The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world.
Is there order? Can I be certain about anything? Will we ever be safe again?
It has exposed a harsh reality for many that no certainty, nor any sense of security can ever truly be derived from the world itself – a world that has been distorted and broken by sin.

The EU has the opportunity to speak into this context, in particular through Annual Conference [Ancon] 2020.

AnCon has become a flagship event within the EU calendar and staple of the EU experience – occurring annually in the mid-year holidays.  AnCon is a time of intense meditating on, and teaching of, God’s Word, while also facilitating deep community and fellowship amongst EU students. With around 650 students each year, the AnCon experience is simultaneously distinctive and shared for each student, leaving lasting impacts and striking memories on all those attending, especially those attending for the first time.
Like most students, I too felt significantly challenged, convicted and transformed when I attended AnCon for the first time as a student. It radically altered my views and perspectives on life, in light of my relationship with God. My experience of Ancon resonated with me so much, that I consider it a pivotal moment in my considering and joining the EU staff team as a ministry apprentice.

But how do we replicate this experience within the confines of COVID-19?
We had planned for AnCon 2020 to be different; it was meant to be the first time the gathering was held at the Katoomba Convention Centre (KCC). However, it will now be the first time that the entire conference is held online. Undoubtedly this has presented several challenges to how AnCon will function this year, undermining one of the great strengths of AnCon – the physical gathering of the entire EU. In particular, the AnCon team has had to think strategically about how best to serve students, who are already struggling from screen fatigue. This means that AnCon 2020 will be vastly different to the Ancon’s of the past, in many respects.

Undoubtably, COVID-19 has brought with it new challenges that we must overcome. We don’t yet have all the answers. However Ancon has the power to speak so powerfully into this moment.
The theme for AnCon 2020 is ‘The Kingdom of God’ – a topic never explicitly examined and addressed as a topic for Ancon before.

We will spend a week exploring the unshakeable nature of Jesus’ Kingdom of life and peace, in a world that COVID-19 has exposed as very fragile, insecure and fundamentally shakeable.

For the ‘Year of Evangelism’, the prayer of the EU has been that 100 non-Christians would attend the conference and have the chance to investigate the Kingdom of God for themselves. This is still the goal. The EU and Ancon team continue to  pray that 100 non-Christians would come along, hear God’s Word and be transformed to come to know the Risen Lord Jesus as their personal King and Saviour.

Given the challenges of an online-only conference, there have been a series of changes in advertising, registration and programming in what is being conceived as ‘AnCon Reimagined’. Under God, it is our prayer that the EU staff and students together can create a loving and supporting environment, welcoming to all. We pray it is welcoming to the first year students who have never been to Ancon before and aren’t as connected. We pray it is welcoming to non-Christians who come along to investigate Christianity. We pray that we may create a loving gracious and caring community that students might invite others into. We want students to learn about the Kingdom of God – whether that be Christian students being discipled and edified, or investigators who are hearing the gospel for the first time and haven’t yet accepted Jesus as their Saviour.

AnCon 2020 will undoubtedly be vastly different and unique from past and future conferences.

In a world so fragile, so bereft of direction, comfort, certainty and security, Jesus’ Kingdom of peace and life couldn’t be a more apt truth to learn about and share.

Would you be praying that many students would see an AnCon Reimagined with great hope, optimism and trust in the Sovereign God who rules over all? Pray that students might see Ancon as an opportunity to be growing in faith, knowledge and love, while sharing this to non-Christian friends on campus.
Check out the Official Ancon 2020 Trailer:

Josh Hoole
Howie