Theme: Connection 

“As a family of churches, we haven’t met for our summer festival since August 2019, and it’s been 3 years since last CST. That means if you were an 18-year-old about to start work or go off to uni in September 2019, then you would have completed 3 years of uni/work without attending these key Commission events as an adult. By the time we will meet again in 2023 a uni student would have also completed their postgrad, or first year of work. 

This has obviously had a huge impact on everyone, and so CST22 is a perfect opportunity for us to re-connect as a generation, and with the big picture of all that God can do through us as a church family. 

Depending on your context - you could have come from a church with a handful of students, 20/30s, or from a church with loads – regardless, it's so easy to think that what's around you is all there is. Finding ways to help our students to 30s connect over a meal, in seminars & discussions, and in worship is vital. 

It certainly would have been easy for the past few years to be ‘me’ focused. How is the pandemic impacting ‘me’? What about ‘my’ future? How are ‘my’ needs being met? Finding moments to lift up our eyes, and connect our story, with God’s big plan for his church and for our family of churches is vital. We know from Gideon that God showed him that regardless of his status in his clan, family, and tribe – God was bigger than it all.

This day is a moment in time for the people of God to come together - yes, even in our smallness, weakness & insecurity - to lift up our eyes, to worship our big God, and connect our hearts with him, each other, and with our mission – trusting that He is able to do immeasurably more with and through this generation than we can dream or imagine.”

- Chris Kimbangi, CST leader and Hope Church, Guildford