February 25, 2016 — As usual for disciples, 2015 was a year of testing and blessing for the Elders Service Team. Two of our couples in particular faced health challenges that forced Gloria Baird to endure a new round of chemo therapy and Wyndham Shaw to take a three-month health sabbatical. Both couples missed the October North American delegates and service team meetings. We ask for prayers and God’s grace for our group as we strive to serve him and allow his power to work through us.On the blessing side, some in our group saw new grandbabies born and joined the “grandparent club.” There were six new grandbabies born among us in 2015, making a total of 72 grandchildren in the group. The Kims, Evans, Craigs and Brushes all had new grandbabies. (No twins were born if you are doing the math. The Evans and Brushes share mutual grandchildren.) The Shaws saw their oldest grandchild baptized and the Bairds, Craigs and Brumleys saw new baptisms —16 of our grandchildren are disciples!

“He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.” — Deuteronomy 7:9

Reach2016

Already over 13,000 are registered for Reach2016 in St Louis. The Marriage and Parenting track has been planned over the last year and promises to be another inspirational and biblical menu of choices. At reach2016.com you can see the topics for a wide range of needs with qualified speakers from many parts of North America. Thanks to Sam and Geri Laing for chairing the sub-committee on family!

New elders

New elders and elderships in the ICOC are a primary goal of our committee. We are especially prayerful about seeing appointments outside the US. It has been encouraging to see elders appointed in Milan, Italy, Paris, France, and Munich, Germany, in the last two years. Fabio Birondi and Marco Fortina were appointed in Milanand now serve with a young evangelist and woman’s ministry leader to shepherd and oversee the church, which has seen steady growth for the last seven years. Pierre Cariven, Brad King, Yannick Le Noan and John McGuirk were appointed in Paris where John and Carol McGuirk also serve as evangelist and women’s ministry leader. The Paris Church of Christ has grown from about 60 to 150 in the last three years.

Also in Europe, the Munich Church of Christ appointed Stephan Kallus and Steve Krater as new elders to oversee and shepherd the church (which recently merged two memberships from previously existing congregations)! The two new elders each came from one of the previous groups serving to better unite the one church in shared convictions, mutual respect, and Christ-like love. The Munich church now has a membership close to 150 disciples. Training continues for elders and elderships in Kiev Ukraine, Lyon, France, and other international cities outside the US. Our 2020 goal is to see over 220 elders in nearly 100 churches when by faith we meet for the World Discipleship Summit in Orlando, Florida!

Peacemakers

Peacemakers are commended by Jesus in Mathew 5:9, and our team has a sub-committee devoted to conflict resolution. Walter Evans continues to do a great job chairing this sub-group and the Delegates approved a Conflict Resolution Protocol published on Disciples Today. The process starts within the local church, then the regional family of churches, and then appeals for Elder Service Team help if situations remain unresolved. This process continues to be used around our worldwide fellowship.

Staff retirement best practices

Finally, last year the elders successfully initiated a best practices staff retirement proposal which was assembled and submitted by the Communications and Administration Service Team to the proposal process. After global review and input, these best practices were adopted by the delegates and recommended to be initiated in our churches wherever possible.

Respectfully,

Al Baird, Phoenix

Ron Brumley, San Diego

John Brush, South Florida

Larry Craig, New York

Israel Ereola, Lagos

Walter Evans, Philadelphia, Asst. Chairman

Darren Gauthier, Chicago

Bill Hooper, Dallas

Frank Kim, Denver

Sam Laing, South Florida

Dan Liu, Hong Kong

Wyndham Shaw, Boston, Chairman

The Service Team continues to thank God, the churches and all the saints for the spiritual growth that has taken place in our ministry to the poor. We are inspired by the tireless efforts put forth by each disciple on behalf of those in need.

Church Relations and Communications Subcommittee:

• Gifts given to the 2015 International Day of Giving totaled $1,370,285 which was approximately the same as 2014. Although we fell short of our increased goal, we are hopeful that we will see an increase in 2016 with many church leaders pledging their support
• 12 churches participated in the 2015 IDG that did not participate in 2014
• In response to the devastating earthquake in Nepal in April of 2015, HOPE worldwide raised almost $200,000 to help with the immediate relief efforts and long term re-building efforts
• We were very proud that HOPE worldwide was given a full day at the Delegates meeting in Jamaica. Robert inspired those in attendance to support HOPE worldwide in our efforts to help the poor and needy around the world
• ICOC Delegates overwhelmingly approved the new HOPEww/ICOC Alignment Proposal intended to provide guiding principles for our on-going partnership as HWW and ICOC leaders seek to fulfill the mission of Jesus: to preach, teach and to heal (Matthew 4:23)

Community Service Subcommittee:

• 2016 Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service: Volunteers across the U.S. honored and promoted the spirit of Dr. King with acts of service during the past weekend and on Monday’s national holiday.  More than­­­­­­10,500 volunteers served over 32,000 people, logging 48,000 hours in 34 states at 283 service sites coordinated by 53 HOPE worldwide Chapters and nine additional organizations who were awarded sub-grants from HOPE worldwide through funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). These volunteers promoted fire safety and disaster preparedness, painted community centers, organized food pantries, read to children about non-violent ways to address conflicts and donated blood among many other events.
• In October 2015, Southwest Florida became HOPE worldwide’s 100th Chapter! Since that time, Syracuse and Wilmington (North Carolina) have also been added as Chapters.
• HOPE worldwide North American Chapter leaders gathered in Tampa, Florida the weekend of December 4th to share how they are making a difference in their communities and learn from each other. The theme of this year’s Think Tank event was “A New Beginning.” Together, HOPE worldwide Chapter leaders explored creative ideas to help Chapter volunteers find new and meaningful ways to serve their communities. A number of Chapters and individuals were also recognized for their outstanding service and achievements.
• The Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter volunteers responded to disasters over the Christmas weekend as storms and tornadoes flattened homes in Garland, Texas. HOPE worldwide volunteers cleaned up debris throughout the community.
• The National Youth Advisory Council continues to grow and expand as more than 60 high school and university students have been selected to help mobilize youth for service in the U.S. and Canada. These students organize local service days in their communities, assist with our HOPE worldwide Chapters, and are frequently asked to serve as youth advisors to the White House. In fact, recently one member, Taylor Erickson, was asked to show a video that he produced about health insurance at a White House event!
• In December 2015, Antonio Boyd was honored at the Think Tank as he concluded his tenure as Vice President of Community Service at HOPE worldwide. The HOPE worldwide Chapter structure and community service programs throughout the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean are indebted to Antonio’s vision and hard work. Until a replacement is determined, Robert Carrillo has stepped in to help continue this vision to engage even more church members in community service and volunteerism.

Disaster Response Subcommittee:

• The disaster relief protocol was activated for various disasters to check on local ICOC churches and HOPEww affiliates, including Ukraine conflict, Burundi conflict, Nepal earthquake, European Syrian refugee crisis, and India flood; where HOPEww take actions to support local efforts on the ground.

• No official church appeals requested for disasters in 2015; however, overflowing support was raised by various churches and general public through HOPE worldwide. In Nepal, $100,000 was raised along with about $500,000 of in kind supplies in Nepal. Thirteen thousand blankets and 3800 tents were distributed, along with 5,000 lbs of food supplies. Later on, 50 temporary shelter and 20 temporary classrooms built. Twelve families of disciples are also assisted in rebuilding their homes. Rebuilding efforts are still delivered.

• In Ukraine, the appeal was done by church-to-church approach to support the ministries. However, moved by God’s compassion, disciples in Ukraine through HOPEww Ukraine decided to help the refugees and requested HOPEww supports. later on, HOPEww Canada also took part in the effort.

• In Burundi, the political conflict caused security issues that drove people out of the country. The church requested for help, and HOPEww utilized a reserve fund raised by a disciple to support the affected disciples.

• In West Africa, HOPEww continues to work with local churches in Ebola awareness and relief.

• In India, a horrible flood took place in Chennai. The needs were assessed to help some disciples repair their homes. In addition to the recommendation from disaster relief sub-committee for regional support, HOPEww supported the relief with $10,000 through HOPEww India.

• In the European Syrian refugee issue, HOPEww swiftly conducted an assessment by contacting various HOPEww organizations and churches in Europe. The fluid situation that is constantly changing caused hesitation by European teams to respond. In Munich, local disciples and church actively took action to provide relief, of which HOPE worldwide decided to support. Robert Carrillo, new HOPEww CEO, was on the ground in Europe to assess the needs himself, and is working to address the needs.

