By Peter Biggs

IN AN encouraging show of unity and cooperation between churches, ministries and ethnicities, Lower Mainland youth leaders are blazing the way forward.

The result of this networking will be an unprecedented gathering of youth networks for an event expected to gather several thousand teens October 18, 7 pm at Glad Tidings Church in Vancouver.

2006: OneLife

In early 2006, students, youth workers and youth pastors – with strong representation from ethnic churches – met together to explore cooperation. What emerged was OneLife, an event held in Burnaby.

Described by organizers as a “multi-ethnic, multi-high school, multi-region, multi-denominational . . . multi-everything youth event,” it was held January 12 at the large Evangelical Chinese Bible Church in Burnaby. According to Darian Kovacs of Campus Fire, some 1,500 teens packed the building. “The focus was on worship and helping students return to school with a witness.”

2007: ONE

This year, five youth networks – OneLife, Campus Fire, Breakout (Surrey), No Boundaries (North Delta) and Regeneration (Vancouver) – have come together and merged some of their previously held events.

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BCCN spoke to Jeff Wong, a pastor at Point Grey Community Church in Vancouver. “Our main vision is for unity together beyond denominational, ethnic and geographical boundaries, in order to worship and hear from Christ,” he said.

There are already more than 70 Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley churches involved in this new event, which will be named simply ONE.

Wong and his church band will anchor the worship with DJs ‘AK45’ and ‘matthew16:26.’

“We are targeting teens, not even 20 somethings” he said. “High school students in the 13 to 18 age bracket.”

Wong and Kovacs are expecting 2 – 3,000 to attend.

Kovacs also told BCCN about the planning for the Canada-wide Youth Workers Training Conference, to be held November 29 – December 2 at the Sheraton Wall Centre in downtown Vancouver.

“We are excited that currently 17 Canadian denominations are using this event as their main training event,” he said.

October 2007