Büsingen, Germany – Continuing on its quest to be the church in the 21st century, European Nazarene College (EuNC) will host its annual Leadership Conference, 17-20 January, 2011, with headline speakers Leonard Sweet and Jon Middendorf.
The 150 guests that usually attend include pastors, missionaries, lay people and district superintendents. They come from four fields in the Eurasia region: Northern Europe, Western Mediterranean, Southeast Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
This year the conference will focus on the theme, “We are Salt: The Church as Incarnational, Relational and Missional,” which is described in the Bible in Matthew 5:13 when Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth.”
But what exactly does that mean?
The conference will explore that question by paying special attention to the crucial place of the church in the missio dei (mission of God), asking, “If the church’s mission is to actively participate in God’s mission in the world, how is it done and what does it look like?”
“How can we be the church in the world and go out as we are called to make a difference in the world?” asks Klaus Arnold, the rector of EuNC. “Who are we in God, in Christ, as a holiness church?”
The conference will look at theological approaches to answering these questions.
The two guest speakers, Sweet and Middendorf, will help the participants wrestle with these important aspects of church ministry. Both speakers not only observe and study the latest developments in the church, but are also successful practitioners in God’s kingdom.
Sweet is a world-renowned author of almost 40 books and more than 200 articles; he has been peer-voted “One of the 50 Most Influential Christian Leaders in America” in Church Report. He is also a preacher, scholar and ordained United Methodist clergyman currently serving as the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Drew Theological School in Madison, New Jersey.
Middendorf is the senior pastor at Oklahoma First Church of the Nazarene in the United States. He is known for strengthening Oklahoma First by making it relevant to the 21st century, Arnold said.
The leadership conference at EuNC is a tradition spanning 30 years with themes related to the mission and ministry of the church in Europe. The conferences started before there was even a Eurasia Region.
The question in Europe’s post-Christendom environment of how to be the church in the 21st century has been a recurring conference theme for the past six years.
To plan its conferences, EuNC works with the regional leadership in the fields and districts so the event is not just a school-centered program, but rather in sync with the whole region’s mission.
The conference will be held at the town hall in Büsingen with housing available at the college and in the village. There is limited space available; conference tickets will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis.
For more information on conference registration and accommodation prices, visit the college Web site at www.eunc.edu.
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