Over the last few days I have been going along to a missions conference for young people here in Cordoba. It is quite an event. 2000 young people plus a whole range of speakers and workshops. With Hector Franco, the new General Secretary of ABUA, I have been taking a workshop on evangelism in the university context. Our workshop seems pretty normal alongside others on BMXing, clowning, artistic make-up and theatre...
But we have had a good group of students who are keen to reach their friends at uni with the gospel.
It was interesting to see a 'Missions' conference Latin style- a little different to a CMS Summer School. The opening night had BMX riders, flame jugglers and various other dancers. It was hard not to see it as a large SHOW. However, others parts of the program were a little more serious- the morning talks and the afternoon workshops, depending on what you chose.
The group who runs this conference have worked hard to show the young people that Mission is 'Cool'. It's a happening thing for young people- its where the action is at. Which makes me wonder... I really don't feel 'cool'. Most of the time it is just like ministry in Australia- hard but rewarding work. Just with some extra challenges of language and culture. My gut feeling is that it is better to train young people for 'ministry' - in whatever shape or form- but keep God's work amongst the nations on the agenda. Get people doing ministry in the here and now- not just thinking about some romantic notion of 'mission' in the future (which also happens to involve a bit of travel).
No comments:
Post a Comment