The regeneration summit is an event organised by Church Army as a response to some shocking statistics about the numbers of young people in the Church of England. Regeneration will gather together a huge number of Bishops (including the Archbishops of Canterbury and York), some youth leaders and a massive number of young people to discuss how the Church can better equip, resource and reach young people in the UK today.
Church Mouse has more from Mark Russell: Guest post: Mark Russell, CEO Church Army – Young people set to “regenerate” the church at national summit.
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York will be attending the summit along with more than 30 bishops and 30 youth leaders. Regeneration will provide them with a unique opportunity to hear directly from young people.
The vision for Regeneration is not simply to talk about the problems the church faces regarding youth. Instead, it will be a day for making practical suggestions and challenging the wider church to take mission involving young people more seriously.
Therefore, rather than young people attending an event led by bishops, the bishops will take part in an event led by young people. Regeneration will be overseen by a steering group of five young people who will lead the main sessions of the day and set the agenda for discussion – and I do mean ‘young’! The guy who is chairing the group, Sam Follett, is 20 years old… and has just been elected onto the General Synod.
And the practical details are here:
When, where… how?
The summit is going to be held at St Thomas’ Philadelphia Campus in Sheffield on 3rd March 2011, 9:30am – 5:15pm. You will only be let in if you’re on the guest list, so please apply (by Monday 14th Feb!)…
And:
Our Facebook group can be found by clicking here, and on twitter we’re @regensummit.
Suggestion: Drop the “Church Army” tag…I can’t believe it appeals to young people anywhere in the Western World, except those with an inclination to join the military….
“a response to some shocking statistics about the numbers of young people in the Church of England”
And it’s not “shockingly large” or “a shocking increase” I’m guessing?
You can dress it up any way you want, but the focus on internal politics and superficial activity versus genuine outreach is the real reason for the church’s loss of youth appeal. The youth summit is unlikely to hear the prophetic voice of the Holy Spirit urging them to ignore external qualifications and prioritise God-given passion for the task of evangelism itself. God’s messengers need to sympathise with their audience, yet solemnly seek empowerment to deliver the simple message of God’s sacrificial yearning for and recovery of our fullest potential in Jesus Christ. Anglican ministers may continue to dream up… Read more »
“Call me romantic, but our ‘silly love song’ about how Jesus changed our lives is what we need to deliver the alienated youth of this country from evil.”
That is exactly what we don’t need. What we need is to tell them how Jesus’ message changes the WORLD, not us! How living by Jesus’ message–his true message about loving God with our whole selves and loving our neighbors as ourselves (and how the first is impossible without the second)–can makes this a better place to live.
Well Pat,
You tell them how Christ’s message changes the world for the better without declaring how He’s changed your life.
Those young people might just want to scrutinise your life in practical terms before embracing a gospel devoid of any testimony to personal change and conversion. You know, like Paul’s testimony to King Agrippa in Acts 26.
David: My point is that young people today here messages of personal change from every corner–weight loss programs, 12-step programs, even charlatans promoting bogus debt-reduction schemes. Why should they believe someone who says “Jesus changed my life” any more than they believe all the others? But tell them “following Jesus’ message got me to help change my neighborhood for the better”…and show them how it did it…and you might actually get their attention. And as I noted, you cannot follow Jesus’ message without loving God with your whole self. If that’s not an example of “practical change,” what would you… Read more »
It would be easy to pen a clever rebuttal. As you know, Pat, I don’t operate along the traditional lines of church politics. Neither do you.
So…you’re right! I really agree (shock, horror, surprise) that Christians need to ‘turn the world upside-down with their doctrine’.
I wasn’t proposing that personal change was unaccompanied by a meaningful impact on society, but your last comment articulated our need to change the world a lot better than mine did.