Church of God departments and leaders have announced many events geared toward a variety of emphases to take place in 2009. Literally hundreds of activities are part of any given year’s slate of events for Church of God departments and ministries, as well as denomination-wide happenings. The following is only a partial list of some of the highlights. For more information on these events, please visit the Church of God Web site and click on the Directories tab to find Web sites of Church departments.
International Offices Chapel Services broadcasts – on the first Wednesday of every month, the international offices will broadcast live the chapel service held at the Leadership and Communications Center. This month’s chapel takes place this Wednesday, January 7. Special music and guest speakers are slated every month and can be watched live by clicking on the graphic on the Church of God Web site.
Winterfest – The Youth and Christian Education Department begins its annual coordination of more than a dozen exciting Winterfest events around the world, the first to be held this weekend, January 9-11 in Riverside, Calif. The largest, Smoky Mountain Winterfest, will be held in Knoxville, Tenn. on March 13-15.
Youth Congress – The Ministry to the Military/Multicultural Ministries department will host a Romanian Ministers Retreat and Youth Congress in Cleveland, Tenn. on January 15-17.
Chaplaincy Training – for those interested in obtaining leadership credentials for ministry as an institutional chaplain, the Chaplains Commission is hosting the first of several scheduled Community Service Chaplaincy Training courses on January 15-17 at the Central Parkway Church of God in Cincinnati, Ohio. Others will be held February 19-21 (Wimauma, Fla.), March 16-20 (Edmonds, Wash.), April 21-23 (Fort Mill, S.C.) and June 1-5 (Cleveland, Tenn.).
Regional LifeBuilders – The Lay Ministries Department continues their leadership of regional LifeBuilders Conferences for men of all ages. The first of their 2009 events will be conducted in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., on January 16-17. Others scheduled this year include Toronto, Canada (March 6-7), Naples, Fla. (March 27-28), Albuquerque, N.M. (April 10-11), Tampa, Fla. (April 24-25), South Central Hispanic Region (May 1-3; retreat), Caribbean (June 5-6), Mexico City, Mexico (June 13-14), Soldotna, Alaska (September 2-3) and Weatherford, Texas (October 16-17).
Regional Listening Tours – A series of nine regional “Listening Tours” has been announced by the Church of God Executive Committee which will take place across the United States in February and March. The sessions will be conducted in strategic locations, so as many people as possible can have access to attending. Locations for the listening tour are as follows: February 3, Liberty Square – Cartersville, Georgia; February 5, Southern Hills, Oklahoma City; February 6, Altamonte Springs, Fla.; February 17, Longview, Washington; February 26, Living Waters, Los Angeles, California; March 12, Blue Hills, Hartford, Connecticut; March 17, Victory Tabernacle, Richmond, Virginia; March 19, River Hills, Tampa, Florida; March 26, River of Life, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Children’s Ministry Conference – Greenville, S.C. will be the site of the FOCUS Children’s Ministry Conference sponsored by the Youth and Christian Education Department. The date of the event is the weekend of March 5-7.
Church Missions Seminars – Church of God World Missions will host several Local Church Missions Representatives (LMR) seminars for ministers and laypersons who wish to be trained for organizing local church missions efforts. The first seminar of 2009 will be held in Paris, Texas on March 5. A second Texas LMR will be held the next day in Tyler, Texas. Others to follow include March 21 in Ocala, Fla., March 28 in Cooper City, Fla., and May 16 in Eastern N.C.
Church Planting Labs – The national Church Planting Office is again hosting “Labs,” which are intensive multi-day seminars on the latest trends in church planting techniques. The first of the 2009 labs is being held March 23-27 in Madisonville, Ky.
Lee Day – the largest single-day recruiting effort by Lee University is Lee Day, which this year will be conducted on April 3 and 4 on the Cleveland, Tenn. campus. Prospective students of all ages are invited to participate in a smorgasbord of activities, events, meals and services.
Great Days of Prayer – The first of four 2009 “Great Days of Prayer” was held on Sunday, January 4. The next observance is scheduled for April 5. This focused time of intercession by local churches around the world is being coordinated by the staff of Project Pray as part of General Overseer Culpepper’s emphasis on prayer, the Great Commission and a quest for trust. Two other Great Days of Prayer will be observed on July 5 and October 4.
KidFest – the first of four events for children of elementary to middle school ages will be held on April 3-5. Frontier KidFest will take place in Irving, Texas. Other sites and dates include Carolina (Charlotte, N.C.), April 24-26, Midwest (Kings Mill, Ohio), May 1-3 and Smoky Mountain (Gatlinburg, Tenn.), May 15-17.
Smoky Mountain Jubilee – Every year senior adults look forward to a time of fun, relaxation and spiritual refreshing at Smoky Mountain Jubilee sponsored by the Evangelism and Home Missions Department. This year the event will take place in Gatlinburg, Tenn. on April 21-23.
Regional Camp Meetings – Between May and November states and regions conduct their annual summer camp meeting events. Locations, dates and speakers vary greatly, so a link on the Church of God Web site listing pertinent information of all camp meetings will be posted in late spring.
National Hispanic Congress – August 6-8 are the dates for the National Hispanic Congress which will be held this year in Oakland, Calif.
Symposia on the Great Commission – Two, two-day events on the Great Commission will be conducted by the International Executive Committee. To allow as many to attend as possible, identical events will be held on the West coast (September 14-15) and East coast (September 17-18). More information on location and agenda is forthcoming and will be posted on Faith News Network.
Renewal Conference – The Women’s Ministries Department previously announced a Women’s Ministries Renewal Conference, which will this year be held on October 16-18 in the city of San Francisco, Calif.
Faith News Network will release details of many of these events, as well as others which are still in the planning stages as the year 2009 progresses. Details about registration and specific topics, such as speakers can be found at the Web sites of the given departments or ministries.