is because it requires commitment. The reason commitment is hard is because it requires surrender. Before Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross, He surrendered in the Garden". Ultimately, Peter and Priscilla encouraged us to be a generation who surrender our lives to Jesus and practically plan our diaries and routines to reflect our heart's desires, not our fleshly whims.
After a lovely Beef and chicken curry, Guy and Heather ended our day, reminding us that it's ordinary people like us that God uses. Bringing to life Joseph's story, with their own testimonies, they encouraged us to see how God has worked through our past, however difficult they might have been. They encouraged us to be all in, like Joseph, for God in our place of work with integrity. Even through disappointment, false accusations and setbacks – we can still serve him. If that time comes when we're in a position of prominence, we are to be just as all-in for him then. Most of the room stood in response to be a Joseph generation who are all in for him regardless of our circumstances.
The overriding theme that kept coming back during the day was a sense of hunger and thirst and running to the Lord in our every endeavour. This was epitomised by a real hunger for prayer, guidance, and to hear God's voice. Some even stopped Guy and Heather on the street afterwards to be prayed for. Let's all be on the front foot in leading this generation into the goodness of all it means to be a child of God, taking every opportunity to offer them prayer and showing them how they can hear from God.
Looking forward to a great CST next year on 16th November, which you can book here.
Every blessing to you all
