Padilla DeBorst to Tell Inspire 2017 Attendees to 'Go and Do'

Ruth Padilla DeBorst, who will be a presenter for next summer’s Inspire 2017, says she yearns “to see peace and justice embrace in the beautiful and broken world we call home.”

For many years the mother, theologian, missiologist, educator, and storyteller has been working toward this end—seeking through the gospel to help make peace and justice real in the world.

In a 2015 interview with the United Kingdom’s Premier Christianity magazine, Padilla DeBorst explained what this gospel of unification means to her.

“The gospel has to do with recovering the vision of good news for the whole of life. That has to do with people; it also has to do with the rest of creation. People were placed to care for the rest of creation,” Padilla DeBorst told Premier Christianity.

“Too often, the gospel has been reduced to thinking about salvation and heaven and eternal life, and [that approach] forgets about the fact that it has to do with the ‘already’ that has broken into history through Jesus Christ and demands our loyalty, our surrender to Jesus as Lord in every dimension of life.”

This is a message she will likely share as part of her presentation at the Christian Reformed Church’s Inspire 2017 event, which runs Aug. 3-5 in Detroit, Mich.

Set in Detroit because of its location along the Canadian/U.S. border, Inspire 2017 is being designed to connect people from the CRC’s 1,000-plus churches for three days of practical workshops, speakers, worship, and conversation.

The goal is for volunteers involved in church ministry at any level to gather in Detroit to refresh, renew, refocus, and reimagine how a shared calling finds expression in local communities and beyond.

Padilla DeBorst’s participation in what is called the “Gathering to Commission” will take place on Saturday morning. During this final morning talk, she will be challenging attendees to “go and do” what God has called and equipped them to do.

Organizers of the event believe her experiences, her passion for good work, and her heart for ministry will pour out to all the attendees to leave them overflowing and eager to continue their service for God’s kingdom.

Padilla DeBorst has been involved in leadership development and theological education for integral mission—mission that integrates evangelism with social responsibility—in her native Latin America for many years.

As a missionary with Christian Reformed World Missions, Padilla DeBorst first served in student ministry with the Comunidad Internacional de Estudiantes Evangélicos, next with Seeds of New Creation—a ministry that trains people for and promotes holistic mission in El Salvador—and later with the Institute ProIntegral Education.

Among other responsibilities, she currently serves as director of Christian Formation and Leadership Development with World Vision International.

Padilla DeBorst lives in Costa Rica with her husband, James Padilla DeBorst, who is also a CRWM missionary. In Costa Rica they share parenting of their blended, multicultural family and live in a small, incarnational, religious community called Casa Adobe.

Padilla DeBorst is the latest speaker to be announced for the Inspire 2017 event. Other mainstage speakers include author and blogger Ann Voskamp, evangelical leader and author Richard Mouw, and internationally known speaker and inner-city Detroit pastor Harvey Carey.

Organizers across North America are hoping to host at least one person from every Christian Reformed congregation and are praying for 2,000 people to attend Inspire 2017.

Meanwhile, a team is forming specifically to pray for all aspects of the event: the speakers, organizers, presenters, facilitators, and all who will attend.

To receive updates about Inspire 2017 and to be notified when registration opens, visit crcna.org/Inspire2017 or join the Facebook event page.