What is Gathering Twenty 17?

Gathering Twenty 17 is a coming together of Christian emerging leaders from the market place (25-35 years old), to be inspired, connected, activated, mobilised and equipped as influential change agents for social transformation through fulfilling God's purpose in their lives. 

One hundred delegates, handpicked from right across Australia, will be brought together on the Gold Coast for 48 hours, from 4th-6th October 2017, and invested into by an exceptional group of Christian Leaders. They will be sent out with pathways and a plan to live out their faith in the market place.

Who is involved?

Gathering Twenty 17 is being organised by a coalition of organisations, comprised of; William Wilberforce Foundation, Alpha, ACS Financial, Australian Christian Channel, Christians Against Poverty, Willow Creek Australia, Arrow Leadership, The Bible Society and Korus Connect.

Delegates will be invested into, through keynotes, interviews, panels and small group mentoring sessions by Ken Costa (Former Chairman of Lazard's International), Lalita Stables (Sales Executive at Google Australia), John Anderson (Former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia), Kristina Keneally [via video] (Sky News Anchor & Former Premier of NSW), Toby Hall (CEO of St Vincent's Health Australia), Phillip Glaser (Director of Sodia), Ruth Limkin (CEO of The Banyan's), Jon Seeley (General Manager of Seeley International), Jason Smith (Founder & Managing Director of Back in Motion), Melinda Dwight (CEO of Alpha Australia), Kevin Bailey (Chairman of the William Wilberforce Foundation) & Fiona Pearse (Director of World Vision Australia). 

Why organise gathering twenty 17?

The heart behind Gathering Twenty 17 is to raise up a generation of Christian reformers who are involved in community transformation and shaping culture and society. Our world is a broken place and there is a great need to raise up influential change agents who seek to have a positive impact in this world through fulfilling God's purpose in their lives, and in doing so shape their workplaces, spheres of influence and communities.

Many of the great reformers, such as William Wilberforce, Elizabeth Fry, William Booth, Lord Shaftesbury and Florence Nightingale, were Christians who developed their heart and vision for social transformation as a result of their faith. They, along with many other Christians, have played a significant role in shaping many of the best aspects of our society. Who will be the next wave of reformers who shape culture, society and this world? Our hope is that Christians will continue to play a key role in this and Gathering Twenty 17 is a response to that.

Extensive research has shown that young adults are haemorrhaging from the Church at an alarming rate. If we want to see a new generation of Christian reformers shaping our culture and society, we need to act now. Through Gathering Twenty 17 we aim to validate the calling on the lives of delegates and provide them with pathways and a plan for going forward in that calling. As Ken Costa puts it, we want to instil in the minds of delegates that "Your work station is your worship station". We want delegates to know that the skills, abilities and calling God has given them can be used to make an impact in this world for the Kingdom of God.

What is the need?

We would like to invest in 100 delegates by sponsoring them to be involved in Gathering Twenty 17 and encouraging the brightest emerging Christian leaders in the market place to live their faith out through their work. We have had over 140 delegates who have been nominated so far and it's an incredible list! We have secured sponsorship for 2/3 of those delegates already, could you help us secure sponsorship for the final third? 

To sponsor the final third of delegates, we need 30 sponsors to give $900 each.