Going forward:

• With the resignation of Sheridan Wright from the sub-committee, David Kim (Los Angeles) was recommended by John Causey to join Mark Templer (Dubai), Josue Ortega (El Salvador), and Charles Ham (Indonesia) in the sub-committee.

• One pending issue for the sub-committee is its recommendation to start a “ICOC Disaster Relief Reserve Fund,” where a small fund of $5k or $10k can be released quickly (24hrs) based on a church affected by disaster, and can be replenished later on. With the increasing trend of man-made disasters (conflicts), this idea should be strongly considered soon in 2016.

• Disaster Readiness and Preparedness training is needed in several high risk regions where many disciples reside, including Central and South America.

Governance and Risk Management Subcommittee:

• Transition from Affiliate to Member Status: HOPE worldwide is actively in the process of transitioning from the current affiliate structure with our programs in other nations, to a membership structure. Under the membership structure, there are three key elements of a HOPEww organization becoming a Member which serves to raise the organization’s standards of excellence, improve their coordination and reduce liability of HOPEww HQ.

1. 1. Online membership application form: Provisional membership will be extended to applicants who meet certain standards. Recommendations will also be made for provisional members to improve their governance as they seek permanent membership.
   2. IPLA (Intellectual Property and Licensing Agreement): This agreement will help protect the HOPEww brand around the world.
   3. Member Grant Agreement: Each member who receives funding either from or through HOPEww HQ will sign an agreement which binds them to adhere to anti-terrorism policies and also requires them to submit project designations, specifying and budgeting their use of funds.

• David Blenko, HOPE worldwide’s Chief Governance Officer, retired as of February 1, 2016. David has served HOPEww for many years and has left an indelible impression, primarily in the improvements he has made to the governance of HOPEww. Barbara Porter will be assuming some of his responsibilities as well as managing the transition from Affiliate to Member.

Members:

John Causey (chair) – Los Angeles, CA

Mark Templer (co-chair) – Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Doug Arthur – Boston, MA

David Kim – Los Angeles, CA

John Brush – Miami, FL

Herve Fleurant – San Antonio, TX

Darren Gauthier – Chicago, IL

Bill Hooper – Dallas, TX

Gregg Marutzky – Omaha, NE

Ray Nadon – Anchorage, AK

JP Tynes – Orlando, FL

Robert Carrillo (HOPEww) – San Diego, CA

Charles Ham (HOPEww) – Jakarta, Indonesia

Mandy Jordan (HOPEww) – Philadelphia, PA

The Evangelist Committee had a full and productive year in 2015. We are excited about the fresh perspective brought by the 40% new members to the team after the most recent selections for the next three year term. Douglas Arthur was chosen as the chairman for the next 18 month term. With all of the transition, we are developing a tremendous spirit of unity and passion to fulfill our charge in serving the brotherhood.

We continue to progress in our four primary areas of focus: Global Missions, Church Growth, Kingdom Events, and HOPE Realignment. Following are specific reports from each of those sub committees with the progress and development they have experienced through April 2016.

Church Growth Subcommittee Report

Chairman: Randy McKean

Report from Jamaica Meeting October 2015 (includes history)

1. Membership: (men) Koko Enrile; Jeff Wong; Ron Quint; Randy McKean

2. History:

• At the Jamaica Meeting in October, Ron and Randy were added to this group as they were added to the Evangelists Service Team; Mike Fontenot had served as the Chairman of this committee but is no longer serving on the EST; Koko acted as the Interim Chairman; Randy was asked to become the Chairman.
• In Singapore, Mike Fontenot presented to the Delegates Meeting that a plan was needed to provide help and encouragement to congregations that had not been growing in the past 3+ years. Concept included Chairmen of Family Churches identifying and dealing with their non-growing churches. If there was a continued lack of growth, it would come to the EST. It would then be determined if help outside the family of churches was needed.
• It was decided that the way to define church growth is membership + baptisms + restorations – membership withdrawals = real growth (idea that people should not feel penalized by move-aways and not be credited for move ins).
• Unresolved: when to collect stats. 1 or 2 times per year?
• Questions asked: How to help the big churches grow? (ratio of number of disciples to grow by 1 much larger in the big churches than in smaller churches) / What is the definition of a healthy church?

3. Vision:

• Help for churches that are not growing in a positive and not a punitive way. Assume everyone wants to grow and assume that those who are growing want to grow more. (Assume the best of each other.)
• Have a CULTURAL EVOLUTION in our churches in how people (including leaders) can be made to feel. (‘I’m in trouble’; ‘I never do enough’; ‘I’m not good enough’; etc) Positive preaching and positive discipling taught and practiced reducing dramatically the number that walk away from our churches every year…6500 to 7000 using 2014 & 2013 stats. For every 1000 who do not walk away, it would represent about a 1% increase in worldwide growth.
• Making people experience and feel that their lives have been made so much better by being in the kingdom. Programs, opportunities and help at critical times in life that make a significant and unforgettable (and un-walk-away-able) impact.
• Understanding and having sensitivity to the different seasons of people’s lives.
• Women feeling fulfilled, needed, teaching women, having more marriage opportunities.
• Having a teaching program (kingdom-wide? / by world regions? / by nations?) for the membership so that everyone has the opportunity to learn the basics to build a strong, effective, lifetime Christian life. This would include the needed training/information for people to bring people to Christ. This being done to have significantly more people being baptized into Christ (approx. 8000 per year now…every extra 1000 baptisms would represent about a 1% increase in growth worldwide) as they are rooted in the Word more effectively, and so, helping them to remain faithful. Ratio now worldwide (using 2014 & 2013 stats) is that it takes about 13 disciples per baptism per year and it takes about 40 disciples for an increase of one disciple per year.

4. Timeline:

• March meeting having some specific goals with specific time lines.

Gathering the Team (February 2016)

The team is:

1. Mohan Nanjundan: Leads London Church / on the evangelist’s service team…great sustained growth for the last 3 years
2. Koko Enrile: Leads Manila Church / on the evangelist’s service team
3. Jeff Wong: Leads Hong Kong Church / on the evangelist’s service team
4. Todd Asaad: Leads Dallas Church / Fastest growing church over 1000 members Growth over last 8 years = 38%
5. Rob Skinner: Leads Tucson Church / Fast growing re-planting from 0 to 100
6. Chester Umaguing: Leads Colorado Springs Church / Taken over a non-growing smaller church and moving it forward
7. Randy McKean: Leads Northern Virginia Church / on the EST…fastest growing church for last 8 years (140 to 460) with churches ranging from 200-499 members.

March 2016 Meeting in LA

Randy, Jeff and Mohan met together for discussion (Koko was unable to make the meeting due to the death of his mother). Randy met with Todd for discussion.

1. Atmosphere:

• The need to take a positive approach
• Trust people’s heart they want to grow and give God the glory
• Not ‘in trouble’ feeling
• We are all together in this great endeavor
• Don’t know the challenges by just looking at stats
• Acknowledge difference in openness / different fields

2. Using the organization we presently have

• The 32 Church Family Region Leaders
• Identify churches that need help to grow
• Work with the one who wants the help the MOST
• Focus on them for 6 months…not worrying about the others
• NOTE: if it’s a large church then focus on a region
• Those who don’t desire the help…maybe trust issues…will in time want help as they see how others are treated with respect, love and they see the progress made
• After 6 months decide to stay focused on the same place or to focus on another
• This would mean that in a year approx. 40-50 churches would be significantly helped. Maybe 30 would make significant progress…in 3 years over 90 churches would make significant progress
• A key is to develop a culture of wanting to be helped … and so not wasting time where the help will not be wanted and so not impactful
• This does not overwhelm the main leader because he let’s go of what he is not focused on.

3. A cultural evolution in our churches.

• Has to do with how we make our members feel (in trouble, never do enough, never good enough, a negative environment, what you’ve done wrong instead of what you’ve done right, seasons of live sensitivity, figuring out people)
• Instead of get more baptisms (which Bible never says)…get more faith and more love…the two things the Bible consistently calls us to have more and more of…an increasing amount.
• Faith and love are POSITIVE…our churches should be the most positive places on earth!
• People need to be taught how to love
• 9000 come in and 7000 go out each year for an increase of about 2000 or 2.3%.
• Way too many walking out
• Change the culture and in 3 or 4 years could reduce walk-aways by 50% and that alone would increase growth by 3.5%

4. Global Kingdom Training for Members

• We have kingdom kids curriculum
• We have global ministry training
• What if every church has Kingdom Training … so when people move they know where they are at in their training and the leadership knows where they are at….to ensure a strong foundation

We requested a time with all the 32 Family Region Leaders in St Louis to explain this.

