Why you should be at Mobilise 2013

I can't believe how long it's been since I wrote a blog post, and so much stuff has happened! But more on that in the next few weeks!! This is a Mobilise themed blog post... so please stick around and have a read!

I first went to Mobilise in July 2011 when it was the little sister of the Newfrontiers Leadership Conference in Brighton, but by the time April 2012 had come around, Mobilise had spread its wings and had become a stand alone conference of its own, and the results were fantastic!

As many people who know me well are aware, I came back from Mobilise pumped and excited, and as a result, I wrote this article for Life Church Hook which should provide an insight into the fun and action-packed week!!

"Tom Shaw introduced the theme with some scary statistics which made my mouth drop and stirred the hearts of the 1100 people in the room: 59% of churches in the UK have no people aged between 15 to 19 in their congregation. Then came another scary statistic: in the last twenty years, there has been a 90% drop in the number of under twenties attending church. Silence fell in the room as people began to process that information, and from there, a deep desire to get on a purpose-driven mission to serve Jesus began to grow.

   Speakers including PJ Smyth, Mike Betts, Adrian Holloway, Andrew Wilson, Stef Liston, and Joel Virgo, talked about our role in mission in our daily lives, and the importance of mission and the church. These talks were powerful, challenging, and so relevant! Examining your motives and desires alongside your relationship with God is always a wake up call!

   The different seminar streams covered topics such as leadership, our relationship with God, and finding God in the Supernatural, and they were a great time to get equipped and encouraged in our individual walks with God.

   As well as more meetings, there were new additions to the timetable such as the pub quiz, a gig night, and Mobilise’s Got Talent, where people were given the opportunity to showcase different talents. There was everything from singing to dancing, and stand up comedy to a break dancing juggler(!) Mouths dropped and the crowd celebrated the talents that God has blessed this generation of students and twenties with. But, possibly the most talked about Mobilise event was speed dating. “Speed dating?! Really?!” Yes. The event promoted new friendships and the opportunity to meet new people you might never have been given the opportunity to meet before, and for the people I know that went, that was certainly the case. But, who knows, maybe next year we’ll hear a story about how a couple met at that very event...!

 I think if I had to sum up this year’s Mobilise in a sentence... well, I couldn’t do it justice! All I know is that I came back with such an excitement and buzz about being on mission for Jesus. I know that God broke through in areas of my life and set in motion old callings with a new perspective." (Courtesy of Life Church Hook, May 2012 newsletter)

This year is even more action packed! We've moved to Pontins Brean Sands Holiday Park, Somerset, and Mobilise has been extended by an extra day, so we can have the afternoons off to walk down to the beach, to try go-karting, or go swimming, or if you're like me, catch up on sleep! 

There are often about four reasons why people hold back from booking in to an event- even if they really want to go.

1) Money- or a lack of!! It can be really hard to commit to paying £100, especially when you're a student! (Although this is a problem for lots of us, whether or not we are students!) Just the idea of that chunk of money disappearing from your account can be scary when bills need to be paid and food needs to be bought! But how about thinking like this: choose to see the money you spend on booking into Mobilise as an investment. You are choosing to invest the money, as well as setting aside time, to really dig deep into God's Word, and build a relationship with Him. The seminars, and talks, and worship, and relationship time with both God and others, is truly invaluable. 

Also, deciding to sacrifice that money is a great reflection of placing your trust in God; trusting that He WILL meet your needs, because He is a gracious and compassionate Father that loves to bless you! Yes, YOU!

2) Time- Committing time can also be a scary idea. If you're working, then getting the time off, can be tricky, especially if you have really important deadlines or meetings, or even if you don't have many days of holiday left, and you were hoping to save them up for a fabulous holiday somewhere hot! I'm not going to pretend that I understand this crazy world of work yet, (thank goodness, I can still just about live in my student bubble!), but I'd really encourage you to pray about it with the same trust in God as you have in Him regarding other things, including your finances. And don't be afraid to ask for time off, just in case! God might surprise you and release blessings you never thought possible. He's cool like that! 

To students, the idea of going away in April can seem really inconvenient with the prospect of exams looming around the corner. You might be thinking, "I just have too much revision to do!", "I have to hand in my dissertation!", or maybe, "Easter is supposed to be a break. I just want to chill out and catch up on all my tv programmes." I mention those because they are common arguments people have with themselves, and also because all of them apply to me! I have thought of ALL of these issues in the last few weeks! But I've decided to dedicate this time to God; to getting to know Him better, growing in my understanding of the Gospel, getting equipped spiritually, and learning more about what it is to be a follower of Jesus.If I trust that God is in control of everything, that He is victorious, and that He has plans for me that ARE GOOD, I'm going to trust that I can set aside this time to worship Him, and build my foundations on the truths of our fabulous God.

3) Travel arrangements- Sometimes I can worry about how I'm going to get somewhere. I don't always have access to a car and so it's not always simple to get from A to B. If you think that way too, don't let those thoughts hold you back! Plus, there's a train station not that far away from the site! If lots of us go, then I'm sure travel arrangements won't be a problem!

4) "I don't know who is going!" At this point, I haven't got a clue who's going, but I'm still booking in. Mobilise was great last year for building up relationships with people. Sometimes there might be people in your flat who are from another church (although, they try to put you with people from your church), but it was great getting to know these guys and building up friendships.

And if none of that has convinced you to think about booking into Mobilise 2013, then check out this video! Hope to see you there!!!