I spent most of the day in Luton today on one thing or another.

I caught up with the rest of the YFC Integrate planning team. It’s great to see things developing and how so many of our centres are lapping up the idea of planning co-ordinated mission where local and national YFC work in partnership. I think I have said before, but I believe this is a different concept as we are planning events backwards by looking at what we ant to achieve and then asking the questions which will ensure things are in place for the dream to happen.

A big question we are having is what happens with young people after a time of heightened mission. They need church and I think in some places the church is ready and would be able to work creatively and successfully with an influx of, say, 50 new Christians. I think, actually, that Gillingham is such a place.

In Gillingham the churches know and trust each other and work to their strengths. The cell structure that I have mentioned could more than cope with an influx f new Christians and give them both the support and the space to develop creatively and differently that young people would need.

The trust between the church leaders in Gillingham to allow this to happen in phenomenal. In fact, when I worked there locally I think, looking back, that I took this trust for granted. In all the other places I have been I have not encountered such a great trust, apart from possibly in Newham.

In some areas, though, the thought of so many new Christians might just freak the churches. Here I think we need to be looking at new missional communities/church planting/new expressions of church. Church in school, church down the club, church wherever the group of young people meet all need to be looked at.

I think we agreed that one size will not fit all – it really does depend on the location. That kind of fits in with my mission overview; looking and seeing where God is working and joining in with what he has already started. If that happened everywhere I wonder what would be achieved with such a powerful display of unity?