HOPE Transition Subcommittee

Chairman: Sam Powell

The HOPE Transition Subcommittee is assigned the task of realigning HOPE worldwide with the ICOC family of churches as expressed in the HOPEww / ICOC Alignment Proposal passed enthusiastically by the Delegates in 2015. Though HOPEww is dear to the hearts of our disciples and is an icon in our fellowship, the relation with many of our churches has been far from ideal. This has led to churches focusing on local projects while losing interest and connection to HOPEww as a worldwide benevolent effort. Consequently, financial support has dwindled to the point where HOPE has struggled to meet its financial obligations. The HOPE Transition team is assigned the task of reshaping our relationship with HOPEww and getting US churches giving at a productive level.

Only 42 of 158 churches in the U.S. meet the goal of $1 per member per week. The HOPE Advocates team, a group of influential church leaders and supporters of HOPEww, was formed to assist in the HOPEww reconnection effort. In February of this year this group met in San Diego with Robert Carrillo and walked away with a faithful plan to meet the $1 per member goal. Those attending the meeting were Doug Arthur, Dave Mitchell, Michael Lamb, Ken Lowey, Terri Loso, Ed Anton, Andy Erickson, Brian Perkins, Jon Sherwood, Matthew Smith, Todd Asaad, Ron Conklin, Matthew Bridges, Carmen Hamilton, Jim Mackie, John Lusk, Darren Overstreet, Karla Overstreet, Bill Ellis, Kelly Saindon, Steve Morici, Tony Newsom and Shane Engel.

Members of this group who were in L.A. for Service Team meetings convened to revisit plans for HOPEww. Regular meetings will continue to take place as we work to meet relational and financial goals for HOPE worldwide.

Kingdom Events Subcommittee Report

Chairmen:  Mike Taliaferro, Ron Quint

The Events Subcommittee main initiative over the fall of 2015 and first quarter of 2016 has been to draw up the Non-profit Proposal. (See attachment). Steps going forward will include: 1) Getting feedback 2) Incorporating feedback 3) Putting it to a vote 4) Forming and setting-up the non-profit and its governance.

During the meeting in Long Beach we also discussed how to enhance the quality of our large events. For the Global and Continental Summits, we identified the need for a manual to guide those hosting these events. We recommend that Jeff Mannel and his team develop this as they finalize the St Louis Summit. We also recommend that the bid process for hosting a summit remain formal and be done six years out from each summit.

For International Leadership Conferences, we recommend an ongoing review of past events. We’d like to see the 2016 ILC Director A.T. Arneson and this year’s ILC planning team put together a manual to pass on to future ILC planners. We see value in the following: 1) Clearly delineating the approval process for lesson titles and topics, speakers and teachers 2) Having a checklist of components of the ILC 3) A peer review of the entire program in advance 4) A site visit when it is in a new and unfamiliar location 5) An after-event review to add to the ongoing pool of best-practices knowledge. We recommend that the bid process for ILC remain formal and be done four years out from the event.

For meetings of Delegates we see the need to make clear that future meetings are worldwide delegate meetings. We’d like to hear feedback on how the continental delegate meetings were received. We recommend that the bid process for future delegate meetings be handled at each Delegates meeting and decided two years out from the event. We recommend this same procedure be adopted for the bid process regarding the hosting of Committee meetings. Finally, we recommend the development of an official events schedule through the year 2024.

Finally, at our meetings in St. Louis in July we intend to discuss the life span and future of the events subcommittee. Is there a way to set up these functions and processes so that they can be entrusted to appropriate individuals?

Global Missions Strategy Team Update

Chairman: AT Arneson

Team: AT and Marci Arneson, Doug and Joyce Arthur, John and Barri Lusk, Chris Zillman, Mike Rock, Sebastian Serra, Chris Ogbonnayo, Rafael Lua

The Global Missions Strategy Team (hereafter, GMS) began its work in 2012, coming out of the World Discipleship Summit in San Antonio. Early on, the goal was to evaluate global progress in regard to the dedication of resources (people and money) in the various missions efforts going on around the world. This first “wave” of work became known as GMS 1.0.

Heading into the 2014 International Leadership Conference in Singapore, GMS 2.0 continued the effort of gathering missions information from across our entire fellowship. Additionally, GMS 2.0 added a focus on the positives and negatives of our missions work in the past (the World Sector model) as well as what was evolving in our current missions work – Missions Societies. In our presentation to the delegates in Singapore, the GMS more clearly communicated the vision of reforming a more definitive structure that would include all of our churches around the world. Our vision was to officially embrace the formation of Missions Societies that serve, quite literally, every nation in the world. We also emphasized the “Cost of Chaos,” presenting a challenge for the delegates to count the cost of “doing” as well as the cost of “not doing.”

Coming out of the Delegates meetings in Jamaica we officially entered the next phase of work for the GMS team – GMS 3.0. At this time, our goals were to finalize a comprehensive evaluation of our connections, collaborations and efforts in all 667 churches in the world. Our sights were set first on the recent Service Team meetings in Long Beach and second on the Reach2016 Conference in St. Louis in July.

We spent the months between November 2015 and March 2016 compiling and publishing a draft of a booklet that comprehensively gathers all of the data and missions information in one place. The draft of this report was printed, handed out and presented in LA. Though not complete, the information contained within this report shows that we (ICOC global fellowship) have made huge strides in developing a definable structure for missions since Singapore. In fact, 14 Missions Societies have emerged and include the collaborative efforts of a large percentage of giving churches.  The churches connected in one of the 14 missions societies are giving in greater measure, training future leaders in greater number, and finding themselves connected to their targeted receiving churches more consistently and definitively.

The sights of the GMS are now set on the Reach2016 Conference. We are working to finalize and polish the ICOC Missions Report in full. A copy will be handed to every attendee of the ILC. In addition, we are working to invite each of the board members and church leaders connected to the Mission Societies to a luncheon meeting on Wednesday, July 6 at Reach. It is here that we will give a full update and cast our vision for how we can best strive to fulfill the goal of going to all nations. Finally, we are working to produce a powerful nation countdown video that will accompany the main session gathering on Saturday night of the Reach2016.

Please pray for us to have energy and clarity as we work to finalize our plans and vision for greater unity, faithfulness and collaboration across our global fellowship. To God be the glory.

The beautiful artists haven of Santa Fe, New Mexico played host to 52 diverse couples representing 25 of our churches in the western United States, Canada and the Philippines for the 10th annual Western Elders Conference.  The group honored John and Nancy Mannel for their leadership through the years since the inaugural conference began with just 21 couples.

Sam and Geri Laing of the South Florida Church of Christ taught powerful lessons on the theme “Give Me the Hill Country” for these elder couples and those aspiring to serve. Roger Lamb presented a world report from Disciples Today and an update on the leadership collaboration for the International Churches of Christ.

The Greater Albuquerque Church of Christ served as marvelous hosts for this year’s conference thanks to the leadership of Keith and Lynne Page Rasmussen, Josh and Stacy Peterson and Armin and Megan Day.

Next year’s conference will be hosted by the Seattle Church of Christ from March 23-26.

Footnote: After the Mannels served in Chicago and Los Angeles for many years, they moved to St. Louis a couple of years ago when they financially retired. On Sunday, May 1, their son Jeff Mannel appointed John as an elder in the Gateway City Church that is hosting Reach2016 in July.

May God bless each of these couples and raise up many more.

2016 Delegates Mtg and ILC

Our annual ICOC Delegates Meeting and the biannual International Leadership Conference are crucial to our global unity, direction and relationships. As has been announced for some time, these meetings are being held in St. Louis in conjunction with the Reach2016 conference that has over 13,000 people already registered! Please note these dates and register right away if you have not already done so. 

Service Team Meetings

Sunday, July 3 – Monday, July 4. Please check with your Service Team Chairman for times and locations.

Delegates Meetings

• Magnolia Hotel (Next to the Grand Marriott and one block from the Convention Center)
  • Monday, July 4: 1-5 pm
  • Tuesday, July 5: 9 am – 5 pm
• Monday, July 4, 7-10 pm: July 4th Celebration at the Four Seasons Hotel, 6th Floor Terrace

International Leadership Conference

• Marriott Grand Hotel
  • Thursday, July 7: 9 am – 5 pm
  • Friday, July 5: 9 am – 5pm

Click here to register today and see the other info on Reach2016. All registration and housing inquiries should be addressed to Reach2016 through their website.

