Day Five - Photos and Report

Young leaders have framed history, been profiled in Bible history and mobilised for evil; Hitler and Mao Zedong to name two. These men knew the value of harnessing youthful enthusiasm, energy, naiveté, creativity and courage – for a cause – despite it being evil.

Guest speaker David Wraight unpacked another of our CS Big Ideas – Equipping – with the mindset as a movement of ‘growing younger’. He reminded us that an unmarried teenager named Mary accepted God’s will for her to have a baby. Young Queen Esther was willing to risk her life for the sake of her people and the disciples were all in their 20s when they were called by Jesus and engaged in establishing the early church. David then challenged us, as leaders, to be a ‘caddy’ for and to equip those with Godly character, calling and competency. He called us to equip for maximum effectiveness through the empowerment of young leaders and create a safe space for them to learn, grow and make mistakes. As a caddy, to hand over the right iron at the right time. Where might a movement that’s ‘growing young’ go in the next two years? We’re keen to see where we’ve travelled when we gather together again as a tribe, as a family on a mission, in France in 2018. Yew!

It’s been a big week of family fun! We’re grateful to God for His grace, for fun waves, for an incredible week and for each person who invested time and money to join us Down Under. We also want to give a big hand-clap and say “thanks” to the staff at The Tops Conference Centre, Stanwell Park, for taking such good care of us. Thank you also to every volunteer who gave of their time, especially the Conference Committee who invested months of time and energy to host this 12th Groundswell in Australia – you’re legends! 

Keep connecting, partnering, discipling, serving and equipping for God and we’ll see you in France!

Aaron HughesComment