Ilana Lobbezoo
Missions Mobilizer and Youth Catalyst
As we turned our calendars to March many of us also stepped off the plane in Chiang Mai, Thailand where 448 Canadian Alliance national leaders, international worker families, church pastors and lay leaders converged on the Suan Bua Resort nestled in the foothills on the outskirts of the city of Chiang Mai. What a unique privilege it was to not only witness, for the first time ever, the gathering of all Alliance IWs from around the globe but to have them joined by hundreds of Canadian church leaders in this beautiful Asian setting. And so the Global Gathering began with a sense of joy-filled reunion, as we enjoyed the fellowship and freedom afforded us by the “Alliance village” that was established there for the 5 day event. For this participant I wondered if this was just a small reflection of what heaven will be like.
Some may be wondering what Global Gathering actually was and what could possibly be accomplished in a brief 5 day gathering of leaders from all corners of the globe. As some of us have debriefed our time there it is clear that there was a sense of renewed enthusiasm and unity present. This article will attempt to provide a brief overview but we would also encourage you, when you have a chance, to ask the 26 other pastors and leaders from around our Central District who were also in attendance and serving there. The idea of Global Gathering began as a dream shared by our Alliance National and International leadership to bring all of our IWs together in one place for the purposes of spiritual refreshing, fellowship, training, sharing of ideas and strategy discussions.
This would be the first time in the history of the Alliance in Canada that such an endeavour would be attempted.
For obvious reasons, some of our IW families have never had the opportunity to meet one another, let alone spend several days together. As this dream began to form into a tangible reality, our leadership began to wonder if they couldn’t also extend the invitation to our Canadian Alliance constituency to join this gathering, sit with our IWs, hear their stories and be reminded of God’s global mission as we push forward into the hardest and darkest, still unreached corners of our world. This would be a strategic opportunity to be corporately challenged with a vision for the future of global missions, emphasizing leader development and inclusion of the younger generations. As we trust Jesus and commit to a faith goal of doubling our reach by 2034, our President began to consider how strategic it would be to provide the means for young adult leaders from across Canada to also participate in this monumental event. So from among the 26 pastors and leaders from our Central District alone there were 7 youth and young adult pastors and leaders who accepted the invitation to participate.
The conference began with a delicious outdoor evening dinner gathering, followed by 4 full days packed with various worship, informational and strategic sessions. The adult delegates were challenged each morning by Dr. Stanley John, Associate Professor of Intercultural Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary, on the topic of The Church on Mission, while being led in worship by members of The Worship Project, including one of our own workers, Michelle Jones-Sood from Bramalea Alliance Church. Travis Lacey, Heritage Park Alliance Church, was deeply encouraged by Stanley’s messages saying,
Stanley was beyond fantastic!
Among the many noteworthy points of Stanley's messages was the eye-opening reminder of the affect immigration and global migration is and will continue to have in greater measure on the Canadian church. Many of us were struck by his challenge to raise up leaders from among the nations who are coming to Canada, as the cultural landscape of our nation, and by extension the church, is shifting. Another participant was amazed by the wholehearted participation as the meeting room burst forth in vibrant expression of worship of the God we serve.
Each day then unfolded with various sessions and panels highlighting our global mission to the hardest and darkest places with stories and explanations of the 3 International Strategic Focusses: Church Development, Relief & Development and Marketplace ministries, coupled with a rare opportunity to be introduced to each one of our Alliance IWs serving in these various ministries all over the world. To this Shane Gould made this observation:
[This served as a] fresh connection to our international world and our international workers. I was introduced to IWs I had not known previously.
In addition to these conversations, the group was challenged by presentations led by Tim Teakle, National Alpha Canada Youth Director, Rich & Elisa Brown, Inca Link Canada Directors, and Kris Corbin, Envision Canada, on how the church can continue to be a relevant and welcome voice in the lives our younger generations. In response to the Gen Alpha session Nick Kennedy, Student Ministries Pastor in Owen Sound said this:
I feel a renewed sense of excitement that we as youth, young adult, and kids workers are not alone in this work, and the older generation of pastors are realizing again the importance and impact of what each of [us] do. The general take away from that session was this new generation of youth seeks more fulfillment in serving the needs of others and youth ministry will have to adapt to provide more opportunities for collective, communal service opportunities. [It was like Tim and Geoff] really spoke to the older generation in their own words and I thought I was going to go blind from all the metaphorical lightbulbs that seemed to go off over people’s heads.
Running parallel to the main meeting sessions was separate programming provided for the IW children and youth who accompanied their parents to this conference. Our very own Central District team of 11 kids’ pastors and leaders had the privilege of spending those 4 full days with 37 children ages 7 months to 11 years old. I had no doubt that this team would show up with energy and excellence to minister to these children, providing them with fun activities and lessons reminding them that they are uniquely made, dearly loved children of God. It quickly became clear that their efforts were successful as the children were having such a good time that they couldn’t wait to be welcomed back for each session and were hesitant to leave when it was time to be reunited with their parents for meal times or free time. For many of our IW children, it was a rare opportunity to have fun, sing and learn Bible stories and spiritual concepts taught at their age level, in the company of others who lead similar lifestyles, while doing it all in their mother tongue of English. It truly is more blessed to give than to receive, and our team was thrilled to arrived with luggage full of treats, treasures and supplies to bless our IW families.
We are extremely grateful to each church and individual who supported these workers financially and prayerfully, and were willing to release them to bless our broader Alliance family. Julie Crawford from Bramalea Alliance Church was blessed to have the experience saying,
[Another blessing] for me was to connect with our IWs. I had a chance to eat meals together or just chat outside of scheduled gatherings. Taking this back to my church is great! It was such a blessing to be part of such a great ministry to our IW kids and families.
The resounding investment and engagement by our Canadian churches and leaders gives us great encouragement in knowing that at our core we always have been and continue to be a missional movement and Global Gathering was a clear expression of that Alliance distinctive.
Thank you for your prayers!
Consider participating in a future Alliance Canada gathering
or visit our IWs in their context of ministry!
Watch for future communications and videos featuring this event in Thailand.