Our March meeting in Orlando proved once again to be a time of inspiration, forward thinking and a realization of the huge task at hand to fulfill our mission. 2017 brought several new sisters into the women’s service team as others transitioned out. This team consists of the Elders Service Team wives and the wives of those on the Evangelist Service Team. The women on the Teachers’ Service Team have also been a part of the group. Together, we try to keep issues pertinent to the sisters around the world in focus as we seek to fulfill our team’s purpose.

The mission of the women’s committee is: Inspiring women globally to grow spiritually, connect, and advance the gospel. 

In the most recent gathering of the women’s service team several topics were discussed. Our first discussion point was in regards to the functioning of the women’s service team going forward. A question was raised as to whether we continue to need a women’s service team and why? We addressed this question and discussed what the ideal functioning women’s service team would look like.

The following were some of the conclusions that were reached:

• The Women’s Service Team (WST) would unite women, as sisters, across all of our fellowship globally.
• The WST would work as a communication hub to the sisters globally and to our global leadership structure for women’s issues and topics.
• The WST would act as a conduit to the sisters worldwide of resources including devotionals, good news, lessons and other spiritual influences.
• It should be a group that reaches women multi-generationally and concerns itself with issues from every stage of life.
• The WST would represent the voices of women across every demographic represented in our global fellowship.
• The WST would work hand in hand with the other service teams to provide ideas and contributions for the advancement of our vision across the world.
• The WST seeks to be a strong support to the brothers who serve on the evangelist and shepherding service teams.
• The WST would have as a main objective the training and maturing of female leaders, full-time or non full-time, in our churches.

How We Get There

In Orlando, a task force of 12 women was created to discuss and propose the best way for the women’s service team to be structured. Keeping in mind the priority purposes of training leaders, providing connection and unity, and maturing the women in leadership roles throughout our fellowship. The task force will be talking monthly for the next six months leading up to our meeting in Panama City. The goal is to have a proposal that can be presented to the current women’s service team by the time we attend the 2018 delegates meetings.

As a second discussion point, we affirmed a decision to continue utilizing a globally recognized day to highlight our vision as women. The global “International Women’s Day” takes place every year on March 8th. The 2018 theme for us was “Press for Progress” so on March 7th of 2018 we had a day of prayer and fasting for the sisters in all of our churches. Then on March 8th the sisters around the world acted on that prayer and “pressed for progress together” as they served God in whatever way God has so moved them. We feel this event was both unifying and productive and can continue to serve as an annual event for our sisterhood. Our goal is to continue to capitalize on this day each year. Annually we will come together in a variety of ways so we, as sisters, can meet the needs of the women around us, reach out to the lost, and honor God in a very unified expression of our faith. Our vision is to see a greater level of unity through prayer, servitude, Bible studies, meeting the needs of the poor, or even rallying women to hear God’s word preached at conferences around the world.

You can read about this year’s exciting time and all the ways God has moved by clicking on https://pressforprogress.wordpress.com/

Also please note this important website providing resources for growth and inspiration, Women Today .

Our committee consists of the following women: Kim Evans – Elders Wives Service Team Chair. Marci Arneson – Evangelist Wives Service Team Chair

Wives of Evangelists Service Team : Rolayo Ogbonnaya (Lagos); Vicky Auki (Nairobi); Faridah Enrile (Manilla); Caroline George (Bangalore); Siu Wai Wong (Hong Kong); Anne-Brigitte Taliaferro (San Antonio); Patty Asaad (Dallas); Marci Arneson (Chicago); Joyce Arthur (Boston); Kay McKean (N.Virginia); Renee Quint (Los Angeles); Tatyana Zhuravlev (Moscow); Helen Nanjundan (London); Tatiana Kravetz (Kiev); Silvia Mendez (Mexico City); Sarai Serra (Buenos Aires)

Wives of Elders Service Team : Jeanie Shaw (Boston); Abigail Ereola (Lagos); Gloria Baird (Phoenix); Sally Hooper (Dallas); Elexa Liu (Hong Kong); Pat Brush (S. Florida); Linda Brumley (San Diego); Mary Lou Craig (New York); Geri Laing (S. Florida); Kim Evans (Philadelphia); Erica Kim (Denver); Sharon Gauthier (Chicago); Erlyn Sugarman (Los Angeles)

Women of the Task Force Team : Kim Evans, Jeanie Shaw, Marci Arneson, Anne-Brigitte Taliaferro, Tammy Flemming, Irene Renton, Megan Biley, Lauren Malcolm, Carol McGuirk, Erica Kim, Rolayo Ogbonnaya, Sherie Gayle.

Women on the Teacher’s Service Team : Deb Anton (Virginia Beach), Tammy Fleming (Kiev), Suzette Lewis (Toronto), Kay McKean (N.Virginia)

The Elders Service Team has had a busy year as we continue helping develop elderships all around the world.

Elders Handbook:

One of the ways we hope to help churches in the future is that we have almost finished an elder handbook with articles from each member of the service team addressing specific teaching on the qualities, roles and function of elders. This will be a resource for churches to use as they help men rise up and serve in the vital role of an elder as our churches mature. In April the very first elders among our churches were appointed in South America (Buenos Aires) and in Central America (Mexico City)!

Elders Directory:

Another project has been discovering the names and contact information of elders in churches from every corner of the world. A request was sent to our churches to provide this information and a preliminary list was completed in March 2018. It was exciting to see that churches responded with the names of over 215 men who serve in this capacity. It was quickly discovered that this list needed to be amended with information that had not been sent or with the appointment of new elders in various churches worldwide. This list of elders will be finished soon.

Subcommittees:

The various subcommittees have been engaged in the roles that have been assigned to them throughout the year.

• Peacemaking (Conflict Resolution):  There is a continual need for prayers as we navigate the conflict resolution process in various churches. This difficult task is very competently led by Walter Evans, with the Elders Service Team a resource for those situations that remain unresolved. This resource continues to be used in our worldwide fellowship.
• The Marriage and Family  subcommittee is actively involved in the training of our youth. A  Kingdom Kids Task Force  under the oversight of the Elder Service Team has been formed. It is actively researching and discussing the direction and teaching of our children in our family of churches.

Elders Service Team : The membership on the Elders committee has gone through some major changes in the last few months. Sam Laing moved to South Carolina in November 2017 and then decided in January 2018 to step down from the committee due to the limitations of his time. Israel Ereola from Nigeria made the same decision in February as it became necessary for him to focus on the needs of the Nigerian churches. They became emeritus members of the committee joining Ron Brumley in that status. Other challenges to our membership have been the continued health challenges for the Shaws and Bairds. Wyndham and Al have been able to participate in the discussions and decisions, but their travel to the meetings have been curtailed due to their situations. Please continue to pray for Gloria and Wyndham.

One of the results of the changes and challenges in our membership is that we see clearly the need to add more elders to the committee. The desire is to add elders from outside the United States to give a global perspective. Names of men from different families of churches have been nominated and we are in the process of reviewing their qualities and enlisting the help of churches they serve in helping determine if this would be a good role for them to serve in. We hope to have several to meet with by the end of the year and use the delegates meeting in Panama as one of the venues to accomplish this.

ICOC 3.0: Forward by Faith:

Finally, elders from the Elders Service Team have been very involved in the ICOC 3.0 discussions and proposal process that began over the last few years. Walter Evans was chosen as chairman of the Peacemaking (Conflict Resolution) Task Force and Dan Liu as Chairman of the Finances Task Force. Several other elders served on the proposal committees to aid in the ICOC 3.0 process as we make decisions how to operate as a family of churches in the future. Please continue to pray for these men, their wives and families as they shepherd.

Chairman: Walter Evans (Philadelphia)
Eldership Development: Al Baird (Phoenix), Wyndham Shaw (Boston)
Marriage and Family: Frank Kim (Denver)
Conflict Resolution: Larry Craig (New York), Walter Evans (Philadelphia)
Unity: Darren Gauthier (Chicago), Jerry Sugarman (Los Angeles)
Prayer and Comfort: Bill Hooper (Dallas)
Minutes and Communication: John Brush (Miami), Dan Liu (Hong Kong)

* Emeritus members of the service team: Ron Brumley (San Diego), Israel Ereola (Lagos), Sam Laing (Myrtle Beach)

The churches in Central America are grateful to host the ILC and Delegates meeting in Panama from October 2-5. We hope and pray that God will use this time to strength the unity among our churches and to move forward by faith. We are also eager to welcome you to our Central American Conference from October 5-7.

