Wednesday Night in Durres, Albania

by Kimberly Sullivan

It had been another long day of brainstorming, discussing and narrowing down ideas only to find ourselves going along a different line of thought that would then require more brainstorming and discussion. Was it “interrupt”? Was it “waves”? Was it “static”? But after three days, we had an idea emerging. It was a strong one. It was a surprising one, but the idea was definitely there. We took the night to think about it, to see how the ideas settled, and then came back the next morning pretty confident that we had found our theme for 2020.

“Instead of just a theme for the summer, this feels like The Theme for everyone…”

From the moment we started looking at “Disrupt,” we all knew it was going to be a big Theme with much to unpack during sessions. Back in November, none of us could have even guessed how accurate and timely “Disrupt” would become over the next months. Our lives, ministries, and rhythms of life have literally been disrupted by the coronavirus. Globally, humanity is reeling at the changes that have happened so quickly and so unexpectedly. There is uncertainty, grief, fear, and doubt as well as physical changes in the structure of society that is causing a disruption to our definition of normalcy. “Disrupt” no longer feels like it is a theme just for the summer or just for the young people of Europe; it feels much broader than that. It is more like it is The Theme for every age and every continent in this current time.

We had hoped this summer would be one of us encouraging the youth of Europe to disrupt the noise, busyness, and turbulence of the world around them by speaking life and reflecting God’s light. We were going to be looking at Exodus 3 and 4 when God calls to Moses from the burning bush and shows him that he has everything he needs already, he just needs to use it and to trust God. But now, at this point in time, many of us MA Europe leaders are wondering if we’ll have the chance to do that in the structures and formats we have become accustomed to with our Mission Adventures programmes.

One of the questions we were going to be asking our youth this summer was “What’s in your hand?” This question comes out of Exodus 4:1-5 where Moses queries God wanting to raise him up as a leader for the Israelites. Moses only sees impossibility because of his personal weaknesses and insecurities. In response to Moses’s uncertainties, God asks Moses what he has in his hand. Where Moses sees impossibility, God knows that a way can be made. All Moses has in his hand is his shepherd’s staff, but this simple staff becomes so much more. It becomes both a symbol of God’s power and of Moses’ God-given authority to lead the people of Israel.

“What do you have that you can use for the glory of God?”

What is in your hand? This is now our question as a Mission Adventures network. Things for MA this summer may seem uncertain or impossible, but what do you have that you can use for the glory of God? How can you still be reaching out to and engaging with the youth who would have been coming this summer? What does God have for them in the middle of this disruption? We have a calling to the young people of our nations whether we are in lockdown and social distancing or not; calling doesn’t change even if our situations do. How can Mission Adventures still be a part of what God is doing in the nations, even if we are physically not able to go to the nations?

Don’t let this disruption to “normal life” go by unheeded. Let God disrupt your normal rhythms with Mission Adventures. Think. Dream. Innovate. Push yourself and your programmes beyond the box. Join in with what God is doing right now and use what is in your hand.