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There’s a buzz of conversation in the room. Friends reconnect over coffee, others meet for the first time and find out how they’ve come to be in the same room today.
Another NextGen event is getting started, and the heart of the event is clear already, building community for those who are exploring how they can be effective in sharing the good news of Jesus across cultures.
Over the past few years NextGen events have been held throughout the year and around the UK.
Whilst many of those present at these events have been out on short-term trips with OMF, for some this is the first time they have engaged with what OMF is doing.
Bible teaching provides a reminder of the wonderful gospel we believe in and challenges people afresh with calls to whole life discipleship and the need for so many in the world to hear this message, perhaps for the first time. Seminars during NextGen provide insight from those who have lived and worked cross-culturally as they share exciting stories of success and failure, joy and anguish. These provide food for thought and deeply practical ideas for sharing Jesus here in the UK, in East Asia, and around the world.
Times of prayer and praise also give opportunities to express and reflect on what has struck home during the time together, as Lawrence’s experience at a NextGen event in Northern Ireland shows:
“The NextGen weekend in April was our first time away at an OMF event and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Besides being very well organised, the facilities and location were great. Also, the Bible teaching over the weekend was excellent – hard to believe that we covered the entire book of Ezekiel in less than 48 hours with time to spare for fellowship, testimonies, worship, relaxation, fun and food! We nevertheless left refreshed, and with a heart to pray more earnestly for the people of East Asia.”
NextGen events coming up:
Northern Ireland 22 February 2020
Events are held in Scotland and London in early November each year.