The Program and Arrangements Committee of the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference is shifting away from a long-standing practice of offering “insight sessions” at the denomination’s annual meeting, focusing instead on “equipping sessions.”
Conference planners first began this shift some years ago, gradually working in specific days for equipping sessions at the denomination’s annual meetings. “Now we are asking everyone to make this shift for all of their sessions,” said Annual Conference director Rhonda Pittman Gingrich.
She described the difference between an insight session and an equipping session in terms of the difference between an infomercial in which attendees are given information about a program, versus a workshop in which attendees experience and are given hands-on tools and resources to use in ministry.
The 2022 Annual Conference will renew and expand the emphasis on offering equipping sessions that empower congregations and participants for a life of discipleship and service to Christ and the church. All presenters are asked to plan sessions that are interactive learning experiences, introducing or exploring practical tools, skills, practices, or frameworks that participants can take home with them to enhance their personal or congregational ministry.
Presenters are encouraged, in particular, to plan equipping sessions related to discipleship formation, neighborhood engagement and missional outreach, leadership development, and stewardship enhancement.
For more about Annual Conference and the planning for the 2022 event, go to www.brethren.org/ac.
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