Every Queen’s Birthday weekend 500 youth leaders from around New Zealand gather for QB, BYM’s Youth Ministry and Leadership training conference.
Four keynote speakers, 24 different seminars and over 35 different presenters and panellists all combine to help create a transformational, inspirational and team building weekend for our Baptist youth leaders.
The QB 2019 theme was ‘Small Things Matter’. Because small things add up. We have a big God who acts through small things. Grains of sand make a beach. A small stone takes down a giant. A small baby changes eternity. Therefore, the small acts of kindness and love we show our youth are the very things God uses to accomplish his big plans in both the life of his church and our young people.
The morning sessions of QB are more ‘youth ministry conference-mode’. Mark Oestreicher, author and speaker from The Youth Cartel in the USA, was QB’s overseas guest speaker. Marko was both encouraging and empowering, with keynote talks on the transformational power of prayer and the importance of intermediate ministry. Six different streams of seminars followed the morning sessions including missional, foundational, social (issues), transformational (leadership and practices), theological and pastoral topics.
The night sessions at QB are ‘church’. Worship, testimony, great biblical preaching around ‘small things matter’ and ministry time within teams was the focus. QB’s evening speakers included Dr Sarah Harris from Carey Baptist College, who explored why small phrases by Paul like ‘in Christ’ matter, and Ps Lindy Jacomb from Karori Baptist Church who highlighted how God is always found in the ordinary. Dr Brian Krum, BYM’s national leader, spoke on the feeding of the 5000 and how, while we each are just a bread roll, it’s God who accomplishes his plans and ‘feeds’ so many through each of us. He closed QB 2019 by speaking about how mustard seed faith is about Jesus, the object of our faith, instead of the size of our faith.
BYM’s QB Leader’s Training really is an event that is not to be missed. Thank you for helping your youth ministry teams make this short training event. Because small things like this weekend really do matter.
