Jesus Club Conference 2024

Name: Jesus Club Conference 2024
Start: 2024-10-12T07:30:00+10:00
End: 2024-10-12T14:00:00+10:00
Location: 464-480 Kent St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia

Schedule

Sat Oct 12 2024 at 07:30 am to 02:00 pm

UTC+10:00

Location

464-480 Kent St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia | Sydney, NS

Jesus Club Conference 2024 is primarily for volunteer coordinators and leaders who help run the Jesus Club program as part of the ministry in their local church. The Conference is also open to the general public and we encourage anyone to attend who is interested in how the local church can connect with and effectively communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to adults with intellectual disabilities.
This year the Conference is run both in-person in Sydney CBD and live-streamed online.
We encourage everyone to attend the in-person venue to maximise networking opportunities with coordinators and leaders from other clubs as well as meet the keynote speakers. The live-stream will be recorded and available to all registered delegates.
This year we have a wonderful line up of keynote speakers from across Australia who will encourage us to think about what it means to Belong at Jesus Club and the wider Christian church community.
Location
St Andrew's House (Level 2)
464-480 Kent St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia

Rev. Dr Mike Bird
Michael grew up in Brisbane before joining the Army and serving as a paratrooper, intelligence operator, and then chaplain’s assistant. It was during his time in the military that he came to faith from a non-Christian background, and soon after felt a call to ministry. He graduated with a BMin from Malyon College (2001) and Honours and PhD from the University of Queensland (2002, 2005). Michael taught New Testament at the Highland Theological College in Scotland (2005-9) before joining Brisbane School of Theology as lecturer in Theology (2010-12). He joined the faculty at Ridley as lecturer in Theology in 2013 and served as Academic Dean before taking on the Deputy Principal: Academic role in July 2023.
Michael describes himself as a “biblical theologian” who endeavours to bring together biblical studies and systematic theology. He believes that the purpose of the church is to “gospelize,” that is to preach, promote, and practise the Gospel-story of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the author of over 30 books, including the award winning volumes The Gospel of Lord: How the Early Church Wrote the Story of Jesus, Evangelical Theology, and with N.T. Wright, The New Testament in its World.
Michael is married to Naomi and they have four children.

Dr Louise Gosbell
Dr Louise Gosbell has spent many years researching and writing in disability and in various aspects of disability ministry. Louise’s PhD on the New Testament (Macquarie University) focused on disability in the gospels and Louise continues to research and write on disability in the Bible and in church contexts. Louise served for 15 years as the Sydney Coordinator for CBM’s Luke 14 program training churches in disability inclusion. In 2021, Louise worked with the Social Issues Committee of the Sydney Anglican Diocese to release a set of accessibility guidelines for churches on disability inclusion called “Everyone Welcome: Accessible church for all.” Louise also served on the Jesus Club committee for six years and ran the Jesus Club at MBM Rooty Hill for two years.
Louise is married to Mark and they have 3 grown-up-ish daughters.
Louise will speak on “What does it mean to belong at Jesus Club?” Commencing with a theological framework for belonging, Louise will draw on her own experience as a Jesus Club coordinator, giving practical guidance for how Jesus Club coordinators and leaders can ensure their clubs are places of belonging for members.

Rev. Dr Archie Poulos
Archie is married to Ainsley and they have three adult children. Archie has been head of the Ministry Department at Moore College and Director of the Centre for Ministry Development (CMD), and in 2025 will focus more on serving graduates through CMD. Archie has been involved in Jesus Club almost from its inception and his son has been a member for the past five years.
Archie will speak about "A body – parts serving a part and a part serving the body".

Rev. Bec Baines
Bec has worked in parish ministry for 11 years in Children’s and Youth ministry and has a lifetime of lived experience of disability in various contexts. Bec has a passion for people with disability to know Jesus and to support families in caring roles and is keen to help churches in this way.
Bec will speak about teaching the Bible to people with intellectual disability. This session will include discussion on using the Jesus Club modules and a first look at a new resource being developed between Jesus Club and Patricia Weerakoon.

Naomi Bird
Naomi Bird is Assistant Children’s and Family minister at her local church and a connect leader with MOPS Australia, and is married to Mike Bird. Naomi shares her experience of parenting their son, Markus, who is on the Autism spectrum. She addresses the joys and challenges of parenting Markus, what’s been most helpful and unhelpful in the process of parenting him, and what they have learned about God through Markus. She stresses the importance of recognising that everyone is made in the image of God, and that within the Church we are all members of the Body of Christ with unique giftings and experiences.