Please join us as we celebrate our God who is Almighty!

Josue Ortega, Central America Regional Chairman

Registration:

• Click here to register
• Early Registration ends May 31: $250
• Regular Registration June 1 – August 31: $270
• Late Registration after September 1: $300

Hotel:

A Study of the Statistical Narrative of the International Churches of Christ (ICOC)

Andy Fleming – Kiev, Ukraine

Abstract

2018 International Leadership Conference in Panama City, Panama

In the book of Acts, Luke takes us on an amazing spiritual and visionary journey of faith. In the “Acts of the Apostles” Luke, with great detail in describing both trial and victory, shows us how the early church developed, overcame, and moved forward by faith.

Luke wrote both the gospel that bears his name and the detailed story of the early church in Acts. As a matter of fact, Luke’s authorship of this two-volume set makes up more of our New Testament, word for word, than any other single author including Paul.

Scholars have noted that a broad view of Luke’s work shows a purposeful intent that may not be immediately evident. There is a hidden gem within the pages of Luke’s writing that is called a “geographic chiasm,” meaning that through the Gospel of Luke and into the book of Acts the author takes his readers on an intentional patterned journey.

Luke’s gospel begins in the hills outside of Jerusalem where Jesus launched his ministry. From there it progressed to Samaria, Judea and finally into Jerusalem. The book of Acts is an opposite mirrored journey—beginning in Jerusalem the disciples are told they will reach Judea, Samaria and even to the ends of the Earth. The culminating moment, the center of all that Luke writes, is found where the gospel ends and where Acts begins—at the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus; the cross.

At the 2016 “Reach” conference the theme of the ILC was centered on Luke’s gospel journey to Jerusalem and ultimately the cross. It is the purpose of this ILC program to present the second part of Luke’s intent; the journey from the cross to all nations. It is our intent at this 2018 ILC to present a series of classes coming out of the book of Acts that examine Luke’s brilliant pattern of spiritual development and eventual world-changing impact from Jerusalem and ultimately forward by faith to the ends of the earth.

FORWARD BY FAITH

Our theme for the 2018 ILC is “Forward by Faith.” The classes on Day 1 will be an examination of the first half of the book of Acts. This day’s goal will be to present sharing and teaching that examines each chapter leading up to the Jerusalem council. With these early chapters we look for the principles and themes surrounding topics like prayer, courage, great preaching, the power of personal ministry, meeting the needs of the poor, and the role of the Holy Spirit in leading us forward. This first day will conclude with a panel discussion centered on Mexico City story. We will hear about a humble request for help by one of the largest churches in our fellowship, and how the Mexico Central Missions Society stepped up to produce a team of brothers and sisters to help support our brothers and sisters in Mexico City.

Day 2 will pick up in Acts 15. The men and women will separate for the morning sessions and hear teachings beginning with the Jerusalem council. From there the men’s and women’s breakout classes will continue on a journey into the lives of some of the prominent men and women we see highlighted in the book of Acts. The afternoon session will bring us all back together for some focused teaching on topics relevant to our global fellowship at this hour. This session will feature experts addressing subjects in a “TED Talk” format.

Day 3 we will begin with various reports and conclude with a final session that will send us off filled with a spirit of unity, faithfulness and courage for the days ahead.

The overall goal of this ILC is for the spiritual leaders across our global fellowship to gather together and make decisions to reach for a unified vision. At the end we hope that our hearts are challenged, repentance is gained and God is glorified as we leave this ILC spurred on to seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteous to the ends of the earth.

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

9:00 a.m. FORWARD BY FAITH: LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT (Acts 1)  (Rafael Lua – Los Angeles, U.S.)

When we look at the whole book of Acts we see a people who were intent on moving forward no matter what it took. And indeed the only way to move forward is by faith, not knowing what to expect yet believing it will be life changing. Their need for the Holy Spirit before going out was so important that Jesus told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem. Jesus had prepared them for the comforter mentioned in John 14 and 16. They were to wait to be filled with the Holy Spirit’s power before going out to witness. The Holy Spirit showed up in Acts chapter 2 and the rest is history! The apostles and the added members went on to experience amazing feats by the work of the Holy Spirit. The book of the Acts of the Apostles is sometimes referred to as the Acts of the Holy Spirit. This class will enable the leaders to realize the need and the ensuing impact of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

11:00 a.m. Morning Breakout Class Session

BREAKOUT CLASS #1 (ACTS 1)

• Why Do You Stand Here? Getting Our Churches Moving (Mike Fontenot – Sydney, Australia and Dinesh George – Bangalore, India)

The opening chapter of the books of Acts is filled with very relatable and very human responses to the situation at hand. As the resurrection begins to sink into the hearts of the disciples they find themselves wondering about the vision, wondering about what will happen next and some are even doubting. At one point, as Jesus ascends into the sky, the disciples are confronted with a question, “…why do you stand here looking into the sky?” This may be the greatest rhetorical question ever asked! The insinuation is that it was time to get going. Using this amazing chapter, this class will speak to a leader’s motivation, how to get things moving when they are stuck and how to capture a vision that inspires others to move forward.  

BREAKOUT CLASS #2 (ACTS 2)

• What We Have Seen and Heard: Powerful Preaching, Leadership, Evangelism and Results (John and Carol McGuirk – Paris, France)

One sermon on Pentecost turned the world upside down! A great number of people believed, were cut to the heart and baptized. What can propel such an unimaginable event? Peter, who stood up and spoke, was a different man. The power of the Holy Spirit had transformed him to preach with such boldness and clarity that the response of those who heard was miraculous. This same Holy Spirit, is also within us today. Allow Him to stir us and may our testimony save thousands!

BREAKOUT CLASS #3 (ACTS 3)

• The Power of Your Personal Ministry (Sajjan Sharma – Springfield, MA and TBD)

Opportunities to change the world don’t always come with great events, usually they occur during normal, daily activities such as praying and creative ministry approaches. Peter and John are given an opportunity to preach Jesus during the course of a normal day. As leaders in God’s kingdom, we can not only change the lives of the lost for eternity but also motivate our churches to great growth during the course of normal, daily events.

BREAKOUT CLASS #4 (ACTS 4)

• What Boldness Looks and Acts Like (Nelson Barreto –  Santiago, Chile and Chris Reed – Stockholm, Sweden)

The boldness captured in the book of Acts was not a boldness of human origin but of God. In Acts 4, as the persecution ramped up in intensity, the disciples rose up to meet the challenge through greater proclamations and more powerful times of prayer. Peter’s words resonate to this day, “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” And of course later in this chapter the disciples gathered to pray and, “…the place where they were meeting was shaken.” This class will examine the need for bold characteristics to be evident in our efforts to evangelize the world.  

BREAKOUT CLASS #5 (ACTS 4-5)

• None That Were Needy Among Them (Dan and Elexa Liu – Hong Kong, China)

As Luke moves to the end of chapter 4 and into chapter 5 he describes the continuing effectiveness of the disciples in their outreach and the  escalation of the hearts of the disciples to be sacrificial. As a result, it was said of the church, “There were no needy persons among them.” This class will examine how we can strive to make these same claims. Is there a connection between powerful evangelism and meeting the needs of others? How do we reach parts of our mission field that pose huge obstacles? What are creative ways to find ourselves impacting the lives of others? These questions and more will be explored in this class.  

12:30 p.m. LUNCH BREAK

1:30 p.m. Afternoon Breakout Class Session

BREAKOUT CLASS #1 (ACTS 6)

• The Good in Every Problem (Tomm and Laurie Wilson – Milwaukee, U.S.)

The Detroit Turnaround Story…Acts chapter 6 presents the development of a significant problem in the early church. As the church continued to increase in number, some of the needs among the disciples were overlooked; the Grecian widows were overlooked in the daily distribution of food. As this potentially damaging problem was addressed God moved to raise up leaders, meet the needs and continue to see the church grow. Good can come from the problems we face in the ministry. This class will focus on the principles that can help guide leaders to face ministry problems with faithfulness and resolution and then watch God move in powerful ways to bring resolution and victory.

BREAKOUT CLASS #2 (ACTS 7)

• Knowing Our History: Restoration and the Story of Us (Andy Fleming – Kiev, Ukraine and Ed Anton – Hampton Roads, U.S.)

