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Dates Are Announced for Next Year’s Church Planting Conference

Save the dates for the next church planting event offered by the Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren. The event is planned for May 19-21, 2016, in Richmond, Ind., hosted in part at Bethany Theological Seminary.

“Reserve the dates and plan to join us as we engage the theme @HIM #Hope #Imagination #Mission,” said an invitation from Jonathan Shively, executive director of Congregational Life Ministries. The theme will explore the deep roots of hope in Jesus Christ which invite us to imagine new and vibrant mission in the world. The gathering will focus on church planting rooted in worship and prayer, while providing practical training, nurturing conversation, and stimulating idea-sharing.

The two keynote speakers will be Mandy Smith, lead pastor of University Christian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Efrem Smith, who returns to the conference again next year after having been a keynote speaker for the church planting event held in 2014.

To help introduce the conference, Shively is sharing a link to an article Mandy Smith wrote for Christianity Today’s “Leadership Journal,” titled “A Theology of Tears”: www.christianitytoday.com/le/2015/may-web-exclusives/theology-of-tears.html . Find out more about Efrem Smith’s ministry at www.efremsmith.com .

While the main emphasis is on church planting and new mission points, anyone who is willing to explore creative ways of shaping communities of faith and service is welcome to attend. The event will include a learning track offered in Spanish and translation will be available throughout the conference.

Information about the conference, the church planting movement in the Church of the Brethren, and reports from prior church planting conferences is at www.brethren.org/churchplanting .

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