Hundreds of young people gathered at the Hilton Metropole in central London on Sunday 8th November 2026 for a SPAC Nxtion Community gathering, where Pastor Tobi Adegboyega, commonly referred to as PT, spoke life and hope into the next generation.
The doors welcomed attendees from children as young as 10 to teenagers, young adults and adults. PT's central message was that a life of purpose begins with a dream, and that it is lived out by being different and making a difference in your community and society.
Pastor Tobi Adegboyega, commonly known as PT, is the founder and leader of the SPAC Nxtion Community. Since 2005 he has worked with young people from low-income backgrounds through mentorship and leadership development, and he gained public recognition in 2016 after large gatherings of young people in London.
SPAC Nxtion Family is a faith-based community whose stated vision is to love God, love people and build a prosperous society. It describes itself as a platform for young people to discover their purpose and develop as leaders, using faith as the foundation for change.
A message of purpose
PT urged the audience to aim high, telling attendees to 'dream big', describing dreaming as the source of a person's potential, telling the audience:
"Dream is the power of life, if you can dream, you are a genius."
He also reminded young people that individuality carries a cost and a calling. He said:
"Being different means a different journey."
An atmosphere of joy and hope
The gathering took place as concern about young people's prospects continues to grow. Centre for London has reported that one in four young Londoners were unemployed, and the Office for National Statistics estimates that 981,000 young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK were not in education, employment or training between April and June 2026.
Press Association analysis found that young people aged 16 to 24 accounted for nearly one in three recent Personal Independence Payment claimants whose primary condition was recorded as an anxiety disorder.
Safety remains a concern too. Metropolitan Police data shows 13,649 knife-related offences were recorded across the capital between September 2025 and August 2026, with 3,087 victims aged between 10 and 17. City Hall reports that there were just eight teenage homicide victims in 2025, a 73% reduction since 2021.
What the government is saying
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has made youth unemployment a priority. Writing in The Times, he described it as an "economic catastrophe and a moral failure".
He pledged that every young person would be guaranteed a technical pathway, work placements, apprenticeships and timely mental health support, and called for a fundamental change in the way government and society support young people.
Why gatherings like this matter
Policy can open doors, but young people also need to believe they are worth walking through them. Gatherings such as this one speak to that need.
They give young people a room full of peers who are hopeful, a stage on which to share their own dreams, and an adult voice telling them their lives carry purpose.
That kind of encouragement is hard for government programmes to deliver on their own. It comes from trusted community figures who have shown up for young people consistently over many years.
Research suggests the link is real: one youth violence expert has noted a clear link between the support available to young people and the levels of youth violence and knife crime.
