Irish Conference Kilkenny 2006

 

Joanna Wright from Stranmillis CU writes ...

It was a real privilege to be part of the planning committee for Irish Conference 2006. Our theme was ‘Offer Up Your Life' and as I reflect on the weekend there is so much to give God thanks for. We began the conference by thinking about what God requires of us as believers and the necessity, based on Romans 12:1-2, to not respond with a part offering but a whole. Nigel Pollock summarised the theme aptly; "the magnitude of what has been given demands a totality of response -extremism in response to extravagance." After most of the main sessions we met in small groups to discuss what we had learned, keeping each other accountable in terms of our response to God's Word and encouraging one another through prayer.

As well as the main sessions there were a number of seminars including: Sharing Faith, Faith in a Changing World, Faith at Work, Life in the Spirit, Let's Talk about..., Blessed are the Creative and Genesis to Revelation. These provided a great opportunity for open discussion as we sought to grapple with a whole variety of theological and practical issues facing Christians today. Throughout the entire conference there was a room dedicated to prayer and reflection alongside a pastoral care team.

The conference finished with Hebrews 12:1-4 - what a challenge to throw off the sin that so easily entangles and to completely surrender our lives. I really do believe the Lord moved in the conference through the main sessions and particularly during the half night of prayer for university campuses across Ireland. This conference truly inspired the student body to leave with an attitude of wanting to utterly please God, know Him better and reach the lost by whatever means possible.