More than 300 people, including 50 under-18s, and a model camel called Jamal (pictured) gathered at Yarnfield Conference Centre, Staffordshire, for the 2022 Church’s Ministry among the Jewish People (CMJ UK) conference.
It began with a Shabbat (Sabbath) meal followed by worship, and the keynote speaker was Gavin Calver, CEO of the Evangelical Alliance.
Calver pointed out that the church is experiencing explosive worldwide growth with more people than ever surrendering their lives to Jesus. Whilst the situation in the UK did not match elsewhere, he said churches in Britain needed to recover their confidence in the gospel and invest in young people. He noted also that, as He reached out to the world, Jesus Himself formed a youth group, as is reckoned that His disciples were all aged between 15 and 22.
This situation still holds true today, Calver noted, with 86% of those who come to Christ doing so before they reach 25. He also cautioned against erecting barriers which stop people seeing Jesus, sharing how he had been banned from church for six months as a young teenager for displaying traits for which he would later (as a prominent Christian leader) be commended.
A keen football fan, he said we had an open goal before us of those ready to hear the gospel of hope for which many are so hungry. A recent poll revealed that a staggering one in three people are interested in knowing more about Jesus (up from one in five in 2015). He called for patience and perseverance – ‘the most counter-cultural thing you can do is to stick at something for the rest of your life’ – and never to give up hope.
‘This is the greatest moment for the gospel in my lifetime,’ he told delegates, adding that there was a period immediately after World War II which saw a huge rise in church attendance. A similar window of opportunity presented itself today, following the two-year pandemic, when many were forced to look death in the face. People around us are hungry for Jesus and we should take this ‘open goal’ chance while it is there.
