Going to Cambodia on a Global Xposure in January was a transformational experience! How you ask? Well, God opened my eyes to what His mission looks like, not only in Global context, also in my local context! The Xposure trip had me asking questions and reflecting about what I had observed and how we could bring our learning back home.

We had visited several incredible social enterprises that helped the Cambodian people on the margins to learn new trades, be rehabilitated, become educated and re-enter the work force. We saw the impact of faithful cross cultural workers who were serving, building relationships with their local community and making a difference in the lives of those they had met. Our team experienced local village life and community within the friendships of local workers. We feasted together, shared stories, shared life and saw what God was doing amongst the least reached people groups we encountered. The end of the trip was spent in reflection – there was a time of solitude, listening and hearing from God, times of laughter and fun, poignant times of sharing our hearts and coaching through our next steps as we headed back into our local communities in Australia.

Urban Xposure was birthed out of our Cambodian experience. How could we learn from what we saw overseas and use it in our local church context? How could we inspire the next generation to put down their devices and engage with their neighbours?

We started by having an Unearthed Feast in July this year with mission minded Youth and Young adults at Kilsyth South Baptist. Like in Cambodia, we ate together and heard from a young adult, Andy, a Global Interaction candidate. We had opportunities to share our stories, ask questions, dig deeper and reflect on what we had heard.

Our first Urban Xposure was to explore Creation Care, a social enterprise in the heart of our city! Having done some research, Creation Care and Social Justice Issues were areas that young adults want to engage in.

We had a group of seven Young Adult Leaders from various churches and backgrounds join us in September to visit ‘The Green Room,’ which is operated by Planted Places and run by Sherry and Geoff Maddock.

Sherry shared her heart for what they do saying “our generosity doesn’t have limits, we need to love people who do not feel loved, we need to wake up each morning with a lens of love.” Inspiring words that had us excited to hear and see more. Geoff shared their history and experience of mission in the US, reminding us that “social isolation is an epidemic.” Sherry encouraged us to “live a life that evokes questions, as we are the ones that hold the light to share Gods love in the world.” They shared about their mission, which is to directly address disadvantage through the cultivation of relationships with plants, people, and place. They do this by connecting with people experiencing social isolation and hardship, specifically asylum seekers, refugees and international students.

On reflection of their time in ‘The Green Room’ the team shared that Sherry and Geoff “were passionate, genuine, engaging and really transparent, their energy was contagious, what they are doing is incredible.” Another stated that “I really enjoyed the opportunity to come across a different type of missionary, it inspired me to try and involve the people I work with in a similar eye-opening experiences.”

Our Urban Xposure team then met for lunch and heard from Wendy, a Cross Cultural worker from Global Interaction, who had served there for over nine years with her family. She shared about their call, their Creation Care experiences, her involvement running a café and family life. She shared that “God lights up each step ahead, not the whole path” and that “we need to trust Him as we walk our journey.” Another inspiring story from an amazing woman of faith.

The team shared afterwards that “it was inspiring, and they loved “how strong she was,” and that “it was so real and raw.” One of the team shared how they felt after hearing of Wendy’s experiences “being a missionary is not easy, you have to go through a lot of difficulties at times, but if you put yourself in God, nothing is impossible.”

The common word to encapsulate our day was “INSPIRING!” We spent time debriefing and reflecting upon what we had learnt and what it may mean for our local context.

Our next step of the Urban Xposure is to have a Reflect Day. It will be running on Monday 28^th October in Warrandyte. We will spend time in solitude, learning about some of the Spiritual disciplines that help us to hear from God. We will meet Derek and hear how Now and Not Yet Café came to be, and be inspired by the part Global Interaction played in his story.

Why run Urban Xposure? We want to partner with churches, youth groups, young adults and individuals to start thinking about what Global Mission looks like in our own neighbourhoods. This will then give us the opportunity to look at what we already do well, and how we can use what we have observed and become creative in innovating what mission looks like in our local church context. It is a springboard to exploring what Global Mission looks like and how Global Interaction’s missiology is relevant in our daily interactions and walk with God.

Oh, by the way, I was so inspired and transformed by my Cambodian Global Xposure that I gave up my job as a Primary School teacher (15 years!) to work as the Young Adults Consultant at Global Interaction!

Sulari Nielsen
Global Interaction
Young Adults Consultant Vic/Tas

Source: BUV News

Now and Not Yet Community opened their community cafe in 2014 with the support of the BUV community grant and just recently they celebrated their five year anniversary. As a not-for-profit, social enterprise (with all profits going to the Warrandyte and wider community) – Now and Not Yet have been thriving and making remarkable achievements within their community. This funky-industrial café serves amazing coffee and fantastic food and is all about reinvesting their profits back into the community – so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of the business.

“Now and Not Yet is a missional community that lives out its faith in and through the community cafe. The community also houses and employs refugees, women escaping domestic violence and homelessness. The amazing staff and volunteer staff – the heroes, play such a vital role in our day to day. I am so excited by what Now and Not Yet is and is becoming. A vibrant and positive place where you can grab a coffee, do business on our wi-fi, listen to music, chat, eat, celebrate a special occasion, create or just relax. It has become a central meeting place for the Warrandyte community” said founder, Derek Bradshaw.

Click on the video below and be inspired by how Now and Not Yet is giving young people a go by equipping them with skills to work in hospitality.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhm4RDMprn0]

Source: BUV News

What an opportunity it is to sit in a room alongside a group of Godly men and women, as we seek to faithfully bring the gospel to people in our worlds. Earlier in September we had our second Generations Network Day for this year, where Generations Pastors and Leaders gathered to be spoken into, and to share some valuable stories around helpful content.

We started our day together with a worship service. These Pastors and leaders are often in serving and leading mode on Sundays and rarely have the opportunity to just ‘be’ in a service and be ministered to. A team from Crossway came to lead us in worship and Rev Dr Allan Demond brought the message. He shared vulnerably about the realities of Christian leadership and gave a strong word of encouragement for our Generations Network – to seek fresh revelation from God and to be open to receiving suggestions and guidance through unlikely sources.

The rest of the day was spent in workshops – learning about Leadership Development and managing transitions between ministries/lifestages; as well as a fantastic workshop on Ministering to children with Additional Needs led by Pastor Angie Lee from Crossway – and enjoying great food.

The buzz in the room during times of interactions was a reminder of the energy and encouragement gained from being amongst peers and others who understand the realities of ministry and church life.  

Hear what some of our participants have to say: 

“Being someone in Generations Ministries in a Regional Victoria, it is often rare for me to be in an environment with a group of people who are journeying in similar ministries contexts and roles. This is one of the reasons I have found the Generations Network Day a really valuable time to set aside and get along to. It has been really key for me to network with these guys and I’ve been very blessed with the wealth of knowledge that is in the room and have come away with great encouragement.”
 – Aleisha Pryor, Generations Ministry Leader, Kerang Baptist Church

“This year I went along to my first Generations Network Day in September and appreciated the opportunity to focus on my development as a youth pastor. I enjoyed the sessions which were aimed specifically at common issues most pastors and leaders in the Generations area face. I felt encouraged in my role knowing there are many others who are experiencing similar issues to me. Most of all I loved getting the opportunity to meet and speak to other people who worked in similar roles outside of my church who I can hopefully continue to connect with in the future.”
 – Way Lim, Youth Pastor, Syndal Baptist Church

Source: BUV News