Insieme 2023: Event Recap
16 years ago at a Newfrontiers Leaders 'Prayer and Fasting' event, God spoke to me so clearly about us having a harvest in Italy, so it was a real joy to be finally at our first ever Commission event in Rome. A weekend conference called 'Insieme' (Together)
Since lockdown, I have been praying online every month with a wide group of people who have a heart for Italy. Some are English, some Italian, and even someone who is a Kiwi originally from New Zealand!
This prayer meeting connected me with one particular church in the Rome area. Last year I spent a weekend with them and began to get to know their leaders.
Over the last year, I have met with those leaders monthly online to build friendships and teach and pray through many areas of doctrine and practice, and see if God is leading us to partner together in Italy in the future.
As the relationship with Chiesa Cristiana Agape (Agape Christian Church) grew, we also continued a connection with a family on the opposite coast of Italy, who are gathering a small group of believers in a very isolated area. God also brought us into relationship with another church called Porta Della Speranza (Door of Hope). As we talked and prayed together, it felt that we may benefit from putting on an event where we could gather these groups and begin to explore what it might look like if we were on a gospel adventure together.
That’s where the conference 'Insieme 23' came from.
You will know that the doctrine of the grace of God is very dear to our family of churches. It is Terry Virgo's lasting legacy to this wonderful thing we have together. As a result, we decided that the theme of this very first conference should be 'Gustando La Grazia Di Dio' (Enjoying the Grace of God)
The plan was to teach over five sessions, beginning by rediscovering what God's grace actually is for every individual, and then seeing how it shapes the life of the local church. We wanted to build on this by exploring in the New Testament how churches grew together and multiplied with the help of the Ephesians 4 gifts. We wanted to help these different groups from across the nation dream of what God could do if we worked together for his glory. We wanted to finish by revelling in our shared message, the gospel.
Day 1
Steve Petch and I (Chris Kilby) from the Commission UK team flew to Rome on Thursday and prepared ourselves for the opening session the following evening by eating some great pizza. We also had most of Friday to explore the incredible city of Rome and imagine ourselves walking in the footsteps of the apostle Paul.
The conference was hosted at one of the churches (Door of Hope). They have a great facility in a former industrial unit on a road fascinatingly called 'Via Dell' Infernaccio' (Road to Hell), so we were quite literally preaching the word of God at the door of hope on the road to hell!
A good number of English folks who have had historical connections in Italy had also made their way there to help serve and run the children's and youth groups over the weekend. They wanted to release as many Italians as possible to be in the adult sessions, and they were absolute legends all weekend. What a blessing to have such servant-hearted people in our big family!
The leader who was due to be hosting the whole weekend is a full-time chauffeur for the Kenyan Ambassador to Italy, and unfortunately at the last minute had to deliver his ‘cargo’ to various functions. He was able to follow the conference teaching on Facebook, but we missed him. Sometimes social media can be a pain, but on this occasion, we are grateful to God!
The worship team was made up of musicians and singers from three churches and has come together especially for this event. It was a visual demonstration of the title of the conference, and a real illustration of how we can do more together. About half way in to the first session of praise and worship, there was a very tangible sense of the presence of God as we sang together. It was wonderful to know that God was prepared to draw close to us as we gathered together in this way.
The teaching that first Friday evening was to lay a foundation of grace. Titled ‘The beauty of Grace’, we explored again the delight of God’s undeserved favour for each one of us, accepting us just as we are. It was a joy to see people responding in faith and receiving again the grace of God into their lives. For some it was a helpful reminder, but for others it was fresh revelation. We were aiming for a strong ‘word and spirit’ emphasis. Many of the reformed churches in Italy are heavily influenced by American Pentecostalism, and as a result not always rooted deeply in God’s word.
Day 2
Day two began again with praise and worship. The multi church team were growing stronger together with each session. Steve Petch (Woking, UK) began the day with a message called ‘The Web of Grace’ teaching into how grace impacts the local church. The people loved his descriptions of church life when things have a foundation of legalism. As we listened, faith began to rise for healthy local churches to be established in Italy.
At lunch, we enjoyed an Italian ‘Agape Meal’, with a number of folks bringing dishes to feed the masses. Beautiful plump ripe plum tomatoes, glistening mozzarella dressed with fresh basil leaves, and a selection of pastas and breads, all washed down with a glass of new wine from a nearby vineyard. The conversation over lunch was lively with much laughter. I love that building relationships is our primary goal. We are not an organisation, but a family, and so for me, this time together is as important, if not more important, than the teaching sessions.
In the afternoon we considered how in the New Testament, churches were federated under apostolic leadership. How they related to one another and to the teams of Ephesians 4 gifts serving them. We began to dream of what could be possible if we saw ourselves as on a mission together. So often churches in an area view other churches with suspicion or see them as competition. We wanted to encourage unity and a shared mission. We are also aware that if we are to see many churches planted, then we will need to bring a clear call to the younger generation to rise up and follow the call of God. It was a joy to see both young and old respond to the call at the end of the afternoon. For some, this was their moment to fully commit themselves to the cause of Christ.
In the afternoon break, we gathered with a few other guys under the shade of a large tree in the garden of one of the leaders. We were treated to a big pot of tea, and talked about religion, politics, and football!
The evening session saw Laurence Evans, a businessman based in the UK, speak on ‘The Mission of Grace’. He built superbly on the previous messages and helped us to see how Italy could be changed by the grace of God. It was also great to see the prophetic coming to the fore at the end of his message, and we prayed for leaders and prayed for healing. He also urged us to remember the poor as an apostolic priority. It was a great way to end the second day, not only had we enjoyed great teaching, but has also witnessed a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.
Day 3
By our final gathering on Sunday morning, the auditorium was very nearly full. We worshipped with joy and strength. By now the Italian words on the screen were much more familiar, and we were all able to worship in Spirit and in truth. We wanted to end the conference bringing our focus back to Jesus and the gospel. We explored the truth and value of the gospel, and the power of the cross. We also gave a gospel appeal, and it was a joy to see two people respond to the message of grace. One of those was a son of one of the leaders, what a great ending to our time together!
We took up an offering, which will be used for shared mission amongst the churches coming together, and as a result of Laurence’s word the previous evening, we decided to tithe the offering to work amongst the poor in the neighbourhood.
We ended with one more beautiful Italian meal together, served so willingly by the army of lovely church members. More laughter, more pasta, more joy.
We pray that this will be the first of many such moments in Italy, and we pray for leaders to be raised and strengthened and for churches to be built strong, bringing a lasting impact and a fruitful mission up and down the long leg of this beautiful, but very needy nation.
Please join us in praying for many lives to be transformed as they encounter the beautiful grace of God.
