Missing Generation?

The Bless Network began its life in 1995 as a dream of just two people. Gerard and Chrissie Kelly were experienced youth workers who had served churches in the UK and in France. They were convinced that more could be done to engage young people in God’s mission on mainland Europe and began by leading short-term teams from their home church in the West Midlands to Croatia and France.

Fifteen years later Bless has a core team of 10, based in the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands, and 800 people have engaged in training, prayer and short-term service initiatives. During these same years churches in the UK and across Europe have become painfully aware of their ‘missing generation’ – the absence, from their ranks, of those in their 20’s and 30’s. Our response through Bless is not so much to promote mission to young adults as to engage in mission with young adults. Through partnerships with local churches across mainland Europe, we are forging a mission generation.

A European Bridgehead

In 2009 the Kellys moved to Bethanie, a former cider farm in Normandy, France, to establish a permanent base for training and prayer at the heart of Bless. They have been joined by two other couples, and this small missional community are creating a centre equipped to welcome 300 people per year. Bethanie has accommodation for 30 and training facilities for 60 when lodged off-site, and a permanent prayer room focussing on European mission.

Bethanie offers a stepping-stone into mission in France and beyond. Here young adults gather from several different nations: for teaching and prayer; to listen and learn and to consider together the challenge of mission. Through links with local churches our community seeks to be a blessing to Normandy, to France and to Europe. Our programmes are shaped by extensive research into the missional needs of Europe. We are acutely aware of the pressures on young adults seeking to express faith in a postmodern context. We have developed a core curriculum that responds directly to contemporary cultural conditions.

Missional Formation

Bless first came into being as a UK project, enabling young adults to take advantage of the genuine cross-cultural experiences available ‘just across the Channel’. Our work soon expanded to include participants from beyond the UK, and to date our students have also come from France, the Netherlands, Australia and the USA. Many come to us with deep questions about faith, church and the purpose of their lives. They find in Bless a new spiritual family able to help them to a place of confidence and purpose. Many discover and develop new gifts. Many set doubts aside and embrace deeper faith. All report an experience that has challenged and changed them. We call this process ‘missional formation’.

Matt joined a bless mission team when he was 17, visiting France for the first time in his life. 9 years later, he moved with his young family to live a life of mission in intentional community. With Bless. In France.

Jonathan completed a gap year in Perpignan, France. He describes his year as “a turning point that will be with me for the rest of my life.” A successful freelance photographer, he now works part-time to make time for mission in the UK and abroad.

Lee, from Northern Ireland, joined one of our Croatia teams as a young worship leader. He said of the experience “It’s been very challenging at times: but I’m going back changed!” He is now a professional musician – carrying into the world of entertainment lessons learned through mission.

Iris, from the Netherlands, said her time in Croatia, “…stretched me in many ways. I’ve been able to step out in the gifts God has given me. I learned again that God loves me and has a distinct plan for everyone.”

Our Founders: Chrissie & Gerard Kelly

Gerard is a writer, prismatic preacher-poet, mac lover, coffee drinker and twitturgist. Chrissie likes to fill her days with teaching,writing, planning, travelling, and visiting people and places. Together they have over thirty years of ministry experience as youth workers and church leaders.

They have lived and worked in the UK, France and the Netherlands and are popular speakers at conferences and church weekends.In 1995 they founded Cafe-net, the European missions project that became The Bless Network in 2004. In 2009 Gerard and Chrissie wrote ‘Intimate with the Ultimate’ together: a book on prayer and spirituality drawn from their many years of teaching and leadership across Europe.

They currently live in Basse Normandy, France, where Bless are establishing a missional community.

Team

Anna Kelly

Anna grew up all over & loves to travel. She studied theology & loves to write. She is into music and currently loves M83 for their beats, Joni Mitchell for her lyrics & Thomas Newman for his general genius. She also loves all things film & all things fluffy ergo her ultimate day out would involve a cinema and a zoo. Anna is engaged to Jon and they live at Bethanie in France.

