HÉrauts
HÉRAUTS (tr. HERALDS) is an annual conference organised by GBU Belgium for Christian students who are at university or in their last two years of secondary/high school. The purpose of the conference is to motivate and equip students in their mission for Jesus in order to help them make him known to others.
GBU Belgium is an evangelical organisation whose main aim is to see students know Jesus and make him known to others. Groups of students from different backgrounds are encouraged and equipped to do this with the help and guidance from staff and the support of local churches. For more information about GBU, click here (in French).
The goal of HÉRAUTS is to motivate, inspire and encourage International and French-speaking Christian students with faithful and pertinent teaching from the Bible, so that they would be more deeply rooted in the gospel, committed to following the Lord Jesus, and equipped in their mission to spread the gospel and make disciples.
The conference is in French but provides direct translation into English via an application and your own personal headphones. This enables us to serve International students who are studying in Belgium and surrounding countries, as well as other Belgian students whose first language isn’t French. This is something that we are passionate about.
PROGRAM
War, anxiety, climate change, killer robots, indifference or even general anaesthesia amongst the population...
How can we imagine a Gospel today that makes an impact - a light that pierces a world as dark as ours? And how can we, weak, fragile and imperfect as we are, hope to shine, like lights, both different and attractive to our surrounding context? How can the light of the Gospel truly shine on our dark campuses?
We are not the first to have such questions. Isaiah's prophecy, sometimes referred to as the "fifth gospel", provides striking and unexpected answers to these questions, which are as relevant in 2023 as they were in Isaiah's time, 7 centuries before Christ.
SEMINARS
As Christians, we often hear how important it is to share our testimony. That said, it's not often that someone comes to us, asking us directly about the Bible or our experience of Jesus! Yet clearly, in the Bible, God calls us to share the good news, and to be ready to give a reason for our hope in Jesus (1 Peter 3:15).
We also sometimes hear people talk about how powerful a testimony was. But what does a "powerful" testimony actually mean? How can we be sure that we are sharing the gospel in a personal and powerful way, all the time whist wanting to be careful not to offend, and in the midst of the pressures of life?
During this workshop, we will tackle these questions, and help each other to be ready to give powerful testimonies. Indeed, as the days are “evil”, we must redeem the time (Col 4:5-6) and the people around us must hear the good news of Jesus and believe it in order to have eternal life!
Who wants to know how they can be more committed to the gospel on campus whilst living distinctly as Christians? You might think it's desirable but not really feasible, given the demands on your time of your studies, assignments to hand in and other activities in life (including church ones)! Join us in this workshop where we'll encourage each other on how to turn a lack of time and energy into a great opportunity!
Between shyness and the feeling of not really knowing how to relate to others, we'll look at tips for overcoming these barriers and making our commitment to the cause of the gospel blossom.
Get ready to seize this opportunity to shine with the light of Jesus on those around you on your campuses, with some simple and pratical tips, but above all with God's help!
Are you keen to pray for the good news of Jesus to spread? In theory, yes! And yet, in practice, it’s not as easy as all that. First of all, it's costly. It might mean less sleep, and perhaps less time to yourself or for hobbies. And let’s not forget there's the spiritual battle! In short, committing to prayer is no easy task, even if you know it’s a valuable thing to do.
This seminar aims to restore priority to an important spiritual practice that is often neglected. From experience, I have never known any Christian who has ever regretted investing time in prayer. Quite the opposite in fact! During this workshop, we will look at why praying to see lost souls saved and Christ's reign advance is so important. To this end, practical tips on how to keep prayer as a priority will be also be shared.
contributors
JONATHAN SPENCER
Jonathan Spencer is pastor of the Protestant Church Les Deux Rives in the heart of Toulouse. A graduate of Cambridge University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, he is married with 3 children. Before setting up Les Deux Rives, Jonathan worked for the GBU in France as a regional outreach secretary and did a pastoral placement with the Union Évangélique des Églises Libres. He has lived in 5 different countries and is interested in literature, philosophy and linguistics. In his spare time, he enjoys climbing the Pyrenean passes with his son.
SARAH WILKS
Sarah is a lawyer based in London, where she is a member of an evangelical church. Before moving to London, Sarah studied in Paris and worked in Brussels. She still comes to Belgium a fair amount for work. Married to David, they have 4 children: Caleb (11), Boaz (9), Esther (7) and Benjamin (4). When she's not working at the office, Sarah loves reading novels with her sons, and watching her daughter tap dance!
HARRY NOËL
Harry, a former lawyer, was transformed by his encounter with Jesus. After his conversion, a passion for proclaiming the Gospel, particularly to young people, was sown in his heart and led him to theological training. Harry dreams of seeing young people rise up with joy to follow and serve Jesus Christ. Married to Elisa, they have 2 wonderful children. They live in Paris where they planted a church with a great team in 2017.
JAMES HELY HUTCHINSON
James was converted to Christianity at university in England. He is married to Myriam and is the father of Clara. A professor of Old Testament, biblical theology and biblical languages, he has been director of the Brussels Bible Institute since 2007. He has also written books about God's plan of salvation in the Bible (La nouveauté de la nouvelle alliance and Answering the Psalmist's Perplexity), as well as a book to help discern what types battles to fight in order to defend the Gospel (Sacrés désaccords!).
ÉCRITURE
Écriture's mission is to participate in the task of expanding the French-language repertoire of songs for churches, by composing songs that are richly rooted in the Scriptures, carried by contemporary melodies and that inspire deep worship of God. The collective now comprises a team of 6 composer-musicians based in Belgium and France. You can listen to their two albums on streaming platforms and follow them on social networks.
www.ecrituremusique.com
JEROEN VALKENIER
Working enormeously behind the scenes, Jeroen serves HÉRAUTS as head chef. He worked as a chef for 6 years before becoming a secondary school Dutch teacher. Originally from the Netherlands, where he was involved with the GBU there, he has since had a heart for student ministry. Together with his wife, Hennie, they seek to use their gifts for the service of their local church and ministries that aim to spread the Gospel. He enjoys cycling (!), walking in the countryside, seeing friends and treating them to his delicious food!
good to know
We provide Bibles and booklets for your notes, so all you need to bring is a friendly smile and whatever you need to buy fantastic Christian books which we sell at 30-50% of their retail price (you can pay by card or cash)! These books are carefully selected to be as relevant and edifying as possible, and they are very kindly subsidised by various publishing houses and donors.
Make the most of it!
TRANSLATION
The conference offers direct translation in English for participants who would like it. This enables us to serve International students and leaders as well as other Belgian students whose first language isn’t French.
In order to receive translation, you will need download the LiveVoice application on your phone (click on relevant button below) and bring your own headphones. Please indicate on your sign up form that you would like translation so that we can make sure that everything runs smoothly for you.
AdDress
Boulevard du Souverain 220
1160 Brussels
Metro : line 5 / stop : Herrmann-Debroux