76th General Assembly Is One Year from This Week
Preparations are already well underway toward the Church of God 76th International Assembly set for this week next year, July 19-22, 2016.
All attention will be on the city of Nashville, Tennessee as hundreds will be preparing the Music City Center for the arrival of thousands of delegates. The official opening of GA16 is set for Tuesday morning, July 19 when the General Council is set to convene. However there will be some preliminary events leading up to the opening session, including the popular L.E.A.D. Conference which debuted last year in Orlando at GA14.
“There will be lots of new and exciting aspects of this General Assembly, not to mention the fact that this is the first time a Church of God Assembly has been held in Nashville,” stated David Ray, chairman of the General Assembly Cabinet. “It has been more than 50 years since our delegates have gathered for an assembly held in the state in which the Church was founded.”
Music City Center, Nashville, Tenn. (click photo to enlarge)
The Music City Center (MCC) is a brand new convention site located in the heart of Nashville, not far from the Capitol building. It is constructed on multiple levels and will accommodate GA16 in a unique fashion. According to Ray, the General Council sessions will be held on the top level, with exhibits and events on lower levels, including a separate venue for the evening worship sessions.
“Although there will several levels of activity, they will all be easily accessible and tied in by video,” Ray said. “If you’re at the exhibit hall and want to see what’s happening in the General Council, there will be an area where this can take place in the exhibit hall and in other common areas.”
Accommodations are an important part of the General Assembly experience and several surrounding hotels have been secured for the event with discounted rates for Assembly delegates.
“There are many beautiful properties which will make the stay at GA16 in Nashville very pleasant,” said Kevin Brooks, a member of the General Assembly Cabinet in charge of accommodations. “The Omni just opened last year and will have several hundred rooms at a special rate that can only be secured through the reservations service working exclusively with the Church of God. There will be dozens of surrounding hotels with discounted rates especially for our delegates. It will be necessary to go through the Church of God to get these discounts.” Brooks went on to say that the blocks of rooms reserved for GA16 will begin to be leased in January 2016.
Negotiations are currently underway which will put a unique spin on dining at GA16. While there are numerous world-class eateries within walking distance of the venue, planners are looking into the latest trend in convention and downtown options: food trucks.
“The MCC is situated in an area where multiple food trucks would be able to be on-site at meal times, allowing for a quick bite or a casual dining experience,” Ray continued. “These vendors are well-equipped to handle thousands of delegates and the menu is varied and of high quality.”
More details on GA16 are yet to be announced, including a theme, a full schedule and keynote speakers and the General Council agenda.
“While this general assembly will be different in a lot of ways, there will a lot of tradition that will still be in place,” Ray concluded. “New traditions introduced last year, including on-site, online and social media communications, will enhance the general assembly, which remains the staple of our fellowship and governance. Nashville will provide an exciting and effective venue to deliver this experience, so vital to our movement.”