Why was Stephen so bold before the high priest? It was because he knew his people’s story and how the early church fit into God’s plan. This class will explore how we, as a movement of disciples of Jesus, with our restoration history, fit into God’s plan. What helped us to grow in the early years? How can we learn from our history and also be creative as we look with vision to the future? This class will explore our history and connect that story to our continuing vision to impact the world to the Glory of God.

BREAKOUT CLASS #3 (ACTS 8)

• Unless Someone Explains it to Me: Building a Powerful Teaching Ministry (Gregg Marutzky – Antelope Valley, U.S. and Steve Kinnard – New York, U.S.)

Acts chapter 8 describes a remarkable moment where Philip is led out into the desert to meet an Ethiopian Eunuch reading from the book of Isaiah. At one point the Ethiopian asks Philip to explain the scriptures to him. Romans tells us, faith comes from hearing the Word. It is a powerful thing to develop a strong teaching dynamic in our churches. From teaching and training future leaders to expounding on God’s Word to maturing disciples, a teaching ministry can solidify the conviction and faith of the church. This class will explore the benefits of developing a teaching ministry. How can this ministry be used to strengthen the church and attract those seeking to understand the Bible?

BREAKOUT CLASS #4 (ACTS 9)

• Winning the Leaders of Tomorrow: Converting and Raising Up Leaders (Flavio Uribe – Bogota, Colombia and Tom Brown – Atlanta, U.S.)

Saul was not the most likely candidate to be a disciple. Yet this man who had been breathing murderous threats against those who followed the Lord could not resist the presence of Jesus, Paul would go down in history as one of the most influential of Christian leaders.  Our churches need leaders today who will influence a whole new generation. The presence of Jesus in our lives can change even the most intimidating of non-believers. Let us model Jesus as we convert and raise up leaders who will change this world. This class allows us to sit at the feet of some who are seeing great victory in raising up a new generation of leaders.

BREAKOUT CLASS #5 (ACTS 10)  (Chris Ogbannayo – Lagos, Nigeria, Losha Kravets – Kiev, Ukraine and Alexey Zhuravlev – Moscow, Russia, Michael Burns – Minneapolis, U.S. and Tamara Grossett – Phoenix, U.S.)

• Culture, Race, Bias and the Gospel: God Wants All People to be Saved

Like the world of today, in the world of the early church there were cultural influences, religious perspectives and biases that the disciples had to overcome. In Acts 10 ,God grabs the attention of Peter and through a trance-induced vision, destroyed the dividing walls between the Jews and Gentiles. For the Jewish disciples, Acts 10 eventually brought the realization that the Gospel would have unlimited reach across all nations. This class will honestly address some of the cultural phenomena we are facing in the world today. From tribalism in Africa, to military conflict on the Russian and Ukrainian borders, to race relations in the U.S.; what are the cultural pressures we must overcome to more effectively proclaim the gospel? What are the biases, stereotypes, and other entrenched beliefs that we can eliminate to love more in a way that saves as many as possible.

3:00 p.m. THE MEXICO CITY STORY: A PANEL DISCUSSION (Javier Amaya – Boston, Ruben DeAnda – Los Angeles, U.S, Andoreni Flores – Mexico City, Mexico, Humberto Vargas – Mexico City, Mexico, Doug Arthur – Boston, U.S, Luis Mendez – San Diego, U.S.) 

Mexico City has seen many tremendous victories in the past couple of years. From the development of the school of missions, to the appointment of elders, to thousands gathering for congregational worship and last but not least, a rejuvenation of growth and faith. This session will explore the efforts made on a leadership level and the results brought by God to see an amazing turnaround story in Mexico City. In keeping with the spirit of the book of Acts, this story will remind us that God works in powerful ways when we are unified in our vision.

4:30 p.m. Day One Ends

7:30 pm  Regional Communications Directors Meeting

Thursday, October 4, 2018

9:30 a.m. ALL MEN’S SESSION

FORWARD BY FAITH: PLEASING THE LORD (Acts 15)  (Harliem Salim – Jakarta, Indonesia)

God communicates his overall will to us with power and clarity, but we don’t always know the exact path he has planned for us. Uncertainty can paralyze us with doubts and anxiety, but the early disciples did not let confusion stop them. They allowed differing opinions and conflict to temper and strengthen their faith. The confusion and conflicts of Acts 15 proved to be a pivotal time that moved the early church forward by faith.

9:30 a.m. ALL WOMEN’S SESSION

FORWARD BY FAITH: PLEASING THE LORD (Acts 15) (Vania Djohan Salim – Jakarta, Indonesia)

God communicates his overall will to us with power and clarity, but we don’t always know the exact path he has planned for us. Uncertainty can paralyze us with doubts and anxiety, but the early disciples did not let confusion stop them. They allowed differing opinions and conflict to temper and strengthen their faith. The confusion and conflicts of Acts 15 proved to be a pivotal time  that moved the early church forward by faith.

WOMEN’S PROGRAM – MORNING SESSION Only – DAY #2

11:00 a.m. Breakout Classes – Session 1 (Women’s Program)

CLASS #1 – The Women Who Prayed: They All Joined Together Constantly in Prayer (Anne-Brigitte Taliaferro – San Antonio, U.S.  and Tess Fontenot – Sydney, Australia)

Jesus was and always has been on the cutting edge of empowering women in the ministry. Both in the gospels and in Acts women play a prominent role in the ministry of Jesus. The early chapters of Acts describe the power of prayer among the disciples. The women were a part of the spiritual force coming from prayer. This class will center on what it means to be a spiritual woman. What is the role prayer plays in setting the ministry up for success? How can prayer be a more effective way for women to serve in empowering the work of the ministry?

CLASS #2 – Lydia – A Worshiper of God – Calling Great Women to Great Faith (Caroline George – Bangalore, India and Tammy Fleming – Kiev, Ukraine)

Lydia was a worshiper of God and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the message. Immediately after her baptism she boldly entreated Paul and his companions to stay at her house.  Are we calling the worshipers of God to respond to his message and become women of great faith? To boldly take initiative and make a difference?

CLASS #3 – Priscilla and Aquilla: A Partnership that Changes the World (Patty Asaad – Dallas, U.S. and Leanne Martin – Granite City, NH – U.S.)

Priscilla labored side-by-side with her husband to advance the gospel. In every reference after their initial introduction, she is mentioned first and takes an active role in the ministry and in teaching. This class will explore how talented women can augment their partners by boldly using their gifts. What does an empowered women’s ministry role look like in today’s world? What are the best practices we see in women’s ministry in our fellowship? This class will explore the power of a spiritual woman’s presence in the ministry.

CLASS #4 – Tabitha: Goodness as a Quality that Matters  (Jacqui Morici – Los Angeles, U.S. and Rolayo Ogbannaya – Lagos, Nigeria)

Acts chapter 9 describes a woman from Joppa named Tabitha. Tabitha was known as a woman who was, “…always doing good and helping the poor.” Tabitha was a beloved sister to many of the disciples. In Acts chapter 10, Peter describes Jesus as one who went around doing good. Goodness certainly has a role in our world today. From a Christian perspective what is “goodness”? What would goodness look like in our lives as sisters? How can we imitate Jesus and imitate our sister Tabitha in embracing this important quality today?

12:30 p.m. LUNCH BREAK

ELDER’S PROGRAM – MORNING SESSION Only – DAY #2

12:30 p.m. LUNCH BREAK

MEN’S PROGRAM – MORNING SESSION Only – DAY #2

11:00 a.m. Breakout Classes – Session 1 (Men Program Only)

CLASS #1 – Peter’s Transformation: From Denial to Pentecost  (Todd Asaad – Dallas, Texas and Sebastian Serra – Buenos Aires, Argentina)

For the first 10 chapters of the book of Acts, Peter is a prominent leader and integral part of the development of the early church. Peter’s courage, his faith, his sacrifice and his preaching set an example that inspire us today. However, Peter went through a transformation. In the 50 days from the death of Jesus to the day of Pentecost, Peter was transformed into the great man of God we see in Acts. This class will examine Peter’s transformation from the denial of Jesus to the undeniable man of faith who could not help but speak about what he had seen and heard.

CLASS #2 – Barnabas – Defining Encouragement, Humility, and Devotion (Emmanuel Koffi (Herve Fleurant translates) – Cote d,Ivoire, West Africa  and Ron Hammer – Los Angeles, U.S.)

Barnabas played the role of peacemaker by bringing Saul to the apostles and helping to develop a powerful team. He encouraged Saul and helped him reach his potential. Barnabas was truly a son of encouragement, humility and devotion.

