What is it all about?

The Christian faith is deep, alive, and worth living well. It speaks of our world as filled with beauty and meaning, created by a good God with good purpose. It calls us to live lives marked by wonder, imagination, deep thought, rich feeling, love, courage, and service. This faith has transformed the lives of men and women for generations: it’s given new energy and meaning to the student at her desk, the worker in his office, the athlete with her team, the writer with his pen, the scientist in her lab.

For more than a decade, Summer Conference has been helping young adults explore this vision of God, ourselves, and the world, and how it affects all parts of life. Over a week of learning, conversation, good food, and fun, you too can come to see the truth, beauty, and challenge of the Christian life.

“This conference has given me so much depth of knowledge and wisdom as well as practical steps, postures and practices to take on in my life. I’ve so loved the intentionality, thought, prayer, and effort in every part of conference.”

—Attendee, 2022

Who will be teaching?

At Summer Conference, you’ll hear from an exceptional group of speakers from across New Zealand. The speaker lineup for Summer Conference 2023 is expected to be:

• Andrew Shamy
• Dr. John Dennison
• Rev. Neihana Reihana
• Rev. Dr. Nathan McLellan
• Michelle Young
• Dr. Alistair Reese
• Rev. Rachel Kitchens
• Donald Goodhall
• Olivia Witney

What can I expect?

The week-long conference is challenging, life-giving, and creative. It’s for young adults 18-30 years old, is fully residential, and is held at St Peter’s School, Cambridge in the beautiful Waikato. The conference is dynamic and expansive: across the week, you will be immersed in rich teaching, creative responses, local field trips, and group discussions. You’ll also have heaps of time in the afternoons to soak up the sun and to cool off in Lake Karapiro.

During the week you can expect to:

• Hear from engaging and thoughtful speakers who love God.
• Think deeply about the big questions of faith and life.
• Explore the ideas and stories that have shaped and are shaping New Zealand culture.
• Be challenged about how you live.
• Eat well, laugh loud, talk a lot, and perhaps even disagree at times—all while making new friendships and deepening old ones.

Know the Gospel

During the week, we’ll explore what the gospel means for all of our lives. We’ll do this by asking: What does the Bible say about God and his purposes in the world? What does it mean to be human? And, what is the nature of the world we live in?

We’ll also ask how our responses to these questions relate to other stories about life that we find embedded in current NZ culture, such as consumerism and individualism.

Know Culture

The conference is designed with a particular flow. Each day will address a major theme or question. These themes follow the arc of the biblical story.

God: Who is God? And what are his purposes for the world he created?

Humanity: What does it mean to be human?

The Fall: What’s gone wrong with the world?

Jesus: Who is Jesus? And what does he mean for us today?

Holy Spirit and Church: Who is the Spirit? What is the Church?

Redemption: What is the end of our story?

Culture: How should we engage culture faithfully in 21^st century Aotearoa, New Zealand?

Translate

Each day, you’ll get to participate in a mixture of creative workshops, experiences, lectures, and learning groups, as we explore the key themes and questions. We hope you’ll come to a deeper understanding of the gospel and what it means for your life.

The week will be full, but there is also plenty of time each afternoon to relax, enjoy the local area, pray, worship, and have fun.

Venn Summer Conference is proudly supported by: