LEAD, World Missions Highlight Pre-Assembly Events
Delegates are streaming in to Nashville, Tennessee and the Music City Center for the 76th Church of God International General Assembly (GA16).
Several pre-Assembly events are taking place before the official start of GA16 tomorrow morning at 8:30. Church of God World Missions held a conference under the theme, “Harvest at the Speed of Favor,” which featured a morning message by Bishop Kenneth Ulmer. This evening a celebratory concert will take place featuring musical guests Gaither Vocal Band, Voices of Lee, Goodman Revival, Curtis Bridgeman and The Christ Church Choir. Awards of recognition for church and state World Missions support will also take place.
For the second time, the L.E.A.D. Conference, an acronym for leadership/enrichment/ affirmation/development, was a highlight of pre-Assembly events. Monday, July 18 seven dynamic church leaders took the stage of the Grand Ballroom at the Nashville Music City Center between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Featured speakers included an opening devotional by Carter Conlon, senior pastor of the Times Square Church in New York City. Conlon was followed by six church leaders including; Gabe Lyons, founder of Q Ideas—a learning community that mobilizes Christians to advance the common good in society and author of The Next Christians: Seven Ways You Can Live the Gospel and Restore the World; Rebekah Lyons, author of Freefall to Fly: A Breathtaking Journey Toward a Life of Meaning; Samuel Rodriguez, founder and current president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, which serves as the Hispanic Evangelical Association, through which a network of Latino leaders; Gordon Banks, a former professional football player, who is a member of the Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame and is currently senior pastor for Overcomer Covenant Church in Federal Way, Washington; and Ed Stetzer, holder of the Billy Graham Distinguished Chair of Church, Mission, and Evangelism at Wheaton College. Stetzer also served as host of the event. Concluding the conference was Christine Caine, an Australian evangelist and international speaker, best known for founding The A21 Campaign, an organization that combats human trafficking.
LEAD was presented by the three sponsors Pathway Press, LifeWay and LOGOS.
