Conspiracy of the Insignificant

by Patrick Regan, Liza Hoeksma

Patrick Regan grew up in a nice, quiet, middle-class Christian family. So he got something of a culture shock when he spent two weeks doing a mission in London at the age of 16. Having met people from violent backgrounds and living in cardboard boxes with no food, no money and no security, Patrick prayed a life-changing that he would see things the way God sees them.Soon Patrick was back in London working in schools in some of the most socially deprived areas, Patrick and his growing team slowly but surely earned the right to share the gospel. When the tide of violence began to rise, Patrick was there to provide the Christian presence so desperately needed. This book tells the story of a journey that took Patrick everywhere from the roughest estates in London to Jamaica's Trenchtown and to poverty stricken villages in Ghana. Through it all he learnt that bringing the kingdom of God to a place can mean anything from helping a child to read to negotiating between gang leaders.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published November 2, 2007

Reviews

[bex 🌱 · Rating 5 out of 5]

super dandy, love me some honest and inspiring stories

[Thea Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Awesome book for anyone who loves Jesus and is (or is thinking about) working with Young People

[Phil Whittall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Young people don't always get good PR and sometimes for good reasons. Gang violence, teenage pregnancies, anti-social behaviour, lack of education, employment and general delinquency can all add up to ruining lives young. These issues can be especially entrenched in some of the poorer estates of our nation.

What is often less reported or remembered are the reasons for the issues - neglect, abuse, lack of role models, poverty, addiction, drug related crime and violence in their homes and communities, racism & prejudice which leads to chronic lack of self-esteem, self-worth and an absence of belief and hope.

In Conspiracy of the Insignificant the churches' response is led by Patrick Regan and his team of schools and youth workers for XLP. It's the straightforward story of how one young person can make a huge difference if they follow Christ, persevere and keep learning. This book gives encouragement as to the value of good schools work, the value of young people and the leadership they can bring.

Conspiracy of the Insignificant is a slightly over dramatic title but then I guess 'challenging tales from a schools worker' is unlikely to set the prospective buyer's pulse racing. This isn't a complicated book and it doesn't offer models or how to's, it's simply Patrick Regan's story of how he and his team got involved. It's most likely aimed at young people (16-24ish) and would hopefully be motivating to them to get stuck in and not wimp out when a need presents itself, sticking with it and not giving up or cashing in, and that trusting God in all of this leads to greater rewards and greater adventure.

This is a decent book and going into the hands of a local schools worker I know!

[Olivia Sussex · Rating 4 out of 5]

i'd describe this brilliant book as an almost pocket-size cornucopia of encouragement to any christian