Baptist conference to tackle gang violence

The issue of gangs and gang violence is the subject of the second Bite the Bullet conference organised by the Baptist Union of Great Britain and the Ascension Trust , the organisation behind the Street Pastors initiative.

Speakers at the one-day event which takes place at Westbury Avenue Baptist Church in North London on Saturday 4 July include criminology and gang expert Professor John Pitts, and former gang members who will be sharing their experiences.

There will also be a panel discussing gang culture and related issues. There will be workshops to help parents detect if their children are involved in knife or gun crime and to help parents and church leaders support young people that are caught up in circumstances where violent crime is an issue.

Young people will be contributing to the day, with many speaking during the sessions. A group of young leaders will also be organising a concert featuring gospel acts on the evening of the conference.

Before the conference, young Christians from different denominations will be invited to a meeting on 28 March in Peckham to discuss ways in which they and their peers can help reduce the levels of gang and violent crime. Their conversations will shape the content of Bite the Bullet 2009 and hopefully lead to resources being developed to assist churches.

Les Isaac, founder of Street Pastors, believes young people can play a key role in tackling the knife and gun crime problem.

“If we are to prevent young people from getting involved in gangs and violent crime, we need to understand the pressures they are under and the circumstances they face," he said.

"Giving young people the opportunity to speak out on the realities of violent crime and search for solutions is not only good for them but also allows other sections of the church and community to be informed about the problem and to become actively involved in this challenge that faces our society.”

Last year’s conference in Brixton attracted national and worldwide media coverage after a spate of stabbings in London. Recent statistics released by the Home Office showed that knife attacks in 2007-8 were as high as 270, the highest since records began in 1977.

Wale Hudson-Roberts, Racial Justice Adviser at the Baptist Union of Great Britain, believes this shows how critical it is for Christians to continue to grapple with this issue.

“Many young people in different parts of our country are under pressure to join a gang," he said.

"For some youngsters, gangs are family: young people find support networks and deep bonds of friendship, stuff that they ought to find at home. If families and churches do not get to grips with what is happening on our streets, gang culture is set to rise along with its associated crime.

"Bite the Bullet will not provide the answers to these concerns but it certainly will get people thinking about the issues.”