Knee deep in mud, gale force winds and hauling millions of chairs across a field in Swindon, was not how we were expecting our internship to begin.

OK so maybe we were only ankle deep, and it was probably more of a strong gust than a gale… and there were probably only 1000 chairs but you’ve got to have a dramatic opener for your first proper CVM blog. We were thrown in at the deep end and were told to expect the weekend to look like a lovechild of New Wine and Top Gear, which it really was. This is how two young men in their late teens survived The Gathering XII…

Jack Undrell: Diary Entry

Thursday was jam-packed, muddy but HOT! All the team started to look like tomatoes after a couple of hours. We worked from midday until late evening, washing up, putting up tents and marquees. At the end of play we had fish & chips before a well-earned sleep.

Friday morning was mental! The boss wanted us to sort out a lot of last minute preparation before 800 men arrived. My main duty was assigned to me: Managing the CVM stand, which was brilliant. It was amazing talking to everyone who came through check-in and later that evening, I got to listen to Jon Burns. As a football and rugby fan, his story was incredible.

Saturday, what can I say, the blokes must have got a lot out of the sessions as the resources were flying off the stand. Darrell Tunningley went on to give his testimony of how God transformed him from a heroin addict and a convicted armed robber to a church minister, which was incredible. However, for me, the best moment of the weekend was seeing around 40 men commit their lives to Jesus later that night.

On Sunday morning we all shared communion, (first time for some blokes) and quite a surreal experience for me. Before we set off for home, I knelt with hundreds of men to meet with Jesus in the mud.

Looking forward to next year!

Andy Cozens: Diary Entry

I couldn’t have thought of a more effective way of getting to know my colleagues than sharing a campsite and actively serving Christ with them. The type of bond that was formed between me, Jack and the team over the weekend would have probably taken over a month to form if we’d just been sat at CVM HQ.

Having such a close band of brothers and sisters made the kit-hauling, dishwashing, tea making and errand running so much more easy to cope with. Not to say that it wasn’t hard work, but it would have been much harder without the team’s general supportive attitude towards each other.

Within the CVM team was the camera-team, which I was blessed enough to be a part of. It was our job to capture all the main meetings, seminars and worship times with four old BBC cameras.

I had prayed a lot before joining CVM that I would be able to use the gifts and skills that God had given me to bring glory to him and already, on the second day, I was doing just that. What an answer to prayer!

Without doubt the best part of the weekend was 40 guys came to be prayed for after a Gospel message. It was at this moment when I realised how much God had been working over the weekend.

Who knows what happened when those men arrived home again but my prayers are definitely with them and their families. The Gathering XII gave me a new heart for men’s ministry and I am so glad to have joined a movement that is so effectively making Christ known to so many men.

All the Best,

Jack&Andy

Book Now for The Gathering 2013

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After a huge surge of bookings for the Gathering in the last few days, a decision has been taken to extend the early bloke discount until Monday at 9AM!

The £65 price tag for the epic weekend with hundreds of guys is yours for the taking right now. More than 400 men have capitalised on the early bloke discount, so don’t wait until the prices go up!

From June 29 to July 1, men from all over the UK will enjoy a weekend of inspirational teaching, cracking banter and superb fellowship. The weekend at Lynt Farm has been designed specifically for men who need to get away for a couple of days and take stock. The Gathering will provide the perfect space for men to see things from a different perspective with talks from Carl Beech, Lyndon Bowring and Jon Burns.

The Gathering will include live music, activities, seminars, late night bar, bonfire…basically the ideal men’s weekend!

Grab Your Extra Time Goal Here!

If you’ve already booked, relax and look smug, you’ve earned it.(Entry costs just £35 for students with valid NUS cards)

Cheers.

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A few weeks ago the CVM team and I headed off for another nights stay at a hotel somewhere in the UK, ahead of a regional mens conference we were putting on. Pitching up at the hotel my wife (and PA) had booked for us, we found it difficult to find the reception but eventually found a side entrance that led into a small bar area. The bar was pretty brightly lit with disco lights and some loud, hard core (by my standards) dance music was pumping out to the five people that were there. The conversation with the barman went something like this;

BARMAN: “Let me take you to your rooms, so what are you doing in town?”

ME “I lead a Christian mission agency that works mostly with men. We’re running a conference tomorrow.”

BARMAN “So what do you do?”

ME: “Well we tackle all sorts of issues that men face in life and help them unpack how the message of Jesus can help them.  We support churches all over the UK etc etc.”

BARMAN: “Fair enough…” (looks blank and uninterested and starts talking about how many stairs there are.)

