Church Leaders' Conference

A special event for church leaders of all kinds:
Elders, Deacons, Teachers, Parents, Men & Women
PLUS
High school Youth & Youth Workers

The 2008 Church Leaders' Conference was a great experience and valuable experience. About 650 attended the event, including a number of Christian teens. This was especially satisfying since this annual event has never specifically invited youth to attend before.

Dr. James Emery White and Mike Baker were challenging and informative. And the previews of the Bible & Worldview Institute sessions aroused considerable interest. A DVD video of the event is being prepared. If you would like to order a copy, please email us and we will provide further instructions.

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George Barna has recently emphasized that effective churches must give specific attention to understanding, developing, and applying a truly biblical worldview. He says, “Our research finds that most churches teach good biblical content, but fail to tie it together into a logical and comprehensive framework that makes sense and give practical counsel.” (Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions, p. 96). He believes--and so do we--that this is one key reason why about 61% of our Christian young people turn away from the church after they graduate from high school. (See "The Barna Update," Sept. 11, 2006). Unfortunately, many church-going ADULTS don't integrate their faith with most of their life either.

The 2008 Church Leaders' Conference is designed to address and improve this situation. We have nationally-known speakers who have extraordinarily successful church experience, and we will be previewing a brand new educational event for churches called "The Bible and Worldview Institute."

A keynote speaker for this conference will be Dr. James Emery White.

• Founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, which started with one family and now runs over 5,000. Mecklenburg experienced over seventy-percent of its growth from those who were previously unchurched, and during its formative years it was often cited as one of the fastest growing church starts in the United States.

• The President of Serious Times, a ministry that explores the intersection of faith and culture.

• Author of 14 books, including A Mind for God (InterVarsity); Serious Times: Making Your Life Matter in an Urgent Day (InterVarsity), a Gold Medallion finalist; Embracing the Mysterious God (InterVarsity), a Christianity Today book-of-the-year award winner; The Prayer God Longs For (InterVarsity); Rethinking the Church: A Challenge to Creative Redesign in an Age of Transition (Baker); A Search for the Spiritual: Exploring Real Christianity (Baker), also a Gold Medallion nominee; and What is Truth? (Broadman). He has also been a contributing author to nine books and was consulting editor for The Holman Bible Handbook. His articles have appeared in numerous newspapers, as well as leading Christian magazines and journals such as Leadership Journal and Decision.

• Professor of theology and culture on the Charlotte campus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. (In 2006-07, Dr. White served as the fourth president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary which has campuses in Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Florida.)

Another key speaker for the conference will be Mike Baker, Senior Pastor of Eastview Christian Church in Bloomington, IL.

• Popular youth speaker (to over 150,000) at 40 Christ in Youth Conferences, 15 state teen conventions, and 4 North American Christian Conventions.

• Author of How Teens Do Church; Counsel Fit for a King; and Freedom in Christ.

• Youth Pastor at Eastview Christian Church (1995-2007)

• Senior Pastor at Eastview Christian Church, an innovative and fast growing church of about 3,500 with nearly 3,000 involved in small group ministries.

Please contact us if you would like more information about the Church Leaders' Conference or the Bible and Worldview Institute (BWI). The BWI can be offered in churches that have adequate facilities, technology, and marketing potential to host at least 150 participants. We will be looking to schedule a couple of BWI events in 2008 and 2 or 3 in 2009.

For more information about the Bible & Worldview Institute
session topics, and presenters click here.