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	February 2005				Some lively youngsters at CMS Summerview 2005. Music was led by a great team. photos courtesy Jonathan Adamczewski
		Frost on the Church - Summer in Bicheno by Russell Morton
			CMS Summerview '05 keynote speaker Michael Frost presented a powerful critique of ways of reaching people with the gospel. Under the guise of describing new ways of 'doing church' (and I thought church was something you were, not something you did), Frost described 'intentional, missional' behaviour. For him, Christians must meet people where they are, no longer expecting them to be attracted to, or to join, conventional church fellowships. Waterskiing A lecturer at the Baptist Union's Morling College in Sydney, Michael Frost combined an entertaining and fluent delivery with anecdotes drawn from his study of evangelism around the world and an endearing and frequent appeal to his audience with, 'Does that make sense?' It did. His examples of intentional missioners included a shoe salesman in San Francisco, a cluster of couples choosing to buy into a new, unchurched neighbourhood and a young man who takes his mates waterskiing every Sunday, praying with and for them each week. Frost does not claim his examples of evangelistic methods to be a prescription for others, stressing that every Christian, and indeed every church, needs to discover how to present the good news of Jesus effectively in their own way. But what he does represent is total commitment to mission, total commitment to sharing the gospel. We need them Summerview '05, the third annual CMS conference at Tasmania's East Coast resort town of Bicheno, drew together 230 people from across the State, families and singles, all with a commitment to mission. Music came from a great team led by Tim Reynolds, children's and young people's programs each had their teams, and the mid-January program allowed ample time for relaxing, chatting or sampling Bicheno's coffee shops. Special guests included Bishop Mdimi Mhogolo and his wife and boys. Bishop Mdimi leads the Diocese of Central Tanganyika, managing nearly 200 parishes in an area of Tanzania which has seen unbelievable church growth in recent years. But his message to CMS supporters was simple: 'Please continue to work alongside us; we need you.' Hearing his story, it was easy to conclude that we need them every bit as much as they need us, if not more. As a participant, this writer appreciated very much the hard work of the Summerview committee for staging this complex and hugely worthwhile conference. Clearly, the event is stretching the capacity of Bicheno to cope. Early registration is recommended for Summerview '06.