NCYC09 is the time and place where delegates converge as the beloved of God from all places to hear the Good News of hope, peace and justice.

The convention will follow the discipleship journey in the Gospel of Mark, with each day focussing on texts as they correspond with the discipleship journey of NCYC09: the call, the journey and the cost of following Jesus.

Overall the key ideas that shape the theology within the Biblical texts for NCYC09 are about identity and radical discipleship. Radical discipleship is a perspective or approach to Christian spirituality that sees Jesus as the “root” for Christian life and utilises him as the key to biblical interpretation. Participation in the Good News and salvation brings both personal and social change.

Radical discipleship has similarities with liberation theology and the Anabaptist tradition, all expecting personal and social transformation as the Kingdom of God is realised in the here and now. Popular figures associated with the movement include Ched Myers, John Smith, Athol Gill, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King Jr, Dietrich Bonhhoffer, Dave Andrews, John Hirt, Merril Kitchen, Robert McAfee Brown, Jeanette Mathews, Thorwald Lorenzen, Tim Costello, Ross Langmead, Ashley Barker, and our own John Uren.

Delegates come together for a week to discover, celebrate and deepen the faith and unity we have in Jesus Christ. We converge to live as an intentional Christian community for a week, we have the opportunity to converge with the Good News in our everyday lives and with our home faith communities, and ultimately we will each converge with God.

The breadth and depth of the texts chosen allows space for groups of different levels to go quite deep or to focus more on the overall themes. This allows delegates at all stages in their faith journey to be challenged to live with integrity and faith.

Day 1: Converge
Mark 1:1-13 - The beloved converge to hear the good news
We converge as beloved of God from all places to hear the Good News of hope, peace and justice.

Day 2: Merge
Mark 1:14-20; 2:13-17 - Come, Follow me
We merge with the good news that is both proclaimed by Jesus and is active in our world

Day 3: Urge
Mark 10:32-45; 12:28-34 -True love, true greatness, true life
We are urged to live a radically different life in contrast to and for the transformation of our world.

Day 4: Submerge
Mark 4:21-32 - Seeds of Change
We submerge into different causes, cultures, issues and our world as living seeds participating in the Good News through action, service, protest and prayer.

Day 5: Emerge
Mark 8 - Who do you say that I am?
We emerge as a people of hope faced with the questions and struggles of living the Good News and following Jesus.

Day 6: Verge
Mark 4:35-41- Coming down the mountain
We stand on the verge of returning to our communities - not alone but with the presence of Jesus and the support of our movement.

Day 7: Diverge
Mark 6:1-13 - Sent as we are
We diverge back to live as seeds of change in our home, work, church, community and world. “May we be known by who we love and in whom we trust.”