YFC One!

‘My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one – I in them and you in me – so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.’ – John 17:20-23

After travelling across the North Wales coast roads of the A55 & the A494, then onto the M56 & M60, we arrived at our destination; the Britannia Country House hotel in Didsbury, Manchester. Here the team from Llandudno YFC were joining with other centres from around the UK for the National YFC conference. This is a great time of the year for the whole of the YFC family. A time to gather together and celebrate all that God has done through the mission and ministry of YFC in the past year, and also a time to pray for the year ahead of us; asking God to give us vision for the next 12 months.

The theme of this year’s conference is ‘One YFC’.

Not to be confused with our gap year project YFC One.

We will be looking at how we as a ministry organisation that has centres all over the UK; centres that reach into different communities and engage with different cultures and people groups, ranging from our pre-teen ‘Big Ministries‘ to ‘Reflex‘ our work in prisons; can be united in purpose and vision. How we can be and how are we one?

To open up the conference national director Neil O’Boyle focussed on 3 points; 1: us being United in our devotion to Christ; 2: Belonging to a ministry family that is greater than just our local centre; and 3: Single minded in our goal of reaching young people relevantly with the message of Jesus.

Neil shared very honestly from his life-experience working as a missionary working for YFC in the middle-east and Asia.

He also shared some startling statistics about just how important it is for the church to engage more intentionally and relevantly with young people in our country.

So many young people are not interested in enquiring about God or crossing the threshold of a church building nowadays, and we as the people of God have a mandate and responsibility to pass on the message of Jesus to the young people in our local community and beyond. Leaving a legacy of faith.

Passing the baton on to the next generation; for them to run with and pass on in their turn.

The key points that God has kept on highlighting so far during the conference is Unity and Prayer.

Unity that comes from being united to and in Christ, not our denomination, not our culture, not our geographic area; but firmly united by being followers of Jesus and nothing more.

Churches working together to expand the kingdom of God by sharing the good news of Jesus.

Prayer has also been shown to be vital and key to seeing this unity and growth happen.

YFC UK will be launching its Pray365; where we will be having a concerted year of building and establishing a culture of pray across all of ministries in the UK. “[the] power of prayer can never be overrated. They who cannot serve God by preaching need not regret. If a man can but pray he can do anything. He who knows how to overcome with God in prayer has Heaven and earth at his disposal.“- Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Pray changes everything, peoples, nations, generations and most importantly it changes the person praying.

So far the conference has encouraged me for what God has in store for us both in Llandudno YFC and also with YFC nationwide.

We will keep you updated as the week goes on.

Happy New Year!