This post is written by Stephen Gardner, Youth Minister at St Matthew’s Anglican Church West Pymble.

On Friday 18 May, St Matt’s Youth Community is hosting an Unashamed event in partnership with St Swithun’s Pymble. It will be the first of many, we hope. I think the work of Thirteen Three is vital and of enormous benefit for Australian youth communities.

Here’s three reasons why I am so excited about Unashamed 2012:

1)    It will inspire Christian youth to live for Jesus

I love how in the book of Revelation, John shares his vision of God’s throne with a bunch of struggling Christians.

One thing he shares to inspire the believers is a picture of Christians who have gone through some kind of tribulation (Revelation 7:14).

They are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple… Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst… For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their Shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes (Revelation 7:15-17).

It’s a reminder to keep fighting the good fight for Jesus and to remember that their persecutors won’t have the final say. God will. And he will share his victory with his people. Awesome!

2)    It will challenge doubters to take Jesus seriously

I think the hardest part of telling people about Jesus is not convincing people of the historical claims of Jesus but helping them to see that He is still relevant.

The martyrs whose blood has been spilt for Jesus not only inspires Christians, it also offers a profound challenge to unbelievers. There is a new king, Jesus, and there is a new community, the Church, being formed in the world. This new community pledges allegiance to King Jesus before all else, even if the price is death.

The fact that there are Christians still willing to die for Jesus is a reality check to youth in Sydney who don’t think Jesus is relevant anymore.

3)    It will help create links between our youth community and the persecuted church

We have been exceedingly blessed in our church with safety to preach Jesus and stacks of resources.

One thing we’re hoping and praying for Unashamed 2012 is that it will begin an ongoing partnership between our youth community and our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. We want to be informed and share the blessings God has graciously given us.

For more information about the Unashamed events and to see if there is an event coming up in an area near you, go to www.thirteenthree.org.au/events