Three Takeaways From Cross Conference '19

Cross Conference is a global missions-focused conference for 18-25 year old Christians who are seeking to partake in the gospelization of the world in line with the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20. The conference is designed to teach, challenge and empower young people into the mission fields as both "goers" and "senders" in hopes of reaching all unreached people groups with the message of Jesus Christ. This conference is organized by popular pastors and ministers such as John Piper, David Platt, Kevin DeYoung, Thabiti Anyabwile, and others. The resurgence of orthodox doctrinal teaching in the modern era has given birth to platforms such as this that allows new age Calvinists and reformed teachers to speak into young audiences in hopes of reviving orthodox reformed teachings. I will briefly highlight and note three major themes I experienced throughout this conference:

1) An emphasis that was made, predictably, throughout the conference was the providence of God and his unfolding will. Our participation in God's plan was the core message, a slight deviation from your contemporary Christian missions conference that instead challenges young people to drive God's mission forward. I appreciated this distinction because it upholds God's sovereignty over His mission and it gives all credit of completion to God as well. Thabiti Anyabwile opened the conference with such statements as, "God is the subject of the Bible...our purpose is derived from God...God's providence brings about the desire of His will...God's plan unfolding is never in threat by wicked men." The next morning Kevin DeYoung, a favourite of mine, stated in his sermon, "God is committed to the glory of His name; that his name will be glorified with us or against us." He followed with a great exposition of 1 Samuel 4:1-11. God is indeed in control and anything otherwise would make God, not God at all. He must be in control and He should be in control for He is God. I found this to be a reassuring message for the young minds in the audience because it gives you hope that the efforts we put into missions will ultimately yield fruit as God desires and not as we desire. This gives us hope as we go into unreached people groups, knowing that God has a harvest ready in accordance with that which glorifies Him the most. The Bible teaches us that the "workers are few" and not the harvest.

2) Another overarching theme of this conference was the distinction between "goers" and "senders." David Platt made a point that the mission of God to reach all people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a mission that all Christians share in, however our role in helping to fulfill that mission may differ. In one of his seminars he mentioned that as Christians, we should equally be praying about how to "send" as much as we focus on how we "go" because not all are called to go. One evening panel discussion addressed this question of whether all Christians are "missionaries" and John Piper commented that the Bible is clear that not every Christian is called to be a missionary in the sense of vocational calling. In other words, Christians are indeed called into participating in the mission of God by sharing our faith wherever we are to those around us, but not every Christian is called by God as frontier missionaries in cross cultural contexts. That calling is specific to a few and we see such distinctions in roles made in scripture as Paul is identified as a frontier missionary and Timothy is a pastoral figure. One evening, there was a young gentleman who was a computer software engineer in Silicon Valley and he used his computer skills to assist people affected by a natural disaster by directing his wealthy friends who were willing to donate to a Christian organization that dealt with such cases. He utilized his skills and network to support not only a humanitarian effort, but to advance the Gospel in the midst of a crisis that he recognized and gained a heart for. We are not all called to "go" nor are we all called to "send" but our default as Christians should be to pray over the role in which God has called us into in order to participate in the advancement of the Gospel around the world.

3) One final note that I remember vividly walking away from this conference was the importance and emphasis on proper theology. Theology may appear to be at times a roadblock to productivity and action in the church, but in reality it is the catalyst of proper missional work for God. Zane Pratt kept it simple when he stated in his sermon, "Theology is necessary...worship must be driven by theology." Later on Mark Stiles echoed the same sentiments when he stated, "Know, obey and say the Word. It is critical to missions." I cannot agree enough that theology is crucial to missions and crucial to the missionary. We are lost and blind when we lead others without consideration and thought of proper theology. Theology is by no means a detriment or obstacle to the work of God, rather if properly understood, theology is the backbone of healthy church plants, gospel-centred preaching and fruitful Christian growth in any community. Theology is indeed necessary.

I am thankful for such a conference that exists in the ocean of conferences young people have access to in today's age. We are blessed on one hand to have such a wide array of conferences challenging young men and women to live their lives for Christ. On the other hand, it is unfortunate that some conferences and gatherings lose focus and stray from the truth of scripture. Not to say they are heretic or incorrect, but to say that the focus at times becomes us rather than God. I thank the men and women who put this conference together out of their convictions to challenge young people through the Word of God and with the Word of God. I recommend churches and groups across North America to attend the next installment of this conference is possible.