'The retreat you need' - Fresh Streams Leadership Conference 2024
 

The Fresh Streams Leadership Conference is a time when we can go deeper in our own personal journey and relationship with Jesus - and do so alongside family in Christ, writes Adrian Semerene

Picture this: You and the church family have given absolutely everything you had during the Christmas season. You ran all your carol services, nativities, school assemblies, and Christingles (yes, Baptists do those too you know).

You welcomed lots and lots of visitors to your events (or maybe just a few, still amazing, and worthy of Praising God for), and you even managed to have a great Christmas with your family, in-laws, and friends…

BUT… YOU ARE EXHAUSTED….

January comes around, and you are feeling pretty depleted, even though you managed to squeeze in those few days off, ‘when you weren’t working or doing anything!’

What is it you and your church leadership team need? A retreat! You need a space to get away to, where you can just receive from God, spend time in worship, meet up with friends (new and old), and be encouraged, challenged, and stretched by God. What you need, is to be at the Fresh Streams Leadership Conference in January.

Ok, ok! That may seem a bit cheeky to suggest. And please don’t, by any means, think I am suggesting that Fresh Streams Leadership Conference is the only place to go, there are many others I am sure, but I genuinely believe there is something special about our time together in January (I know I am biased). You see, our conference is less about going to a place where you don’t know anyone to spend time with God, but more about spending time with your family, your sisters and brothers.

Our time together is genuinely special, where we get to catch up and share our encouragements and challenges with one another. It’s a time when we can pray with and for one another. It’s a time when we can go deeper in our own personal journey and relationship with Jesus, and do so alongside family in Christ.

As if it wasn’t enough to simply spend time together worshipping Jesus and praying together, the Leadership Conference brings with it so many different voices to input into our various aspects of ministry through keynote speakers and seminar speakers.

This year the theme is Together: Discipleship in a Divergent World. Discipleship, we would all agree is an essential part of any Christian’s walk. For us as leaders, we hold a great responsibility in how we enable those around us to follow Jesus, and the world today brings with it much darkness, pain, schisms, scepticism, cynicism (and many other isms I’m sure), which means it’s sometimes more difficult to disciple others as well as to be discipled.

This year, as a Fresh Streams Leadership team, we have felt God lead us into delving into just that, discipleship amid all the many challenges that we and all of humanity face, every day! Now, please don’t misunderstand me, we do not expect to bring every answer, to every question, and sort out the simple manual of ‘how to…’ And we are most certainly not trying to ‘teach anyone to suck eggs’ as I think the saying goes.

However, there is something profound and special about being able to glean from others through their experience and wisdom, be it from a platform, seminar room or simply over a meal or drink.

We are so pleased to be welcoming back Florrie and Josh Bishop-Hall to lead us in sung worship. They bring with them a real freshness and desire to simply meet with Jesus, and that is poured out in how they lead us.

We are also very excited to be welcoming a great line-up of keynote speakers, including Lynn Green, Mike Royal, Joy Blundell, Cris Rogers, and (some random guy we’re still not sure about) Adrian Semerene to help us unpack and journey this theme Together.

It’s not all just about the main gatherings, as there is plenty of space to rest, relax, or head into the Renew Wellbeing prayer space, or check out one of the many seminars with speakers such as Ken Benjamin (LiCC), Rachel Heffer (Evangelical Alliance) Martin Young, Simon Harris, Simon Goddard (River Tree), Kate Irvin, Sue Glover and Isabella Senior (Baptist Together Young Leaders Development Coordinator), and many more!

We’d love to welcome you to come join the Fresh Streams family and journey with us, on January 15-17 at the Hayes Conference Centre.

All details and booking information can be found on our website www.FreshStreams.net.

Be sure to secure your spot soon, so you can head back to your leadership context, refreshed, encouraged, and empowered to grow disciples amid the shifting landscape - and recognise you’re not doing it alone, but rather we are in fact Together. 
 

Adrian Semerene is Lead Pastor of Gaminglay Baptist Church, Cambridgeshire. He is a member of the Fresh Streams leadership team

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