I was recently at the The Hillsong Colour Conference, which this year celebrated its 20^th anniversary. The UK leg of the tour saw around 11,000 people come together in London's Wembley arena and was joined by Bobbie Houston, Chris Caine, Holly Wagner among other guests.   The reason why I want to write about it is because there were four things that stood out for me about a living faith and you might benefit from them too, especially if you weren't able to make it to the conference in person.  

1. Prayer really is a powerful weapon
Catherine Thambiratnam, who took to the stage to speak about the Hillsong Sisterhood prayer maps and 500 projects, said: "Sometimes prayer sounds like it's not enough but it's powerful." Underestimating the impact that prayer can have is something that many of us will have done at at least one point in our lives. But both Thambiratnam and Houston urged guests to acknowledge the difference that prayer can make, especially in the context of a communal effort.  Let's not underestimate the power of a single prayer in both our lives and God's movement in the world.

2. "Passion will take you further than anything else in life"

Christine Caine told those yearning to be more passionate about their faith that it wasn't always necessary to do more but it was always necessary to "allow the Holy Spirit to do more through you".  Sometimes passion is easier said that done and especially in the church, there can be an emphasis on being passionate all the time.  Passionate for Christ, passionate for our work or ministry, passionate for prayer.  Sometimes if we're honest, we just don't feel passionate, so it's great to have a reality check and remember where true passion comes from - from the Holy Spirit firing us up to be Christ's servants.

3. Wearing your faith on your sleeve - literally
The conference shop was a hit with the guests but Houston encouraged them to see beyond the surface nature of the items. She spoke about things like T-shirts with bold slogans like "get your prayer on" and "God save the world" can help start conversations about faith. There's no denying that our actions are the most effective way that we can bear visible witness to our faith, but sometimes simply wearing an item of clothing or jewellery with a Christian message, or making an ethical purchase can spark an interest in the most unexpected of environments.

4. There's a place for every woman
At the heart of the Colour Sisterhood is the belief that each and every woman can make an important contribution to the church. From women preaching and sharing their personal faith to leading worship and encouraging humanitarian action, this message was reiterated throughout the conference. You may be of a tradition that doesn't believe in women preaching but regardless of which tradition you align with, we're all pretty much agreed that Christianity is a champion of women.  I'll let Bunmi, a volunteer and member of Hillsong Church, do the talking: "As a church, we believe in women! We believe in their potential and the significant contribution they bring to this table called life. We believe that 'within every woman resides a history maker capable of making her world a better place'," she told me.  Amen to that.sim