Caroline Gwilliam

Caroline has been involved in bless since the beginning. She has three children one married and two still in education. Caroline loves to create, sew, build and paint things and is passionate about seeing young people realise their uniqueness and value in God and in the part of the world they occupy.

Gemma Turner

Gemma loves pastel colours, pesto and the outdoors, dislikes ferry journeys, vinegar and essays and is partial to the odd episode of Home & Away.

gemmasophie.tumblr.com

Iris van Stuijvenberg

Iris lives in Rotterdam with her husband Justin where she works as a teacher and is also studying physiotherapy. In her non-existent free time she loves to play sport (particularly football) and lead worship.

Jon White

Jon White likes to draw, pray and walk in wild places. He is also engaged.

jonwhitedraws.com

Jonathan Cherry

Chez spent his younger years wearing speedos and is now fascinated with shorts. He gets paid to take photographs and spends most of his spare time riding bicycles & looking for pallets.

jonathancherry.net

Justin van Stuijvenberg

Justin is a recent Rotterdam resident who likes illegal Belgian fireworks, silky football as played by Ajax, fixing bikes, building fearsome fires and strong dark beers. He’s married to Iris and unbeatable at table tennis.

Lou van der Linden

Lou is a worship leader and has been working with Bless since 2007. She trains people how to sing, is an avid reader, is partial to a whisky and loves to bake and play the piano but not at the same time. She is also known to be excessive in her spiritual approach to life for which she has no regrets. Not one.

Mark Blundell

Marky B works for a church plant called Watermark in Freiburg, Germany. He loves playing drums, learning languages and the “occasional” Milka bar.

barkyme.tumblr.com

Matt Long

Food farming, forward thinking, frothy-coffee drinking, free-range chicken keeping, fire making, fantasy football managing, fashionable jumper wearing, facial hair bearing, faithfully improvising, family guy.

thelongnow.tumblr.com

Rebekah Long

Rebekah, and husband Matt, have been working with bless since 2006 and are now based at Bethanie, France. She likes chai tea, ampersands and has an expanding collection of tea towels. She dislikes burnt toast, throws on sofas and books with words. She imagines humanity restored through bread and soup.

oskah.com

Tim Lovell

Tim has 1 son and 1 wife.  He works for Bless at Bethanie in France.  Has been a Youthworker for 6 years and a postman for 1 day.  Has been known to be late.

littlewolves.co.uk

Vikki Lovell

New mother, language lover. Grammar stickler, ivory tickler. Non-stop singing, skateboard winging. Budding cabinologist, married to secret ornithologist. He-man officionado, outdoors is where I’d rather go.

littlewolves.co.uk

Trustees

Jim Saker

Professor Jim Saker is the director of the Centre for Automotive Management and an Associate Dean at Loughborough University. He specialises in Marketing and Strategic Management and has advised and works with a wide range of organisations both in the public and private sectors.

Marguerite Eccleshall

Private tutor for all five keystages. Almost equally
fond of Jane Austen and Bill Johnson.

Martin Thomas

Martin Thomas is the global head of mobilisation at Viva. He lives in Oxforshire and is married to Charlotte and has two children. His creative work can be seen at makingsense.me.uk

Martin Young

Martin is Senior Minister of Rising Brook Baptist, Stafford. He is passionate about Mission as Social Action and has helped establish community projects locally and in cross cultural contexts including India & Africa. Martin also supports Christians in the arts and loves rhubarb and chocolate cake!

Pete Broadbent

Chair of Bless. Bishop – looks after NW London. Spurs fan. Loves London, culture and theology – and an argument! Also plays with Spring Harvest.

Tom Gwilliam

Tom works as a Chiropractor treating patients and running a busy clinic. He loves to spend time outdoors; riding bikes, walking and running. He has a passion to see people live in the way they were designed, in harmony with our Creator and His creation.