Faith News Network

Saturday, January 9, in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, an amazing meeting took place. A meeting that many will remember as a new beginning for the Kingdom work here in Bulgaria. With the beginning of the calendar year a meeting of the Church of God ministers (Western Region) was organized for the purpose of a carefully planned and organized life of the ministry work. Most of the ministers confessed that this was the first time they ever participated in an administrative meeting of this kind – where the church leadership in perfect love and sync worked in unity.

It was everything but a normal day as thousands streamed into the Sentul International Convention Center near Jakarta, Indonesia to begin another special session of the Global Conference on Care…

With major natural disasters going on throughout the world, the question of how smaller churches can contribute to relief and support efforts continues to be asked. Charlie Campbell, lead pastor of The Bridge Church of Jacksonville believes he has found the answer in the emerging technology provided by the Universe of Faith (UOF).

Sky Angel, a national provider of faith-based and family-friendly television and radio programming (www.skyangel.com), announces the addition of Daystar Television Network to their Faith TV channel lineup.

In an ongoing effort to assert the unity of their African identity, Black Evangelicals from across the country will gather in Chicago for their 47th-year convention: “Koinonia 2010!”

A ground-breaking conference which will address cutting-edge ministry trends is coming to Mt. Paran Church of God on April 22-23. Registrations are coming in and a third host hotel, the Courtyard Cumberland Center, has been added for the convenience of delegates planning to attend.

Engage was conceived in response to the call for a conference with “out-of-the-box” thinking when it comes to ministry in today’s world. A strategic planning committee spent hours debating the format, concepts, speakers and even the location of such a conference. The theme, Permission to Dream, represents a compilation of ideas from a diverse group of planners who felt more comfortable “pushing the envelope” rather than sticking with what some may regard as a traditional way of planning a leadership conference.

When it came to location the committee discussed churches which are doing some really unique things and considered locating the conference at those sites. Some of these churches are in remote areas of the country, yet growing and producing disciples. Ultimately, the decision was made for Engage to be located where potential delegates could easily travel and where the accommodations and facilities were exceptional and convenient.

Speakers at Engage will include a set of church leaders and pastors who have been identified as leaders for the next generation of church ministry. Again, the list came from hours of debate and research on who is speaking into all generations through pastoral example, books they have authored or ministry concepts. Among the guests are Leonard Sweet, Reggie McNeil, Mark Walker and Marty Baker. According to Mark Williams, assistant general overseer for the Church of God and liaison to the Engage Committee, guests of the conference are, “leaders who are regularly speaking into the lives of emerging leaders. Engage promises to be a pivotal time of sharing, mentoring and vision casting.”

Keeping with the spirit of the conference, a Web site has been posted which reflects the latest concepts in Web design and video ministry. However, details of the schedule, complete list of speakers as well as information needed to register for the conference and book a hotel are easily available on the site www.engageconference.net. Make your reservations today.