CLASS #3 – The Influence of Paul: Defining Relationships In and Out of the Church (Daren Overstreet – Seattle, U.S. and David Noronha – Mumbai, India)

As Peter and John step off the pages of the book of Acts, Paul and his many relationships step in. How can strong leaders develop relationships that glorify God and move the kingdom forward?

CLASS #4 – The Man from Macedonia: When a “NO” Becomes a “YES” (Sam Powell – New York, U.S. and Mohan Nanjundan – London, England)

Paul had dreams and visions. On this occasion he was not disobedient to the vision of the Macedonians, but concluded that it was the Spirit of God calling. Many times when our plans are denied we ask why without waiting to reach the end. Because of Paul’s obedience, the jailor and Lydia together with their entire families  became Christians. This class will help us learn to trust God even when it doesn’t make sense.

12:30 p.m. LUNCH BREAK

AFTERNOON SESSION BEGINS – MEN AND WOMEN TOGETHER

2:00 p.m. “TED Talk” Formatted Classes – Afternoon Session (all in one room for 4, 20-minute talks)

TED TALK FORMAT TOPIC #1 – Sharp Disputes: Handling Conflicts Well (Acts 15) (Dave Jung – Winnipeg, Canada)

Background is necessary in order to understand the issues that led to the historic decision made in the Jerusalem Council.  How did the dispute come to this point? Who were the main characters involved and what were they espousing? The Bible gives us a glimpse into what some may deem as an unsavory time in the church.  Let’s learn together about how to apply the principles of conflict resolution in Acts 15.

TED TALK FORMAT TOPIC #2 – Many Nations; One Family: An Acts 15 Hermeneutic on Diversity and Culture (Ben Barnett – Atlanta, U.S. and Michael Burns – Minneapolis, U.S.)

This class will be a continued look at Acts chapter 15 from more of a practical application viewpoint. Jesus calls us to go into all the world knowing that the diversity of humanity will be both a challenge and a strength of God’s people, ultimately showing true love to the world. This talk will inspire us to consider how we may use our “Identity of Diversity” to more courageously proclaim the power of Jesus to a divided world.

TED TALK FORMAT TOPIC #3 – Shipwrecks and Snake Bites: Trouble Come My Way  (Mike Rock – Los Angeles, U.S. and Sami Sakakini – Amman, Jordan)

We have all seen and personally experienced trials and challenges in the ministry. The disciples in the book of Acts also faced significant challenges ranging from direct persecution, shipwrecks and even snake bites. What is the source of our own contentment as we face these trials? How do leaders find encouragement and address stress while pursuing our vision to evangelize the world? This class will address how to traverse ministry hardship with a spirit of joy and faith.  

TED TALK FORMAT TOPIC #4 –  Changing the World by Loving the Poor (Robert Carrillo – San Diego, U.S.)

From the day of Pentecost forward we see the early disciples sharing with each other, making great sacrifices to meet needs, even selling their possessions and laying the money at the apostle’s feet in great trust that God would use the resources powerfully. Challenges arose, but once overcome, the church continued to thrive. Hope Worldwide will be featured in this talk addressing how we can continue to work together to meet the needs of the poor amongst us and the poor in the world at large. In this way, better proclaim the fullness of the gospel to the glory of God.

4:00 p.m. Day #2 Afternoon Session Complete

7:00 pm Continental Groups

Friday, October 5

9:00 a.m. MORNING SESSION BEGINS – ALL ATTENDEES TOGETHER

TO BE INCLUDED IN THE MORNING ACTIVITIES

• 3.0 UPDATE – Douglas Arthur
• WOMEN’S SERVICE TEAM – Marci Arneson and Kim Evans
• 2020 WORLD CONFERENCE – Marshal Mead
• HOPE worldwide Report – Robert Carrillo
• Disciples Today Updates – Roger Lamb

FORWARD BY FAITH: WITH ALL BOLDNESS (Acts 28:31) (Mike Taliaferro – San Antonio, U.S.)

In the closing verse of the book of Acts, speaking about Paul, Luke wrote, “Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” These words are the perfect closing summary to all that the book of Acts captures. This closing session will send us forward to proclaim God’s Kingdom and to lift up Jesus in both word and deed with all boldness.

Planning Committee Members: AT and Marci Arneson, Todd and Patty Asaad, Rafael Lua, Koko Enrile, William Auki, Sebastian Serra, Josue Ortega, Pedro Garcia Bengochea

Local Team: Josue Ortega, Peter Garcia Bengochea

2018 Continental Conference Host and Oversight: Josue Ortega

Much of the focus of church administrators over the past several months has been the consideration of the various proposals of ICOC 3.0. The Administration Service Team exists primarily to assist with the effective implementation of the church’s evangelistic vision and to support the ministries both locally and globally. As decisions on ICOC 3.0 are considered and finalized over the rest of calendar year 2018, the Administration Service Team will strive to ensure that policies and procedures are made available to ministries around the world as needed.

In addition to the implementation of ICOC 3.0 decisions, the AST will continue to address a number of ongoing projects. These include:

• Establishing training programs for church administration, whether ‘global’ in the event of major developments like ICOC 3.0 or regional training (basic or intermediate)
• Supporting the recruitment of administrative personnel, which could include volunteers as well as paid staff
• Developing and maintaining administrative support resources, for example: compensation model libraries, retirement program guidelines, employee benefit program suggestions and/or reference guidelines
• Identifying issues (whether legal or social, etc) that affect our ministries, with suggestions and/or referrals to appropriate support
• Forging the paths to provide support, guidance, etc for ministries outside the U.S. – transcending the developed world, US-centric procedures and assumptions (a great amount of development is needed that is appropriate to and/or applicable to very different societal, governmental, and legal contexts).

Leadership Plan

The term of the current chair, Tom Briscoe, ends in October 2018, and the team is considering nominations for his successor. The Service Teams are also focusing on ongoing leadership development, with the intent to establish succession plans and Assistant Chairs.

Team structure & organization

Vision – to provide support to ICOC ministries to maximize the sustained growth and strength of the work of the Lord.

The current membership and structure of the Admin Service Team include:

Team Membership and Committees

• Human Resources Committee (including Compensation, Benefits, Employment Practices): Steve Smith, Chair – Dallas, Texas; Christen McDuffee – Boston, Massachusetts; Gary Slebodnick – Boston, Massachusetts; Tom McCurry – Los Angeles, California
• Compensation Subcommittee: Gary Slebodnick – Boston; Steve Smith – Dallas
• Leadership Development: Members under consideration
• Governance (including Board, Legal, Policies/Procedures): Cheryl Kaplan – Northern Virginia; Paul Ramsey – Columbia, South Carolina
• General Administration (including Accounting, Taxation): Connie Beene, Chair – New York City; Vivian Hanes – Atlanta, Georgia; Brian Gross – St. Louis, Missouri
• International Administration: Paul Ramsey, Chair – Columbia, SC; Christen McDuffee – Boston; Paul Rowden – London, England
• Risk Management (including Liability Insurance): Tom Briscoe, Chair – Dallas, Texas; Cheryl Kaplan – Northern Virginia; Paul Ramsey – Columbia, SC

For more information on the ICOC 3.0 discussions and our Delegates and Service Teams, click here.

