L.E.A.D. Conference to Offer Headline Speakers at General Assembly
For the second time, the Church of God International General Assembly will offer a pre-conference conference entitled LEAD: Leadership, Enrichment, Affirmation, Development.
In 2014, LEAD was offered for the first time in an effort to bring in church contemporaries for a time of leadership development prior to the business of the General Assembly. The event was well received and calls for another LEAD conference will be answered with a slate of six guest speakers in a one day conference scheduled for Monday, July 18, 2016, a day before the official start of the 76th International General Assembly (GA16), July 19-22, 2016.
GA16, as well as the LEAD Conference, will be conducted at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee. LEAD speakers were chosen for the diversity of topics and relevance to the constituency of the Church of God.
Drawing from over 25 years of ministry experience, Pastor Gordon Banks delivers a message that transcends not only the local church, but also the corporate world and many nations around the globe. He imparts a growing desire to seek God’s will and His Kingdom and challenges individuals to transform their lives for a greater cause.
Christine Caine travels the globe preaching, teaching, and advocating for social justice. Christine has authored five books, including “Undaunted” and her most recent release, “Unstoppable: Running the Race You Were Born to Win.” She and her husband Nick have also founded The A21 Campaign, an anti-human trafficking organization that fights slavery around the globe. Christine has a heart for freeing captives, both physically and spiritually, but ultimately it comes back to her primary focus: building the Church.
Gabe and Rebekah Lyons founded Q in 2007, a learning community that mobilizes Christians to advance the common good in society. Gabe is the author of “The Next Christians: Seven Ways You Can Live the Gospel and Restore the World” (Multnomah, 2012). Prior to launching Q, Gabe served on the team that co-founded Catalyst, the largest gathering of young church leaders in America. Rebekah is the author of “Freefall to Fly: A Breathtaking Journey Toward a Life of Meaning.” As founder of Q Women, Rebekah’s passion is to embolden women to live their unique calling as they thoughtfully engage faith, relationships, and their community. Today, the Lyons lead and serve within Trinity Grace Church, a family of neighborhood-based churches in New York City.
Samuel Rodriguez is president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, the nation’s largest Hispanic Christian organization representing millions of Evangelicals and more than 40,000 U.S. Churches. It seeks to reconcile evangelist Billy Graham’s message of salvation with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s march of prophetic activism through its “7 Directives” of Life, Family, Compassionate Evangelism, Stewardship, Justice, Education and Youth.
Returning from 2014 is Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research Division. He is a prolific author, who has planted, revitalized, and pastored churches, trained pastors and church planters on six continents. He has written dozens of articles and books. Stetzer is a contributing editor for “Christianity Today,” a columnist for “Outreach Magazine.”
Participation in the LEAD conference is part of the process of delegate registration for the General Assembly and is available for an additional $20. To register, visit www.churchofgod.org or www.ga16.org.
