28:19 is a new community within the Church of England that empowers and releases young people to share their faith with their friends.
We’re called 28:19 because in Matthew 28:19, Jesus commands: ‘Go and make disciples of all nations’. He called His followers to carry the good news with them to the ends of the earth. Jesus calls us to carry the same message today.
Our mission is to empower and release a generation of young people that live and breathe this great commission – a generation that prays, tells, and lives the good news of Jesus.
28:19 consists of three Cs – Community, Course, and Cohort. Each plays an equal role in empowering and releasing a young person to share their faith with their friends.
Community
28:19 is, first and foremost, a community of young people gathered around God.
We believe that before we seek to do something for God, our first and final call is to be with Him. And as we spend time with God, we become like Him, desiring the things He desires. This happens in the place of prayer, so we want to create spaces and resources to help young people pray. It’s in the place of prayer that you find compassion, passion, direction, and the Holy Spirit.
What that means is, as we focus our prayers on those that don’t know Jesus yet, we find a gut-wrenching compassion for the lost. And with that, an unshakable passion and desire to reach them and communicate the gospel to them, to invite them to come and experience God’s goodness. We also find direction too, we can ask God for guidance on who we should be evangelising to, and hear his response. And we find the Holy Spirit. It’s the Holy Spirit who equips us with everything we need, to do Jesus’ work.
We receive His compassion for those who don’t know Him, and His heart for those who are far away. We will gather the 28:19 community together by hosting events and releasing resources to create space for connection with God and with each other.
Course
The next C is the 28:19 Course, this resource for young people. There is no single method for sharing our faith, but there are some principles and tools that can help young people grow as effective evangelists.
The course explores these principles and tools through three sessions: pray the message, live the message, tell the message. It will feature experienced voices sharing what evangelism is – and isn’t – why we share our faith, and practical examples. It will also leave space for young people to reimagine what evangelism looks like in their contexts. Anyone can run the course, and it’s free.
Cohort
The final C is Cohort. These are smaller groups of young people who have completed the course and meet online or in person to explore evangelism in their contexts.
We want to release young people to share their faith with their friends, but we know it can be daunting. Cohorts offer support, encouragement, and a place to try, fail, and keep going. They’re the place to help young people dream big about different, innovative ways to talk to their mates about Jesus. To help, empower, and release them in the way in which God may be inviting them to share the Gospel in their context. The idea of these cohorts is to create space to dream and to coach young people.