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Conference Goes 'Glocal'

September 16, 2014

Christian Reformed Home Missions is helping to sponsor the “Glocal Church Summit” a conference for churches and church leaders who are seeking or are already committed to working in their local communities.

Set for Nov. 17-19 at Ttokamsa Mission Church in Los Angeles, Calif. and offering a range of speakers and presentations, the conference will look particularly at the challenges inherent in doing community-based, outreach ministry in an increasingly globalized society.

“Churches are looking for ways to engage, reach out and love their neighbors, but many are asking how do they do that, ” says Rev. Moses Chung, director of Home Missions.

“We have people here in this country from all over the world and yet we often remain a monocultural church,” said Chung. “We will be asking, ‘How do we live the greatest commandment — to love our neighbors’ — in this context,” he said.

Christian Reformed World Missions, Calvin Theological Seminary and Fuller Theological Seminary are also helping to sponsor the event.

Rev. Charles Kim,  Korean Ministry coordinator and one of ethnic ministry leaders for Home Missions, said the conference will “be a place for people to explore and rediscover the church's identity as a people sent by God into the world as gospel witnesses.”

He notes that North America is becoming rapidly and increasingly diverse. The US alone has more than 40 million immigrants. In Canada by 2030, the majority of people over 15 years old will be foreign born.

“There are Vietnamese, Afghans, Pakistanis, Indians, Chinese, Korean, Nigerians plus so many more from Latin American countries,” he says.

“They are our neighbors who are part of our community. We can reach the world by reaching neighbors.  Our churches today can be global by acting locally.”

The conference is especially targeted to pastors, lay leaders and anyone who wants to see their church rediscover the call to be more open to their communities.

The keynote speakers are Alan Roxburgh, a pastor, teacher, writer and consultant with more than 30 years experience in church leadership, consulting and seminary education; David Gobbons, pastor of a large church in California and founder and CEO of a venture focused on assisting leaders to activate their future in Christ, and Tim Soerens, an author, speaker, social entrepreneur, and co-founding director of the Parish Collective.

There will be several breakout sessions as well as a separate track for Korean ministry.

Overall, the Summit is designed to provide participants with:

  • Inspirational stories of what local churches are doing to reach their communities.
  • Learning experience from leading experts who have been researching on Missional Church.
  • Opportunity to meet people from various urban and ethnic cultures that exist in the North American context.
  • Resources that will help leaders strategically prepare and initiate GLOCAL ministries.
  • Unique and fun meal times and receptions around GLOCAL TABLE with various ethnic food and drinks.
  • Uplifting worship services led by musicians, poets and artists representing different cultures.

The new expressions of Christianity and new Christian lifestyles that have developed or are developing under the guidance of the Holy Spirit are displayed through many diverse cultures such as African, Indian, Chinese, Korean, and Latin American.

Glocal Church Summit is a gathering place for pastors and lay leaders to explore ways to become racially, culturally and ethnically more diverse than it has ever been before; potentially, therefore, nearer to that “full stature of Christ” that belongs to his summing up of humanity.