Young Leaders and a Fresh Move of the Spirit
3 March 2023 · Liz Bewley
It’s one thing to read about a move of God from a Christian news platform or on a church pastor’s Instagram feed, but it’s another thing to read about it in The Economist!
On 24 February The Economist reported on the story of a few students in a chapel in the small town of Asbury, Kentucky, who felt compelled to continue in prayer and worship one evening in February. That led (as you may already know) to a continuous gathering where thousands of people travelled from all over the world to see what God was doing. Whether you are Fox News – who were turned away from reporting on the event – or a young person responding to the moment, the headline is that Jesus is moving through this younger generation in a surprising way that is catching people’s attention.
And for me, I was watching this happen as we headed into the Onelife Conference a couple of weeks back. I knew our role was to host a space for young people to come and encounter the living God. And I also knew we had the tools of discipleship, character development and leadership so young people could be propelled out of the conference to lead now in every area of their life and seek first the kingdom of God in every sphere of society. This is what we have always done, but this year, with what I was seeing at Asbury, it felt very different.
The sense of expectation from young people and the team was incredible. There were groups of young people who had come without their youth leader because they knew they had to be in the space, others who came totally on their own because they had prayed about it and felt compelled to be there. Then there were the youth pastors who had tracked with us for years who came and slept on a local school floor to enable their youth group to be a part of what the Holy Spirit was depositing in the room.
We saw young people released to dance in freedom and joy through worship on the first night. We witnessed them bravely respond to receive Jesus’ peace where anxiety had previously ruled. We saw future teachers, politicians, journalists, business leaders and church leaders gathering around our speakers at the Seven Spheres session, hungry to hear what the future could look like for them as Christians leading and influencing those spaces. We felt the Holy Spirit move tangibly in everything – from pizza and table tennis through to seminars and worship.
Jacob, sixteen, stood and spoke in a room of 200 people sharing what he had learnt about resilience.
Sam, fifteen, shared one of his takeaways about leading in the family was about ‘connection over correction’.
Alex, seventeen, shared that she will be carrying back into her everyday life the fact that our ‘attention leads to our devotion’ and she wants to reassess what she gives her attention to and how this forms and shapes her discipleship.
After the conference, I had a few days off work and as I reflected on the last few days. I was asking the Lord: ‘what is this moment about? What will come from this?’ I found on a podcast an interview with Pete Greig, who had just been to visit the chapel in Asbury. He was sharing his perspective on what he saw. It’s a stunning interview – please listen.
Pete comments on this move of God as carrying ‘peace for a generation experiencing unprecedented anxiety, a deep sense of belonging for a generation experiencing an epidemic of loneliness, humble leadership for a generation that is sick and tired of narcissistic leaders and religious abuse. It is participatory adoration – just a piano and a guitar for a generation that is frazzled on digital distraction.’
He was putting into words what we also saw at the conference, and not just in students at university, but in 11–18-year-olds. My hope and sense of excitement for how God will change the script over this next generation has been fuelled even more. It feels like we have only just begun.
It all starts in the encounter…
Rebuilders Podcast
Check out the conversation with Pete Greig (24/7 Prayer) on the Rebuilders Podcast