Seeking A Faith That Endures
Hundreds of young adults passionate for Jesus have come to throw off their hindrances and get real with God.
On Saturday 16th November a load of young people from across the Commission family of churches gathered for our 20s & 30s conference. The theme was 'Running the Race Well’, that we might ‘run with endurance the race that is set before us’ (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Before the day there had been a prophetic picture of a tree, withstanding all the seasons of the year because its roots continually reached deeper underground to find life-giving water. Our hope for this generation is that we might become like this tree, daily digging deeper into God to live unhindered and fruitful for Jesus, not just now but in decades to come.
The programme consisted of two main sessions, with worship led by the team at Hope Church Winchester and talks from Chris Kimbangi and Guy & Heather Miller. We also had a question and response panel, three seminars, a reflective workshop and a fantastic curry! This blog shares a few highlights from the day.
Our Ruins, His Restoration
In the book of Nehemiah he finds the city of Jerusalem and its walls in ruins. In many ways this was due to the unfaithfulness of Israel to follow God, and so Nehemiah goes about the work of restoring the ruins.
Chris showed us that both Nehemiah and Jesus:
Left the right hand of the seat of power.
Dedicated their lives to the work of restoration
Called people to join in the work of rebuilding
Faced and overcame opposition
Came to finish what they started.
Ascended back to the right hand of the seat of power after their work.
But when Nehemiah returns in chapter 13 he finds an unfaithful bunch who have gone astray. The big question that Chris posed was: when Jesus returns to us, what will he find?
With this in mind, working through Nehemiah chapter 13 Chris encouraged us to be people who are devoted to scripture, action, prayer and good decision making, even against the cultural tide. All this we do, not in order to gain God’s love, but because we are loved by him first.
Many delegates responded for prayer, seeking God to turn the ruins in their lives to restoration. Others responded to receive God’s grace and the Spirit’s power to ‘go again’, while others committed to digging deeper into the bible to guide their life over the tides of the culture around them.
Question & Response
After lunch, delegates submitted over 60 questions to our Q&R panel about a wide range of topics affecting their lives.
Our young people were seeking advice on relationships, dating, finding a life partner, marriage, biblical sexuality, ethics and responding to our culture’s differing views.
People wanted counsel about hearing God’s voice from their own bias, making wise decisions and learning how to trust the bible.
They wanted to know how to be true to Jesus in a secular family or workplace, how to overcome past hurts and struggles, and how to set healthy boundaries in a Godly way.
And many more questions…including where Chris got his haircut from 🤣
As you can imagine, we merely touched the surface of these questions and certainly didn’t have time to respond to each of them. So if you’re a delegate reading this then please keep asking your church leaders, and if you’re a church leader reading this then why not ask those who went from your church what questions they may still have.
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Reverend and Doctor Kate Middleton from the Mind and Soul Foundation led an excellent session on how we run well through battles of the mind, and what to do when the blows keep coming.
She took us on a journey through the book of Acts, looking at the continual blows Paul faced when things didn’t go as he planned or hoped, giving us some great tips about handling life when we are overwhelmed. Specifically, from Paul’s reflection on his trials in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2:
Recognising that Christians do face great opposition. The battle for our mind is very real and Paul recognised this.
The things we go through are not in vain. With the calmness of hindsight, Paul was able to look back at his three jail sentences and see that it was not futile. Often when we are in a state of overwhelm and high anxiety we struggle to make sense of things; but this is not the time to make big decisions, send loaded email replies and so on, but the time to pause and take a long breath.
Paul was honest about how he had suffered and been treated. We are created to be honest with others and God about life, while holding on to his sovereignty.
Paul found courage in God. We’re not to find courage in ourselves, but God’s power is stronger than our present and Kate spoke about the ‘hope circuit’.
Finally, we don’t have to sort ourselves out before being used by God. Incredibly, Paul says they ‘dared to tell you the gospel’. God’s not looking for perfect people that have everything together, but normal people who are made strong in their weakness.
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Simon and Jo Munsie, leaders of Life Church Southampton, led the seminar on how we run our race well with others. This was specifically for those in a relationship or considering a relationship.
CS Lewis wrote: "To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken." Si and Jo explored what it means for us to love in all our relationships, and particularly in marriage.
It’s essential to consider how we prioritise our relationships above other things that compete for our time and energy, but are less important. Yet with so many broken relationships in the world because of misdirected or misplaced love, we were helped to see the importance of putting God first above all relationships, and that this is truly the only way to love others and love ourselves well.
During this session they explored the 4 different kinds of love, what their purpose is and who they should be directed to.
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Catherine, Pip Keyworth and Andy Terry led a seminar on running our race in a secular environment. During this session they shared personal testimony - Catherine from being a teacher and leader in a school, Pip from being an author and project manager at a university, and Andy from running an interior design business.
They helped us to see that work has been given to us by God since the beginning of time, and encouraged us to consider 7 important principals of a biblical approach to work:
That we work from a position of knowing our identity comes from God, not from our results.
That our work and study are our worship -"work as if for the lord...for it is the lord you are serving" (Colossians 3:22-24)
Good character is our fundamental witness, especially when working in a secular environment like that experienced by Joseph in the bible.
Recognise that God has given you gifts and talents in the workplace, in order to serve him there.
Challenges and mistakes can happen in the workplace, but how we handle them is most important. A ‘sorry’ can make a big impact.
Walking closely with God throughout the week helps to keep spiritual disciplines in place Monday to Friday, as well as on a Sunday.
Our workplace is one of our primary mission fields. Jesus says that we are a light to our colleagues there - let’s believe this and make it count!
Workshop
By mid afternoon we had heard and received a lot, so Peter and Priscilla Roxburgh’s practical workshop was brilliant in helping us digest what God had been saying and how we might put these things into practice.
They reminded us that Christianity is a marathon, not a sprint, and got us into mixed groups from across different churches to discuss and set some personal goals, think about steps to reach them, and recognise hurdles we might face along the way. Many people found this session a helpful opportunity to reflect, put plans in place, and have some actions to help them pursue Jesus.
Download the questions and sheet here.
Evening Session
After a fantastic curry and fun games, we came together again to give God glory and praise in song. He’s so good, patient and gracious to us that even after a tiring day we could come and encounter him afresh.
In the evening Guy and Heather Miller spoke from 2 Timothy chapter 2, verses 1-4. They reminded us that whilst we are in a battle, God is calling us to be soldiers like Timothy. They helped us by considering 3 D’s.
They showed us that we are to develop strength by the grace that is found in Christ Jesus (2 Tim 2:1). In most workforces like Police, the Army, etc, strength is found in the law - but in God’s kingdom we are encouraged that strength is found in knowing, receiving and understanding God’s grace.
In that grace we are to learn the disciplines of a good soldier of Christ Jesus(2 Tim 2:3). We are to be people who march together with others and learn to use our weapons effectively, such as God’s word and prayer.
Like any good soldier who tries to please the commanding officer (2 Tim 2:4), it is our desire to please God. All work is Christian work, and we need soldiers in every village, town and city willing to seek his kingdom, know his grace and follow his ways.
At the end of this final evening session many young people responded, sensing they are being called to be part of church planting, church leadership or missional teams. Others responded to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit in order that they might be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
Follow Up
If you weren’t at this event we would love you to take time to connect with those from your church who attended. We’re sure they’ll have plenty to tell you about how God has been speaking to them.
Next year we’ll be gathering again on Saturday 22nd November - save the date and bring a crowd!
