Children's theology

In April we were welcomed in Kampen (the Netherlands) by Henk Kuindersma, Johan Valstar en Evert Jonker for a brilliant international conference on children's theology. During that conference I came across a Belgian colleague from the French speaking part of the country, Guy Rainotte, who presented us a splendid movie on 'children's theology' (Dieu? La parole aux enfants). It was a remarkable experience: encountering so much theological energy of a fellow theologian of the other side of the country, while being abroad. Why do we always travel so far, when the real encounter could be around the corner?

Towards a promising future for the IASYM!

On the 19th and 20th of May the executive board of the International Association for the Study of Youth Ministry (http://www.iasym.net/) gathered in my place in Kessel-Lo (near Leuven) to reflect on the past and create a vision for the future. Helen Blier and Karen Jones from the USA, Sarah Dunlop and Nick Shepherd from the UK, Ronelle Sonnenberg from the Netherlands, Reggie Nel from South-Africa and myself were deeply involved in reformulating the mission statement, the core values of the association and in finding out the practical implications for the conferences, journal and website related to the association.

The IASYM wants to strengthen its research related profile, its orientation to the world of work and ministry among young people and its international dynamics. The European conference of IASYM will take place in Tallinn, Estonia (11-14 April 2012). The international conference will take place in Cambridge, UK (3-6 January 2013).