Chosen few keen to go
"Here
I build my Ebenezer…"
By Karen Rispin • Special to ChristianWeek
THREE HILLS, AB–"Making Ebenezer?" The archaic phrase had a group of Mission Advance ’98 delegates puzzling over their schedules. The young woman’s voice was confused. "The only Ebenezer I know is Scrooge," a guy said laughing, "but I guess we’ll find out."
Student Mission Advance, an organization operated by young people who focus on mobilizing their generation for Christian mission, held its triennial conference December 29-January 2 at Prairie Bible Institute in Three Hills.
"Most people who come to this kind of conference have an interest in missions. We want to move them from interest to involvement," says conference organizer Joanna Sears.
"New Year’s Eve was a phenomenally powerful time. So many people responded with commitment cards that say, ‘anything, anytime, anywhere.’ Now they have several days to put feet to that decision, to talk to people in their ‘So What’ groups and to the mission reps."
Since 1986, four Mission Advance conferences have been held in Ontario. This event, SMA’s first western conference, attracted only 65 delegates in a venue that had been ready for a thousand. "I was disappointed at first," said Carla Schellenberg, one of the 65, "but now I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s like a retreat. There’s a real feeling of intimacy, a feeling God chose the people that are here."