And that was that…

Later that evening after a curry we went back to the bar for a drink.  By this time it was absolutely heaving and stuffed full of men and women in party mode. Sitting outside with a glass of something, it was my team members who started to notice something was a bit different about the place.  A quick web search later on the phones and it turns out that the place we were staying was, although ‘straight friendly’, the pre eminent gay bar and hotel in the town. After a moment of laughter at the situation, we were asked to move inside as the licensing requirements meant that after 10.30pm no one could drink outside.

You have a choice in these situations.  To quote The Clash, its a case of “Do I stay or do I go now.”  We decided to stay up for another drink and eventually it was just Dean and I standing at the bar for another hour or so. Picture it, two youngish straight leaders of a national mens ministry, the night before a mens ministry conference, in the company of 100 or so gay men and women.

Heres what I saw and the questions I left with;

1) It was a friendly, totally unthreatening and pretty chilled out crowd.

2) There was a genuine sense of friendship and comradeship amongst the men and women there that was way beyond the superficial we see and experience in many of our christian communities. Genuine belonging.

3) I could sense deep within me the love of God for every person in there but also a sense of lostness.

5) I felt the Holy Spirit challenge me to focus some attention into the issue of reaching the gay community with the message of Jesus.

6) I was left asking myself why as a specialist evangelist to men, I hadn’t ever gone into a gay bar to talk to blokes before with a colleague or two or investigated seriously, what CVM should do. I suspect Jesus would have done so by now?

And that got me thinking about the complete ambivalence of the obviously gay barman who showed me to my room, when he found out I was a Christian. I suspect he had not heard the message of the pearl of great price. The story about amazing treasure of the gospel that causes people to radically change their lives, giving up everything for it, if thats what it takes.

I suspect he hadn’t heard it because he hadn’t met someone yet who could articulate it to him in a way that he would get it, or perhaps even demonstrate it by the conduct of their lives. I’m not saying there aren’t those people, more that he hadn’t met one!

So I’m thinking.  What is good news to the gay barman, in the seaside town, in the town’s foremost gay hotel and bar? And furthermore, whose going to take that message to him?

Shalom.

Carl Beech

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CVM are flying an expert on international men’s ministry to the UK. Dave Murrow, author of ‘Why Men hate Going to Church’ is set to headline a CVM event on Saturday, September 17, which will see hundreds of men from the UK unite.

CVM General Director Rev Carl Beech is urging men to take advantage of this unique opportunity to get inspired by an esteemed writer and speaker who is dedicated to engaging men with the Christian message.

Carl said: “This is a rare opportunity to hear a world class expert on men’s ministry and we’ve flown him over especially to talk to us guys. Please book in and bring your church leader if possible. Men are leaving the church at an alarming rate. We think Dave’s teaching on discipling men will help stem the tide.”

Dave will be unpacking the key issue of discipleship amongst men whilst teaching the key points from his popular new book ‘The Map’.

Call the CVM office on 01246 271713 to reserve your place or process your booking online here.

The event will run from 10am to 4pm and tickets cost £19.50 (inc. lunch) at: The Ridgeway Centre, Featherstone Road, Wolverton Mill South, Milton Keynes MK12 5TH

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We receive lots of encouraging stories from men across the UK who have attended a CVM event. Check out this letter we received from ‘Bob’ (not his real name) who attended the National CVM Conference – Codelife 2010, earlier this year.

Dear CVM,

First of all I want to say a big thank you for the conference last month. This I the first time I have been involved in this type of event and despite several reservations before hand it was an incredible experience!

I just wanted to briefly let you know of the significance of the weekend for me. Once I finally convinced myself to attend (yes, like a typical guy, I don’t make anything simple!) I realized that this could be a great opportunity to spend some valuable time with God without some of the usual distractions of everyday life. So I decided that I would aim to deal with a particular area of like which clearly needed addressing. Prior to the conference I prayed and prayed… I told God that I really wanted to deal with this area and asked (actually begged at times) for his support.

The thing is you see, I am a relatively new Christian and have a lot to learn. However the one thing that has become evident is that God doesn’t do things in the way, or time I would like. Therefore, intellectually I realized that despite my prayers and my intentions God wouldn’t necessarily do what I had planned!

A quick silly example which illustrates my point – when I first became a Christian I prayed that God would help me sort out some particular issues from the past. Instead something amazing happened and I found overnight that I wasn’t swearing nearly as much as I used to. That’s great I thought: God has given me something which was amazing and free… but where was my bloody answer to my prayer (as you can see there are still some lapses in the swearing!)

Anyway – back to the conference. I was having a wonderful time and enjoying all aspects of the weekend. We got to Sunday morning and was just starting to think about the long drive home when God turned up – poked me in the ribs and answered my prayer… instantly! Since that day the area of my life which so needed addressing has changed, It’s not always easy and I clearly have to put effort into avoid temptation – but God has done the hard work for me… he has changed my heart again!

So there you go. Just a quick example of how cool God is. You guys are doing an amazing job and I thank you all once again for providing an environment which helped me hear God.

