Will There Be Faith? following Christ in a secular age
Sign up for the conference here
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A 1Life Foundations Conference
Keynote Speaker: Andrew Root
Andy is a practical theologian (Luther Seminary) and the author of many books, including a provocative four volume Ministry in a Secular Age series as well as The End of Youth Ministry? Andy brings fresh analysis and spiritually mature reflections on the ways western secular culture has influenced how we presume churches ought to work. We’ve invited Andy to share his research with us, help us understand a little better the contours of the road in a “flattened” world, cut back some of the underbrush that’s blocking our view and overall help point us to a less exhausting, more faithful way forward.
Your Hosts
1Life Curators
The 1Life curators are so pleased to plan, host and participate in this first ever 1Life Foundations conference. Andrew Root’s research dovetails beautifully with the mission & vision of the 1Life learning hub. Our hope is that the conference will serve as a catalyst to more shaping of and participation in and 1Life’s 5 callings curriculum available to our 43 BC CRCs.
Larry Doornbos, Vibrant Congregations
1Life is so grateful to partner with Vibrant Congregations to bring you this conference. Vibrant Congregations is a joint RCA/CRC endeavor that assists churches in taking new steps forward. Larry is Vibrant’s current director and co-founder of EverGreen ministries in Hudsonville, MI. He’s an experienced pastor, coach and church planter who began his ministry in Rehoboth, New Mexico. Larry will be hosting our Friday night public talk with Andrew Root.
Learn more here
Accommodation
Out-of-town attendees, this is your moment to be in touch with that lower mainland auntie, Oma or friend with an extra bed. Alternatively, there are quite a few hotels within a few kilometers of Fleetwood CRC. If neither of those is workable, check with the 1Life team to see if there’s a local host we can find for you.
Sessions
Friday Morning Youth Ministry Track
10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Andy Root will lead youth & young adult ministry leaders/pastors to a deeper understanding of the culture in which we disciple our young people. How does a secular view of the full life compare to a Christian view? How can we minister to the growing number of “nones” and “dones”? Lead pastors with a heart for youth ministry warmly welcome. Coffee and lunch provided.
Friday Afternoon Youth Ministry Track
2:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Participants will debrief and chill together on the beach or in the bowling alley with Youth Task Force team Curtis Meliefste, Natasha Vedder & Erik Delange. Afternoon concludes with dinner at Northview Golf Club.
Are You Keeping Up? ministry & exhaustion in a speeding world:
Friday Evening Public Talk w/ Andrew Root
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Andy will unpack the secular agendas shaping the western church today, in particular our fear of decline and our obsession with innovation, speed and youthfulness. But recovering a biblical imagination of God’s presence and action in the world is possible if we’re willing to wrestle for a bit with our ecclesiology and take up the deeply counter-cultural practice of waiting. Vibrant Congregations director Larry Doornbos will be first responder to Andy’s talk, and then invite attendee response as well.
Wait for the Lord: Friday Evening Prayer
9:00 pm – 9:30 pm
The push for innovation has accelerated life for many of our congregations. The first day of our conference will conclude with a time of quiet evening prayer in the simple, yet rich and meditative style of Taize.
Saturday Church Café
9:00 am – 2:00 pm
Led by Andrew Root, participants will be guided through five interactive teaching sessions. Together we’ll prophetically explore how a secular age challenges and shapes our callings to preach & worship, to form faith from cradle to grave, to develop discerning, Biblically imaginative leadership, to pursue justice, and to live missionally. A high priority will be placed on collaborative table talk that encourages everyone’s contribution with a goal to discern patterns and share discoveries.
Continental breakfast and light lunch included. And yes, there will also be coffee at this café. And movie clips…
Note: this backbone event of the conference is deeply connected to the five callings curriculum of the 1Life learning hub currently being explored by the first ever 1Life Foundations learning cohort.
Saturday Afternoon R & R
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Participants will be invited to join one of the 1Life curators and other local hosts to a time of rest and recreation in one of our local gardens, parks, beaches or backyards. Solitude & sleep also encouraged.
Saturday Evening Supper
5:45 pm – 6:30 pm
A sit-down time of table fellowship with fellow conferees.
Saturday Evening Concert: Mark Glanville Jazz Trio
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
This talk-y jazz event will see Mark & his pals letting his passion for jazz become a metaphor for the building of missional community. Mark is an Old Testament scholar, Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at Regent college and the author of Refuge Re-imagined: biblical kinship in global politics & Freed to be God’s Family: the book of exodus. He shares with our keynote speaker a desire to strengthen Christian faith at the crossroads of culture. Expect resonances, both musical and spiritual!
For a taste of Mark in action at the piano, click here.
Our Times are Still in God’s Hands: Gathered Worship
10:00 am – 11:30 am at Fleetwood CRC
This closing gathering of our conference will invite us to experience gathered worship as a moment where God is uniquely present, drawing us to remember and be restored to a larger vision. A kairos moment to bring us back into chronos a little more centered and resilient and confident that God can still act in the world and ready to give our lives to this greatness. Worship -with plenty of singing -will be led by Pastor Natasha Vedder & the FCRC music team and 1Life curators. Pastor Tim Sheridan (Church planting lead, Resonate Global Mission) opening God’s word. Our times are in God’s hands…Psalm 31