The Primate of the Church of Nigeria, The Most Rev. Henry Ndukuba has looked with retrospect at the maiden edition of Joshua Generation International Youth Conference (JGIYC) as representatives of the planning team, Engr. Korede Akintunde (ACNNTV GM) and The Venerable Yemi Fatunsi (P.A to the Primate) presented him with Four Photobooks telling the stories of the maiden conference held between April 5th to 10th 2021 at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State.
He noted that the conference which was attended by well over 22,000 youths across Nigeria and some other African countries, was well mobilized and organized, Ndukuba appreciated all who took the pain to plan it within a short notice and prayed for God’s power and fire to continue to shape the life of all the members of the team and the youths who were physically and virtually present at the conference.
The Organising team was ably lead by the dynamic Bishop of Nsukka Diocese, The Rt. Rev. Aloysius Agbo.
Primate Ndukuba noted that over 2,000 youths volunteered to the call to be missionaries at the maiden edition and that online training has commenced through the Church of Nigeria Directorate of Missions and the Church of Nigeria Mission Society (CNMS). Ndukuba had in the maiden conference called on the youths to volunteer for world missions under the auspices of the Church of Nigeria. He said: “The Anglican Church in Nigeria has the task of mobilizing the Universal Church into World-wide Mission, in order to prepare the Church for the Return of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ. Our great expectation is that God will raise small groups of believers united in the Word and Prayer, encouraging one another and bearing witness to the power of God in Christ Jesus. We earnestly desire that God will raise Kingdom-focused young people who will be very willing to obey God in a very radical way, to make the difference and be the change and change agent in our time…. God is going to raise many witnessing Christians in this Conference.
More than One Thousand people will go forth from this Conference into the Harvest of Souls in Mission Fields with their education, skills and knowledge across Africa and the World. From now on, we shall go into the Nations of the World as Ambassadors of Christ in our vocations. As God demands “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” may it be that someone in this Conference will hear God and say ‘Here am I; Send me’”.
Archbishop Ndukuba, who is also the Convener of JGIYC, revealed that the plans have started in earnest for the 2022 edition of the conference, which has been scheduled to hold from 18th-23rd April at MKO Abiola Stadium Abuja and called for prayers for the planning team and supporters of the conference. He said that the plan is to host 40,000 youths in the 2nd edition.
Joshua Generation, as explained by the Primate, is “the generation of young people who like Joshua and Caleb refuse to be discouraged or resign to despondency, but rather they believe God and stand up to take their place and possess their possession. The Joshua Generation is Youth Mission Initiative of the Church of Nigeria [Anglican Communion]. It is aimed at empowering the Youth through the faithful Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, engendering pure faith, hope and love in Christ Jesus in every young person.”
The Primate further illuminated that Joshua Generation International Youth Conference (JGIYC) aims at engaging the youths in an Intentional Discipleship and empowering them to unleash their great potential and creativity, natural talents and spiritual gifts in order to impact on their areas of God’s call upon their lives, thereby impacting on this Generation positively. He posited that if the Church will fulfil her Mission and Ministry and if our Nation will rise to her leadership role in Africa, the Young People must be mobilized unto Mission and Nation Building. The leadership of the Church and Nation are in their hands. “Every young person is precious and has a great place in the Household of Faith, the Church and is on Mission in this Generation” he asserted.