Cheers all.

‘Bob’ attended Codelife 2010. Are you coming to The Gathering 2011? CVM are changing the National Conference to accommodate more men, having more fun! Find out more …

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My old man was right. Life speeds up as we grow up. It feels like the last few years have flown by and from what I can tell, it’s not slowing down.

The idea behind The Gathering is to give men from all over the UK a chance to take stock. A chance to breathe again. A chance to step outside of the routine and reflect on where you are, where you’ve been and where you’re going.

We think you are going to have a blast. At this early stage the plans are getting in place for:

• A massive bonfire night. Bring your drinks to the fireside for a good burn up.
• 50 aside football carnage.
• Climbing wall and other challenges.
• Bands.
• Comedian.
• Sumo wrestling challenge.
• A huge mess tent/bar area.
• Engaging and fun talks on life the universe and everything.
• The opportunity to discuss what this Christianity thing is all about with a pint.
• Lots of food.
• Plenty of down time to catch up with your mates.

So there you have it…there is nothing else like this in the UK. So get booked in now!

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In June 2011 men of the UK will gather in a field near Swindon.

They will come from far and near, in ones and twos, in small and large groups – by bike, car or minibus. They will gather for a weekend. Tents will be put up. BBQs will be lit.

They might know some others there, there will be many that they do not yet know. There will be young and old, from all jobs, all backgrounds and many different types of church

And for one weekend, all these men will gather for one purpose …

To believe that in our lifetime a committed band of brothers, joined together in purpose, can change a nation.

We call this, The Gathering.

Find out all the details and book online now.

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We’ve just sent out an email with breaking news of our conferences next year. (Don’t get our emails? – sign up here). There’s so much going on that we wanted to let everyone now. So, in short, we have:

• 14 stops on our Regional Day nationwide tour. You can find out when and where we will be here.
• An Apologetics Training Day to help unpack the common objections men raise against the Christian faith with input from some of the best speakers in the field. Date for the diary: Saturday March 5th 2011.
• A worship leaders conference hosted by Graham Kendrick and CVM to look at issues surrounding men and worship. This is a must for worship leaders in your church. (Date and venue to be confirmed)
• A two date visit from Dave Murrow. Author of ‘Why Men Hate Going To Church’ who will be unpacking his latest teaching based on his book ‘The Map’. One venue in the north and another in the south. Dates for diary 10th Sept 2011 and 17th Sept 2011. Final details to be confirmed. There will be special input for group leaders.

And finally …

After a long process of prayer, consultation and discussion with supporters, the national team and board have decided to run a different kind of national CVM conference next year!

As you know, our passion is to reach men with the gospel and to make our activities as accessible as possible to all men. So we are excited to introduce into the mix, a brand new camp for men, we are calling: codelife: the gathering!

This will be, in CVM language, a “level 2” camp. In other words there will be input to inspire and teach believing men but it will also be hugely accessible to your mates who aren’t yet believers.

You can expect for around only £75 a head.

• Graham Kendrick and band
• Huge bonfires
• Fun stuff from climbing walls to sumo suits
• BBQs galore
• A mess tent
• Outdoor activities
• And much more to be announced …

Of course, for those of you who don’t want to camp there is the option of a B&B or hotel as well. This doesn’t mean that we will never run a conference like the “Warwick” one again but we strongly believe it to be the right course of action at least for next year.

The date for your diary is 24-26 June 2011. More details to follow but mark it in your diaries now!

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The banter was being served in pint glasses. Hundreds of men sharing their lives and smells together at Warwick University Campus; in the heart of Coventry. (Genius marketing there).

We met to support CVM’s vision to encourage British men to follow Jesus. What I absolutely loved was in amongst our desires to learn about holiness and our eagerness to belt out songs of praise to our Creator, I could taste the banter between men from every corner of the UK. I got mocked for my Fireman Sam accent, Carl was slated for his love of the fight montage in Rocky, and one guy was awarded for looking like a spitting image of Graham Kendrick. We loved it.

I realised something a bit mental last weekend. Our careers, our clothes and our characters are mere costumes God has given us to live out our Christian lives. The external layers to our journeys enable us to function from day to day, but they are not our driving force. And on realising this I attempted to redefine the term ‘banter’. I think it is the necessary prodding of an external layer to remind a man he did not create himself.

I love banter in its true form. Women hug and cry over coffee (so do I but moving on) and men have banter. One guy said I was a cross between Fireman Sam and a breezeblock. Hallelujah. Humbling, hearty and hilarious. I can imagine our loving heavenly father doubled over with laughter with some of the comments.

Let’s redefine banter for a word that has replaced it with a vulgar distant cousin.

Peace

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Watch this on YouTube and find out more about CODELIFE: The Conference

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