Turn Down the Noise!
The first weekend of July saw 120 delegates from across the territory gather at Silverstream Retreat Centre in Upper Hutt for The Salvation Army’s annual children and youth leaders MORE conference. With the pandemic preventing a face-to-face gathering last year and instead a series of sessions online making up the conference, being together again was a highlight for many. Jules Badger reports, photography by Kevin David.
‘People were so happy to be back in the same room,’ says Youth Missions Coordinator Annika McLeod. ‘Feedback we’ve received about this year’s conference reiterates how much people value the opportunity to get together annually. Covid-19 restrictions proved that we had taken that for granted in the past.’
With no more pandemic-related travel restrictions, delegates from Fiji, Tonga and Samoa also attended, with Annika reporting, ‘I cannot imagine MORE without our Pasifika whānau (family) being there, it was so good to have them with us.’
On the Friday before MORE began, the Children’s Mission Department ran a full-day mini conference called ‘On Track’, specifically for children’s mission and ministry leaders.
Creating space
This year’s theme was ‘Our World Today’. Annika explains that the inspiration came from post-pandemic pondering about the nature of life in our world today. ‘Covid-19 has changed so much for young people, and that got us thinking about everything that’s coming at them. They’ve lived through a pandemic, there’s war in Ukraine, climate change, natural disasters here in Aotearoa and the Pacific, and also new social media apps and the noise of influencers. As we were thinking about what our young people are facing—what our children are growing up in—we realised that our leaders are also facing those things but, on top of that, they’re trying to support the next generation effectively. Just thinking about that turned up the noise in our heads!’
The planning team were determined to create space for delegates to step away from the noise of the world and position themselves to hear from God. On the Sunday morning during the final session, Captain Emma Howan (Blenheim Corps) preached and allowed time to be in the moment with God. Children’s Mission Director Lt-Colonel Debbie Clark facilitated a response time for everyone present—delegates, musicians, event organisers and tech support—to be still before God. ‘That final session was a powerful moment in the conference,’ reports Annika.
Prophetic synergy
As usual, a great line up of speakers was featured, with returning favourite Margaret Spicer back for MORE. With decades of experience in children’s mission, Margaret is currently the director of Partner Services for the Irresistible Church Network. As a mother and now grandmother, Margaret knows firsthand the value of age-appropriate faith formation in children and youth. Margaret spoke on the Friday night from Luke 4, encouraging delegates to strengthen their nets and push the boat out one more time.
New to The Salvation Army scene, Wayne Poutoa spoke on Saturday night. A former Baptist pastor, Porirua City councillor and experienced youth advocate, Wayne is currently managing Youth Guarantee Programmes from New Plymouth to Invercargill. Wayne didn’t hear Margaret speak, and had never met her, but he spoke from the same Bible passage, reiterating the same message.
Annika confesses that as a delegate she has experienced speakers align spiritually before. ‘I always just assumed it was planned. But this time, as an event organiser, I knew this was the Holy Spirit—insane! God definitely wanted a specific message to get through.’
Territorial Youth Secretary Major Mat Badger agrees, saying, ‘The synergy between Margaret and Wayne’s messages was a prophetic word for our place and time. We do need to keep pushing our boats out and make sure our nets are strong because we are living in challenging times. But it’s not time to give up. We need to continue to step out in faith if we are to reach the next generation with the message of Christ.’
Winning streams
As well as great speakers, the weekend included a great line-up of workshops. ‘This year we split the workshops into two separate streams,’ explains Mat. ‘One for children’s leaders and the other for youth workers. The value in this was having people involved in the same ministry being able to network within their area of focus, as well as learn from one another. The streams were a real win for us.’
MORE also had plenty of fun on offer, with laser tag, a donut truck, board game space and marketplace after Saturday night’s session. The marketplace consisted of various interactive information stalls like Blue Mountain Adventure Centre, Booth College of Mission, Candidates Department, Manna Bookstore and, of course, the all-important TeeHQ for all your Salvation Army T-shirt needs!
Watch the MORE Conference 2023 highlights.
