Wise is the 2018 Youth and Young Adults Convention of the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia. Convention has a rich history in the CRCA and the 2018 Convention will add to this rich history.

This convention will focus on wisdom, specifically the wisdom of God as given to us by the book of Proverbs.

Anyone between the ages of 15 and 28 is welcome to attend Wise Convention 2018.

We are particularly keen on making Convention 2018 as helpful to our young adults as possible. As such we have designed convention to include a number of additional workshops, electives and grapple sessions targeted specifically at those who want to “go deeper”. We believe that this will ensure that our young adults will not only have a great time at convention, but that that they will have significant faith shaping experiences at convention.

You can choose your friends but not the people whom you have known the longest, spend most time with, love the most and also resent most at times – your family. How do we live with them well? Family Wise will explore this topic.

What occupies us for the most part between when we wake up and go to sleep is some form of work, so we should wonder: does God have a design for this part of our lives? Work Wise will explore God’s wisdom regarding work.

Dealing with money is an inescapable part of human existence. It can bring about great blessings and also great curses. Which of the two will be the reality in your life depends on whether God’s wisdom is at work in you or not. Money Wise will explore that wisdom.

Most of what we do as youth and young adults is geared to ‘get us ready’ for our future. But what does it mean to ‘be ready’? How should we feel about our future and what’s important to consider when we think about it? These questions and more will be explored in Future Wise.

Let’s face it, we’re online a lot! Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram often consume us. How does my online behaviour shape who I am as a person or who ‘we are as a group’? Does God’s word – in existence long before social media – have wisdom to offer for this part of our lives? Come to Web Wise and you’ll find out more.

The Bible is made up of a bunch of different genre’s and styles. This workshop will explore the best ways to approach scripture. Do you just open the Bible and read the first thing that comes to mind? Should you start in Genesis and just read through to the end of Revelation? Join this elective to find out.

This elective will focus on the do’s and don’ts of small groups and Bible studies. Why is it that some small group leaders seem to always succeed at running small groups? What is the secret to a compelling and fruitful small group ministry? Find out here.

This elective is aimed at those who are, or want to be, involved in sharing Bible talks with others. Perhaps you are a youth group leader who wants to learn how to do devotions well, maybe you are keen on teaching the Bible to a group of people, or perhaps you are interested in preaching full time and want to learn how. In this elective you will be taught how to effectively put together a Bible talk and how to use your voice, body language and tone to effectively share a message.

Writing or sharing your testimony can often be daunting. Maybe you don’t like sharing your past or maybe you don’t think you are all that special. The truth of the matter is your story is important because you are important. Come along to find out why and how to do it well.

There are only so many hours in the day and there will only be so many days in your life! How do you live in a way that spends this precious resource well? Come along to discuss how time management is a reflection of your heart.

Seeking to lead young people to Christ can be a daunting challenge, with many different approaches, programs, and strategies cluttering the way. Whether you are an experienced veteran of youth ministry or just starting out, this elective will help you go back to the basics of what youth ministry is all about and why we do it, and will give you some practical skills and tips which you can apply to your own church context.

Do Christians hate gays? Why does God let bad things happen? Why should your religion be the only right way? These questions and many more bombard us on a daily basis, and often we struggle to find a satisfactory answer. This elective will seek to equip you to effectively answer these issues, as well as looking at some specific examples.

Do you ever feel like the worship leader just doesn’t feel the congregation? Think you could do better? Come along for an interactive and practical workshop around the heart and practice of worship leading in a local church.

Admit it. Sex, sexuality and relationships define many of your thoughts, feelings and actions. After all, our sexuality is a big part of who we are. Which makes it one area of life where we need as much wisdom as we can get; especially with the world either warping it, attacking it, or shoving it in our faces. In this guys-and-girls session we will consider wise sexuality and relationships, and how none of it defines us as much as Jesus does.