Thirty young adults gathered in Clarksburg,ON for EMCC’s sixth Gener8 conference, January 29-31.  Over the course of 3 days, participants heard and interacted with 10 storytellers who shared something about what life on mission with Jesus looked like for them. Stories ranged from engaging with a LARPing community (live action role playing) to planting a neighborhood garden, all with a view to blessing others and welcoming others into a life with Jesus. 

The purpose of Gener8 is to encourage young adults between the ages of 20-30 to live on mission in their own context.  Is it working?  Testimonies from Gener8 2016 summarized below are certainly encouraging. Moreover, some of the storytellers involved this time around were participants at a previous Gener8 conference, and were sharing from their experience of putting into practice the things that they had been learning about living on mission.

A word of thanks to all who prayed for this important gathering. I wish you could have been there to see how people were energized by this. We look forward with anticipation to Gener8 2017, which we expect will be held in Alberta.

The Impact of Gener8 2016 (summarized testimonies)
From First-Time Participants:

I haven’t been given easy answers this weekend but it has been life-giving to see that there are believers living out God’s mission in ways that leave others feeling blessed and loved rather than attacked and condemned.

We are always “sailing” in some direction. This conference helped me to ‘trim the sail’ so that I am moving in the direction that God is going.

It’s easy to be discouraged when many of your peers are frustrated with church, but being with a group of people who are passionate about following God and doing great stuff has helped me to see that there is vitality in the Church.

I have been looking forward to a ministry in the future, but I am leaving with a new perspective – a new appreciation for the opportunities for me to be on mission now, in the community I am in.

The experience of hearing the stories of people on mission has reaffirmed for me the fact that we have already been called and sent to the places where we currently live and work and study and worship.

From Returning Participants:

I have been re-energized by coming back and hearing fresh stories of people living on mission.

Having to tell others about my life on mission has helped me to see that even when things seem to be at a lull in my own life, God is still working.