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Live Update from SM Global Conference, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Lorna Johnston /Wednesday, September 27, 2023

 

Delayed 3 years, it is with joy that we bring this update of the SM Global Conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Our theme is ‘On Mission with God’.

Delegates have arrived from all over the world and settled into their accommodation. The planning and logistics teams have done their best to ensure that every possible detail has been attended to. There has been much prayer, and there is an expectation that God will meet with us here, to spur us on in the work of awakening the ‘sleeping giant’, the Global Church, into a life of purpose and alignment with God’s redemptive mission.

Photo: From Simply Mobilizing Youth

Some delegates arrived early to experience the TUSfY course (The Unfinished Story for Youth). The materials are being made available in early October and the North American team that participated are exploring options for launching first courses. This 5-session course is geared for participants from about age 12 or 13 and up. The best fit will be in church youth groups, led by youth leaders and pastors. It's part video, part small group discussion, part activities, part prayer and lots of fun, while tackling the serious question of God’s mission and our part in it.

The Canadian delegation gathered Wednesday morning for breakfast to meet each other and to share some of the conversations we’ve been having. There have been significant conversations about supporting the rollout of SM in Georgia (the country!), in Russian and Tamil in Canada, and among First Nation communities.

Photo: The Canadian SM Team Connecting over Breakfast

We’ve been enjoying powerful worship, encouraging devotional messages, amazing Global Region reports, stimulating workshops, challenging plenary sessions, inspiring testimonies, good food and wonderful fellowship. We wish all the Canadian SM family were here to enjoy this encouraging time with us!

Watch for more reports from our time together in the future, including news of a School for Mobilizers launch, global leadership transition in our movement, and summaries of some of the conference content.

Prayer Requests

In the meantime, please continue to pray for:

1.     All the delegates who are together, listening to God speak through the various sessions. Pray for a renewed passion and commitment to the ministry of mobilization, around the world, that the Church would be ignited to the privilege of joining God in his mission.

2.     Pray for each person who has a role in the conference—from presenters, to MC’s, to tech people, to translators… Pray that God would be anointing them for the work they are undertaking.

3.     Pray for online invisibility for those delegates who come from high-security contexts and are participating in this conference. Praise God they have been able to come. Pray that there are no issues as they return to their places of ministry.

4.     Pray for unity in the team from North America as we journey together, that we would feel the wind of the Holy Spirit blowing us along in the way we should go.

Photo: Praying for the Nations at the SM International Conference

Lorna Johnston is the Diaspora Ministries Leader at Outreach Canada. She leads two national teams -- Simply Mobilizing Canada (SMC) and Loving Muslims Together (LMT). She works with teams of diverse and experienced leaders and ministries across Canada to alert and activate the church in Canada to the changing opportunities to engage God's mission right here in Canada.

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