EVENTS

'Reaching the Rising Generation' Tour

What is God’s dream for this generation of children and young people? How could the Church see that dream realised?

These are the two critical questions currently being answered in a national tour presented by the youth missionary movement Crusaders and sponsored by Survivor, entitled ‘Reaching the Rising Generation’.

The tour has come about following increasing concerns over the negative way that children and young people are being presented in our society today. The media appears to be obsessed with putting them down and labelling them ‘yobbos’ and ‘louts’.

However, the true reality is that today’s children and young people want to make a positive difference in the world – to know that there is a true purpose behind their existence. They simply need people who will commit to see their potential released. Perhaps the reason why some young people have ‘fallen off the rails’ is because no-one has taken the time to do just that – to walk with them from childhood to adulthood as they seek to discover their place in God’s world.

So how should the Church respond to this challenge? Could we re-capture a God-inspired vision which sees a generation of children and young people make a God-honouring difference in their world, developing their gifts and applying their faith to every situation, and becoming the baton carriers of faith and hope to future generations.

The ‘Reaching the Rising Generation’ tour aims to bring a challenging and inspiring message to encourage the whole Church, not just youth and children’s workers, to take up its God-given responsibility to reach the current generation of children and young people – for the sake of themselves, and the future generations.

Running between September and November 2005 in churches across the UK, the evening will include worship led by leaders from the Survivor label, plus a message from Crusaders’ Executive Director, Matt Summerfield. There will also be an opportunity to look at some of the latest training and resources available which serve churches in this vital task of reaching this generation.

For more information contact Crusaders nationally on 01582 589851 or
www.crusaders.org.uk/rtrg

Remaining dates and venues (and local contact details) are:
* 8 October – Witham URC, Witham – 07973 119032
* 9 October – Emmanuel Baptist Church, Gravesend – 01474 568498
* 11 October – High Kirk Presbyterian Church, Ballymena, Northern Ireland – 07813 811717
* 15 October – Blackhill Baptist Church, Blackhill, Consett – 01207 500744
* 1 November – Holy Trinity Church, Leicester – 0116 2548981
* 4 November – Helmsley Methodist Church, Helmsley – 01439 770300
* 6 November – New Malden Baptist Church, New Malden – 02089426912
* 11 November – Holy Trinity Church, Bradley Stoke, Bristol – 01454 620975
* 15 November – Riverside Church, Exeter – bspurling@crusaders.org.uk
* 22 November – Above Bar Church, Southampton – 02380228275
* 25 November – Hitchin Christian Centre, Hitchin – 01462 442238
* 26 November – Christian Resources Centre, Bury St Edmunds – 01284 761000/07980 258118
* 27 November – St Thomas Church, Corstorphine, Edinburgh – 0131 333 5414
* 29 November – Coastland Family Church, Gateway Centre, Barry – 01446 400113

Women ministering to women

CWR is delighted at the impact of their recent Women Ministering to Women course, as 22 enthusiastic, newly trained women head back to their churches to establish and build women’s groups.

The Waverley Abbey House-based course ran on eight consecutive Mondays and benefited from guest speakers, including Selwyn Hughes, Elaine Storkey, Philip Greenslade, Beverley Shepherd and Sheena Gillies.  The delegates came from a wide variety of backgrounds and travelled up to 100 miles to attend.  Many felt strongly called to lead Christian groups for women, but ill-equipped to do so with confidence.

The biblically based and very practical course is validated by the University of Wales.  The teaching covered vision, gifting, priorities, Bible teaching, culture, self-understanding, leadership and so much more, including hands-on issues, such as how to handle difficult or hurting group members and how to close a group down when the time comes.

Jeannette Barwick, founder of CWR’s ministry to women and lecturer on the course, is still glowing. “This new initiative in training for women took a huge amount of work and commitment but the outcome exceeded our original hopes and dreams.”  She also comments that, “many of those who attended described the experience as life-changing!”

As the eight-week programme concluded, course member Liz Challis commented, “I have thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the course. It has challenged me, caused me to weep, to grow and be utterly inspired to continue with the call that God has on my life in whichever way that is expressed with women.”

So successful was the Women Ministering to Women course in its first year that bookings can already be made for 2006, when the course will run each Monday from 16 January – 6 March.

Enquiries should be made to Nicky-Sue Leonard: 01252 784738 ministries@cwr.org.uk