Ignite exists to ignite a passion for integral mission amongst South African students through faithfully applied biblical teaching.
Various aspects of this purpose statement may be unpacked as follows:
Ignite a passion
We believe that God is already powerfully at work amongst students in South Africa, but that their eyes are often not open to the full scope of God’s mission in the world. We therefore want to take students’ passion for Christ and fan it into flame by exposing them to the possibilities and potentialities for mission in God’s world. We are not merely concerned with conveying information about mission, but with igniting a passion for mission.
Integral mission
Our aim through the conference is to explode narrow conceptions of mission and to show students that all Christians are missionaries and that this involves all aspects of life. As such we concur with Tearfund’s definition that, “Integral mission is the church speaking of and living out its faith in Jesus Christ in an undivided way in every aspect of life.” This vision is also in line with Lausanne’s commitment that the whole church take the whole gospel to the whole world.
South African students
The conference will look at issues that are specifically relevant for our context in South Africa. This will include teaching and training which takes into account the context of South African history and culture, including the various theological issues that face the local church. In particular we want to address how to do integral mission in South Africa and the role that students can play in their local churches.
Faithfully applied biblical teaching
We believe that the triune missionary God who has revealed himself through his Word and ultimately in his Son is the starting point for mission. This revelation is encapsulated in the gospel, the central message of the Bible, which is the key to all heart and life change. Therefore the conference must be driven by faithful biblical teaching which highlights the gospel motivations and methods for mission. We are not content, however, with mere orthodoxy of doctrine, but want to see this doctrine practically applied to mission. This will mean that the conference will leave students practically equipped for mission on their doorstep as well as with practical steps to take to serve in mission locally and abroad. Doctrinally we are committed to the IFES statement of faith, out of which inspirational mission’s conferences like Urbana and Commission were born.