CHICAGO, IL (March 28, 2011) – The early registration deadline for the 125th Central Conference Annual Meeting is April 4.
Multiple events are planned during the April 29-30 celebration that will be held at North Park University and North Park Covenant Church in Chicago. The Conference Ministerium will hold it’s meeting April 28.
Conference Superintendent Jerome Nelson, who has been recovering from a kidney transplant, will lead devotions at 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Nelson says he feels strong and is looking forward to the meeting, which will be his first major event since the operation.
Instead of traditional workshops, the conference will host strategic Connecting Sessions. The sessions will be times of teaching and learning from one another. New resources also will be presented.
Following are the planned sessions:
- Partnering with Church Plants: Established and healthy congregations are increasingly working with church plants and engaging in ministry partnerships
- Congregational Vitality: Church leaders who have witnessed renewal and positive change in their churches will share their experiences with the congregational vitality opportunities offered by the Covenant
- Following God into Acts of Compassion & Mercy: Topics such as criminal justice and immigration will be discussed
- Future Leadership Development: Youth pastors and young adults will discuss possible opportunities for equipping future generations
Gary Walter, president of the Evangelical Covenant Church, will speak during the 7:30 p.m. worship service at North Park Covenant Church on April 29. The service follows a 6 p.m. dinner at the university. Among the other celebratory events will be the showing of a video about the growth of the conference, produced by the Media Services division of the ECC Department of Communication. It includes interviews as well as photos submitted by conference churches.
To register for the conference or obtain more information about the schedule of events, visit the event website or call the Central Conference office at 773-267-3060.
