Jewels In His Crown 2006: Conference Report

Conference Aims

The Jewels In His Crown conference set out to bring together Asian Christians and those engaged in ministry amongst Asians in Britain, regardless of denomination, for mutual encouragement and challenge; for the exchange of ideas; and for a celebration of Christian unity. From the comments written on feedback forms, it would seem that for most participants these goals were achieved, although suggestions were also made for improvements.

 

Venue and Participants

The Conference was held at The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire. It is a well equipped and well organised centre. The accommodation was comfortable and the meals were good, served in a large dining room, with spacious adjacent social areas, which facilitated good mixing amongst participants. The number of adult participants was 186. Of those who returned feedback forms, 53% were Asian and 47% white British or of other ethnic origin. In addition 37 Asian young people attended a parallel conference run by 9 Javan (the name means youth in Hindi), which was independent of, but linked to, the main Conference. There were also 20 children of which 7 were babies. The Conference provided a stimulating, spiritually enriching and enjoyable programme for every age group.

 

Programme

The title of the Conference was Engage. This theme was explored in three main talks given by Rev. George Kovoor: Engage with God, Engage with the Devil and Engage with People. The overall programme was made up of six main elements:

1. Preaching:
under the above headings; and a teaching session entitled Overview of the UK Asian Scene.

 

2. Worship:
times of singing and prayer before the preaching, were ably led by Mr Nabeel Masih and musicians; a family service in which the children participated and a communion service.

 

3. Workshops:
consisting of two seminar sessions, in which the following topics were explored in depth Gods Mission; Christian Social Action; Christian Leadership; Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus; Young People; Multi-Cultural Britain; and The Bible. Participants chose which workshop to take part in.

 

4. Prayer ministry
took place within prayer groups and there was an opportunity for people to be prayed for after the communion service.

 

5. Informal interaction
between participants was considered to be a very important part of the conference; so timetabled sessions were balanced by a considerable amount of free time for conversation and relaxation. On Saturday afternoon, an organised walk and various sports were offered and on Saturday evening there was a light, magazine style Celebration.

 

6. Meeting for Asian pastors.
This was arranged for the first time, giving an opportunity for relevant issues to be discussed and for mutual encouragement. There was also an Urban Vision meeting.

 

Achievements

Comments from some of the participants will give an idea of what the Conference has achieved: I enjoyed the opportunity to network and hear from others working around the country; Asian Christians were challenged and encouraged by being in the midst of so much life and commitment; the messages from George Kovoor were inspirational and challenging; seeing so many Asian Christians all together is encouraging; There is a clear sense of belonging, an opportunity for direction and knowledge and making connections; Very friendly and finally, Please have the Conference again. We believe the Conference has indeed significantly encouraged numbers of Christians engaged in Asian ministry, both Asian and white, often working in challenging, relatively lonely situations.

 

Thanks

The organisers and participants are therefore truly grateful to the Trusts that have enabled this event to take place by their generous sponsorship of it, and they look forward to further possible partnerships in the organisation of future events.

 

Lavinia Phillips

Chair