On the 31st October over 80 young adults from across Scotland gathered together for a unique one day conference to explore the biblical calling for justice. Just Generation was a partnership between six organisations - Scottish Bible Society, International Justice Mission UK, The Leprosy Mission Scotland, Care, Tearfund and Evangelical Alliance Scotland.
Ruth Valerio, author of L is for Lifestyle and manager of A Rocha's Living Lightly 24:1 project, led the main morning session with an inspiring and challenging talk from the book of Genesis and the story of Joseph (listen to this in our Podcast). The evening session was led by Chuck Freeland, Pastor of City Church Aberdeen and Director of Imagine Scotland.
Throughout the afternoon delegates could choose from 9 seminars focused on three streams: justice in our personal lives, within our local communities and across the globe. Scottish charities such as Bethany Christian Trust and the Hot Chocolate Trust provided inspiration and resources for those passionate about issues such as transforming your community within the areas of homelessness or working with marginalised young people.
Where we have come from…
So what's the story behind how this all came about? Well… about 12 months ago a couple of us starting dreaming and praying together about the possibility of a conference that would draw together young Christian adults who are passionate about tackling injustice. Not a conference that would just provide the "best" model or the new ten-point plan to tackling justice - but a conference that would inspire, enthuse and motivate us to understand, act and articulate the biblical calling for justice. A conference that would ground us in a strong, biblical understanding of God's heart and desire to see justice flood this nation. A conference that would build relationships and communities of young adults passionate about tackling injustice that will share stories and resources with one another and develop local networks that have a long-lasting impact on their communities and neighbourhoods. And so after much prayer, envisioning and discussion five of us birthed Just Generation.
As a team we believe that tackling injustice can't be reduced to a one week mission, a conference or a crusade. If we want to see justice flow like a mighty river across this nation we need to see heart transformations. We need to see a new generation of young people rise up and be counted, a movement desperate to step into and tackle humanity's physical and spiritual poverty, stand for what is right and preach the Good News through word and deed across this nation.
Where we are going… 
As a team we are in the process of discussing how we might develop and move forward the vision for Just Generation. We were really encourage by the conference and had some fantastic feedback. But we are also conscious that we don't want to add to an already hectic Scottish Christian schedule with just another conference. We are therefore continuing to pray and talk about the possibility of a similar conference in Autumn 2010. So watch this space!
One of the things we were trying to achieve through the day conference was to provide opportunities to bring people together with similar passions and calling from similar localities within Scotland. We believe that it is through relationships that we resource, encourage and envisage one another. It is through relationships that we can draw alongside and support one another in whatever the Lord has called us. We appreciate that is can be a lonely process for some of us.
We are therefore hoping to develop Just Generation "hubs" in different towns and cities across the country. These might meet regularly - be a place where people can come together and share ideas and stories about what different initiatives are going on. We also hope that they might a place and space were new ideas and vision are birthed. One of these has already started in Edinburgh!
We would love to help you set a hub up within your community - so if you are interested please don't hesitate to get in touch.
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