Home Missions Helps Conferees Fight Fuel Cost
Even though gas prices continue to climb at an alarming rate, plenty of people will still be heading to Lombard, Ill., next month for In Community, Christian Reformed Home Missions’ Small Group & Evangelism Conference.
That’s because Home Missions is providing free round-trip bus transportation for hundreds of conference goers from Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, to the conference, which is geared toward small group leaders, including Coffee Break and Story Hour leaders and pastors or other ministry leaders with a heart for evangelism.
On the morning of July 18, Home Missions' buses will leave from Pella, Iowa, and Grand Rapids, Mich., making stops at several CRCs before arriving at the Westin Hotel in Lombard for the three-day conference for small group leaders and others involved in church ministry.
In addition to providing conference attendees with an environmentally-friendly way to travel to Lombard, Home Missions is also making it easier for people to bring a guest to the conference.
Through Home Missions’ “Buy One Bring One” promotion, attendees have the chance to receive one free conference registration when they register for the conference. Using this offer, attendees can bring a friend, spouse, or colleague to the event.
As soon as Home Missions announced this offer one week ago, calls started coming into the Grand Rapids office to reserve seats on the buses. One of the callers was a Michigan pastor who plans to take a large group from his church on the bus.
To date, close to a 100 people are scheduled to ride the buses. The “Buy One Bring One” offer is also attracting new conference registrants, like a woman from Honduras now joining, at no extra charge, her friend who had already registered for the conference.
In Community will feature inspiring keynote speakers, including Rev. Harvey Carey, the energetic founder and senior pastor of the Citadel of Faith Covenant Church in Detroit, Mich., and Timothy Brown, president of Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Mich. In Community also features 37 breakout sessions, as well as a range of small group training and networking opportunities. To register or to learn more about the conference, visit www.crhm.org/conference.
- Ben Van Houten, CRC Home Missions
