Collectively Mission-Oriented
The Mission Collective (https://themissioncollective.org) recently happened from 27-29 September, 2019 at the Royal Children’s Hospital. A couple of months prior, I was kindly invited by an Uncle I highly respected and he made sure I was informed as soon as registration opened. Long weekends are usually perfect to recover from full weeks of busy work but the chance to catch up with other young people who are “seeking to realise the potential of a generation committed to innovative evangelism” sounded great.
And I must say I was truly blessed by the whole event. The God-sent speakers shared their journeys on how God has and is still using them in very secular (and at times anti-God) environments to reach out to the many that need to know Him. Scientists, finance gurus, entrepreneurs, managers; their testimonies of how God worked through them were exceptionally inspiring.
It was also awesome to meet many other young professionals who have been placed in different fields of work. We were able to move around to different tables throughout the event and get to know more people as the program progressed. It was very encouraging to see how many other young people work in secular environments and how they too desire to make a lasting impact where they have been placed. I was truly humbled to be among so many brilliant minds.
Our Melbourne City Adventist Church already embodies some characteristics of Mission Collective (young crowd, mission-minded, trying to come up with creative ways to reach out). And I was kindly given the chance to briefly tell the whole gathering what we as a church are doing. Hopefully we can collaborate with other groups and individuals in some exciting projects in the near future.
Just when I thought there were enough highlights, we had the chance to taste test vegan burgers from Life Health Foods Australia. From the rich brioche buns to the succulent vegan patties with vegan cheese and mayo, it was quite a gourmet experience. I must admit I went for unnecessary seconds.
So overall, I would highly recommend attending the next conference. The forward-thinking organisers are brainstorming to tweak the format so that the next one is more hands-on application of the cool ideas that have been proposed. I look forward to seeing the fruits of this local movement within our worldwide movement.
