Cast the net - Juntos 2024
‘Together for The Iberian Peninsula’
📍Penafiel, Portugal, June 2024
The theme of this year’s ‘Juntos’ (Together) conference was ‘Lancem a Rede’ (Cast the Net)
Jesus called us to be catching people up into his kingdom purposes, and it is the net of the church which is his chosen method of rescuing people from the dominion of darkness and catching them up in the great adventure of eternal and abundant life in the kingdom of God.
That is our shared mission in Portugal and Spain, and it’s a thrill to see such great progress being made from year to year.
Throughout the weekend the worship was powerfully led by the team from ‘A Fonte’ in Penafiel. Brilliant musicianship was coupled with mature and sensitive leadership, and a tangible sense of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Singing and leading bilingually made sure that everyone present was really engaged in praise and worship and felt like a foretaste of heaven. Every preached message was also translated, so many people worked really hard to make it such a great weekend.
At the beginning of each session we watched a short video with updates from around Spain and Portugal, as well as an update from Ranjit in India, where some of the Juntos team had been earlier in the year. Guy and Heather Miller also sent their greetings via video, and we had an update from Luke Simone in Rio.
It was also a joy to have Terry and Wendy Virgo with us for the first time in Portugal, and they were such a blessing all weekend. Absolute legends!
Day 1
In the opening session, Peter Shore (Juntos Team and leader of A Fonte) reminded us that to cast something requires action on our part as we respond to the call of God. Speaking powerfully and passionately from John 21 he reminded us that Jesus involved Simon and Andrew in the miraculous catch of fish, and that Jesus wants to involve us all as we seek him for miraculous breakthroughs.
When God calls us to join him in the adventure of casting the nets, each of us has a choice to make— we can either stay as we are and things remain the same, or we can act in faith and obedience, cast the nets out again, and see Jesus put a miraculous catch into our nets.
Simon Peter’s zeal as he saw Jesus and jumped into the water is a great example of passion and desire to get close to Jesus, and as the disciples sat on the beach, enjoying intimacy with the risen Christ, Peter (Shore) reminded us that they would have recalled the last meal of intimacy they’d enjoyed when Jesus broke the bread and they ate together.
The ultimate promise for all of us is a banquet of intimacy with Jesus, but also with all those that through the years we have had a part in catching and bringing in to the kingdom. Such a promise.
In the second session Terry was on his feet, as bright and passionate as ever. He reminded that the disciples, who could have been seen as complete failures after abandoning Jesus at the cross, were for the first time called ‘brothers’ by Jesus after the resurrection and brought into a place of acceptance and intimacy.
Terry Virgo preaching as powerfully as ever, with Luis Filipe translating
Terry superbly opened up Hebrews 9:11-15, reminding us of the truth that our consciences have been beautifully cleansed from dead works by the blood of Jesus. Terry urged us to observe the signs and avoid the pitfall of being engaged in dead works. Peter’s fishing had become a ‘dead work’, and wasn’t bearing any fruit, but when Jesus commanded him to cast the net out again, in faith and obedience he did, and we know the results!
Terry urged us not to just ‘go through the motions’, or rely on tradition, but to come to the mission of God, and to church life, with genuine faith, and expectation that God will do something wonderful in our midst.
Terry reminded us of the need to come back to our first love and of power of faith, reminding us that it was by faith that the walls of Jericho came down. We were powerfully reminded of a truth not often taught on, that we will receive reward for the acts we do in faith, that our works will be tested and refined by fire, and the sobering reality that at that point of testing, some, who have pinned their hopes on dead works, will suffer loss.
Terry’s encouragement was to find the works that God has prepared for each of us, and like Peter, to co-work with Jesus and look forward to his reward.
We all had a great time of fellowship over some Portuguese chicken for lunch, though we did have to dodge the rain showers, which is very unusual for this time of year in Portugal
In the afternoon, Terry was interviewed by Luis Filipe (Juntos Team and Elder at Vida Nova, Porto). He told us all the story of Newfrontiers, and how it went from a lounge in the south of England to a global family. It was so good to hear of the faithfulness of God through the decades.
In the fourth and final session on the Saturday João Martins, a guest speaker from A Casa Da Cidade in Lisbon spoke from Matthew 4:18-22 on the theme of ‘Unbreakable Nets’.
He challenged our priorities and attitudes. In our thinking we view casting nets (doing ‘the stuff’) as somehow more purposeful than mending them (building relationships, caring for others, quiet service), but that God has called us to do both, and that casting broken nets will not give us the catch we desire. There is a reality that the nets of mission and the nets of relationship can get damaged and broken. In order for the church to become the net it needs to be, there must be a great restoration, and a great mending of the nets. His preaching style was very different and engaging and brought some fresh revelation of the importance of building strong and healthy churches.
Day 2
In the first session, we were treated to some vintage Terry Virgo speaking from Romans 5:17. How Paul brought such clarity to the ending of the line of Adamic sin and disobedience through the obedience of Jesus bringing us a new birth, and now, in Christ, we can reign in life. No matter how Satan may accuse, we have a new righteousness in Christ that can never be cancelled out. I have had the privilege and joy of hearing and reading this movement shaping teaching from Terry on many occasions, yet it never fails to thrill my heart and strengthen my resolve to reign in life. I felt like I was born again, again!
In the second session Andrew Shore (Juntos Team and Leader of Vida Nova, Porto) took us to John 21:15-17. He helped us to be more conscious of the biblical reality of us, as Christians, being described in the scripture as sheep, and because of that our consequent need of a Good Shepherd.
Andrew Shore with his sister Katie translating. She was also leading worship over the weekend.
In a world where we are constantly bombarded with information, he challenged us to consider what voice we are following, and when we need answers whether we go to our shepherd, or to Google!
There was a particular exhortation to pastors and teachers in Andrew’s message. We are sheep, but we are also shepherds, and in our day it is more vital than ever that we are feeding our flocks through sound teaching of the Word of God. Many of those present had come from smaller churches, and so having this feast in the Word of God that Andrew and the whole Juntos weekend was bringing was definitely solid food.
After a superb hog roast that had been cooking over coals (and distracting me all morning!), in the final session, Luis Filipe told us some of his stories and then spoke from John 21:18-22.
He powerfully reminded us that Jesus, and the message of grace is an offence, and it brings spiritual confrontation in the same way Jesus brought confrontation. Peter began comparing himself to John, and Jesus reprimanded him for making the comparison, basically saying ‘what I do with John is none of your business!’
Luis reminded us that it is possible for God to have all his focus on each of us, loving us all completely, and because of that comparison is a pointless and unedifying trait. We don’t make progress as a disciple by comparing ourselves to others, but by following Jesus and walking by the Spirit. Luis left us with several challenges, which led to a powerful time of ministry where many were prayed for and received baptism in the Spirit.
We ended the weekend with a time of exuberant praise, with all the children back in the room who had been learning a new song with actions ‘Tudo que respire, louve o Senhor’ (Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord). Everyone was dancing, singing, and doing the ‘conga’ around the auditorium – it was awesome!
There is so much of what we see in the New Testament in these gatherings. There is so much joy and love, lots of eating together, and a real sense of family and mission. What a joy to see Mariana singing in the worship team. She is the granddaughter of Mike and Jessica Shore who pioneered and began the work here over 40 years, so the third generation is already lining up to take its place.
Looking back, it is incredible to see how this group of churches are growing in their sense of shared mission, and how God is using them to bring kingdom impact. We are praying that God will continue to expand the work and extend his kingdom in the years ahead, in Portugal, Spain, and to the ends of the earth!
We love being part of this global family!
-Chris and Jo Kilby