October 1, Monday Afternoon Session

MC: Mohan and Helen Nanjundan, London

• 2:00 pm  Singing, Prayer – Welcome by Josue Ortega, San Salvador, El Salvador
  • “For Such a Time as This” – Chris Ogbonnaya, Lagos
• 3:00 pm  Final Presentations of ICOC 3.0 Proposals by Task Force Chairmen
  • Coordinator: Jeff Wong, Hong Kong
  • Communications – (10 minutes) Justin Renton, Johannesburg
  • Global Missions – (10 minutes) AT Arneson, Chicago
  • Finance – (10 minutes) Dan Liu, Hong Kong
  • Conflict Resolution – (10 minutes) Walter Evans, Philadelphia
  • Structure – (20 minutes) Dinesh George, Val Koha, Ed Anton, Ron Conkling
• 4:00 pm  Prayer Groups – Randy McKean, Northern Virginia
• 4:15 pm  Break
• 4:30 pm  Task Force Q&A
• 5:30 pm Welcome Dinner sponsored by Central American Churches

October 1, Monday Evening Session

MC: Luis and Sylvia Mendez, San Diego

• 7:30 pm  Singing, Prayer
• 8:00 pm  “One in Heart” – Koko & Faridah Enrile, Manila
• 8:30 pm  Prayer Groups
• 8:45 pm  ICOC 3.0 Voting – Roger Lamb, Disciples Today

October 2, Tuesday Morning Session

MC: Mike and Anne-Brigitte Taliaferro, San Antonio

• 9:00 am  Singing, Prayer
• 9:30 am  Voting Results and Follow Up Vote if needed
• 10:00 am  “Not My Will But Yours Be Done” – Todd Asaad, Dallas
• 10:30 am  Break
• 10:45 am  Communications Updates – Justin Renton, Johannesburg
• 11:00 am  Global Update – by Continent (7 minutes each)
  • Coordinator: Sam Powell, New York
  • Australia – Dave Bliley, Auckland, New Zealand
  • Asia – Godwin Chan, Hong Kong
  • Europe / Eurasia – Misha Brück, Munich, Germany’
  • Africa – TBD
  • North America – Guillermo Adame, San Diego
  • Central & South America – Sebastian Serra, Buenos Aires
• 11:45 am  Prayer for Continents
• 12:00 pm  Close to morning session – Voting Results
• 12:15 pm  Lunch
• Women’s Service Team Lunch – Oceana Restaurant

October 2, Tuesday Afternoon Session

MC: Humberto and Miriam Vargas, Mexico City

• 2:00 pm  Singing, Prayer
• 2:30 pm  “Throughout All Generations” – Doug Arthur & Kevin Miller, Boston
• 3:15 pm  Next Steps – Each task force outlines plan for implementation & handouts
  • Ron Quint, Coordinator
  • Communications – (5 minutes) Justin Renton
  • Global Missions – (5 minutes) AT Arneson
  • Finance – (5 minutes) Dan Liu
  • Conflict Resolution – (5 minutes) Walter Evans
  • Structure – (5 minutes) Dinesh George
• 4:00pm  Prayer by Continental reps
• 4:30 pm  Close

“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then…I will know that you stand firm in one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.”  – Philippians 1:27

The Philippian church and even the city of Philippi was built on an exceptional experience of grace. Responding to that grace, this Macedonian church became a benchmark for unity, trust and support to other churches. That same grace fuels us now as we cooperate and collaborate in a great exercise of collective self-evaluation. Together, we strive to better conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of grace. And together we strive to firm up our unity, trust, and support for all 690 churches throughout 148 countries in our fellowship.

After receiving input from over 2500 leaders around the world, five global Task Forces have been working on proposals that comprise the ICOC 3.0 initiative in the focus of communications, missions, conflict resolution, structure and finances. The ICOC Delegates gave tremendous input and direction last October at their Chicago Meeting. During the Spring Leadership Meeting in Orlando in April, the Task Forces received helpful feedback from 32 regional chairmen and the service team chairmen as well as from the elders, evangelists, teachers and women service teams. The proposals were distributed widely and took shape for general feedback. And now, as of July 1, the task forces have integrated all relevant feedback to publish final proposals. These proposals can be found here: ICOC 3.0 Proposals.

We encourage all church leaderships to fully engage, discuss, deliberate, even fast and pray about these proposals and communicate your thoughts to your respective delegates. On October 2-3, 2018, the Delegates cast votes at our Panama meeting. The results of the voting will then determine direction and timelines to move us all “forward by faith.”

These final proposals represent the distillation of countless hours of prayer, fasting, surveys, deliberations, dreams, discussions, and conferences. The process has strengthened our unity, our love, and our respect for one another. The proposals are not panaceas. But they do address real opportunities to better conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel. Please pray for God’s grace and God’s will to guide us.

Ed Anton (Teachers Service Team Chair)

Walter Evans (Elders Service Team Chair)

Doug Arthur (Evangelists Team Chair)

ICOC Delegates Ballot

Delegate Name:                                                  

Regional Family:                                                 

POLICY: Service Teams nominate. Delegates are to send any additional nominations willing to serve to Roger Lamb before the Delegates Meeting. Voting takes place at the Delegates Meeting. Terms are for 3 Years.

See Delegate Roles and Responsibilities on icocleaders.org

YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICE TEAM CHAIRMAN

• Service Team Nominee: Damon Curtis, Houston
• Write-in:                                                 

ADMINISTRATION SERVICE TEAM CHAIRMAN

• Service Team Nominee: Paul Ramsey, Austin
• Write-in:                                                 

2018 ICOC Proposals Ballot

Delegate Name Printed:                                                 

Regional Family Printed:                                                 

PROXY VOTES:   If you are submitting a proxy vote for a Delegate, please print the Delegates name and print your name and add the word PROXY on the ballot.

The Principles: Collaboration and Cooperation

Our cooperation principle with each other is open and honest, respectful discussion, prayerful voting and respectfully supporting the majority decision.

The ICOC 3.0 collaboration reaffirmed the crucial areas of consensus among us:

• We are and want to be a global family of churches.
• We are committed to God’s mission to evangelize the world.
• We need to change to be more effective.
• There is a wide lack of understanding of how our current global leadership works.
• All decisions will be made with broad input, honesty, transparency and respect

 Voting Principle:  Any proposal approved must receive at least a majority of 51% of votes cast.

Three Task Forces are proposing more than two choices:

COMMUNICATIONS vote for one of 5 icons representing the International Churches of Christ. If there is not a clear majority design winner, a second vote will be taken on Tuesday between the two that received the most votes on Monday.

STRUCTURE and FINANCES:  vote for one of 3 proposals. If there is a clear majority (51%) for one of the Structure or Finances proposal after the first vote, there will be no need for a second vote. If there is not a clear majority for one Structure or Finances proposal, a second vote will be taken on Tuesday between the two proposals that received the most votes on Monday. This will assure a clear majority final decision. With this in mind, please come prepared for the possibility of the second votes on Tuesday.

ICOC 3.0 Proposals

Conflict Resolution Task Force Proposals

• A Global Approach to Conflict Resolution: Local and regional approaches should always be used first as exemplified in Matthew 18. However, when local and regional leadership cannot resolve conflict their members will suffer unless there are other options for appeal through a global group.
• A Regional Approach to Conflict Resolution: Create volunteer regional conflict resolution group in every regional family of churches and call it the ‘Conflict Resolution Team’ (CRT).

Global Missions Task Force Proposals

• Self-Governance Approach – Mission Society Self Governance Model: While we currently have a spirit to cooperate, the mission societies largely operate independently of one another. In this model the connections, sharing of best practices, sharing of resources (people or financial) is done at the invitation or initiation of one Mission Society to another.
• Cooperation Approach – Task Force Model: This model officially recognizes the need for a coordinating task force to connect and help in the ongoing development of the 14 Mission Societies. Acting as a sub-committee of the service teams this task force would be made up of trusted leaders whose charge would be to serve and facilitate the connection, education, and communication of each mission society to all of the others.

Structure Task Force Proposals

• Structure Option B: Regional Family Based Organization
  • Organizational Principles:
    1. Representation and Effectiveness
    2. Checks and Balances
    3. Competency and Empowerment
    4. Simplicity and Scalability
    5. Transparency and Trust
    6. Organizational Components
  • Structure Principles:
    1. Representatives of the 32 Regional Families of Churches replace Delegates
    2. Leadership Team
    3. Board of Overseers
• Structure Option C: Region Building Teams
  • Guiding Principle: Boost both intentionality and diversity of representation; shift focus of delegates from legislation to region-building leadership
  •  Each Region should assemble a team of Region builders that include chairman, elders, administrators, secular and church leaders, women’s ministry leaders, teachers, campus ministers, youth ministers and administrators
  • Region Building Team: the Regional Chairman, women’s ministry leader, potential successor to Chairman plus additional representatives based on size.
  • Diverse continental leadership team provides coordination of Region Building Teams
• Structure Option D: 2.1
  • Adjust the current system of Delegates to increase effectiveness. No need for additional changes.
    • Delegates
    • Regional Family Chairmen replace Evangelist Service Team
    • Catalyst Team selected by Regional Family Chairmen

Finances Task Force Proposals

• Global Funding Proposal: A global financial reserve will be established, including the creation of a nonprofit corporation to hold the bank  account(s) and a governing board to oversee the collection, management and disbursement of money. This would include funding for fellowship wide entities like Disciples Today and ICOC HotNews.
• Regional Funding Proposal: Each regional family of churches would be responsible for their own budget, paying for travel costs of regional representatives as well as the cost of desired regional and global programs.
• Status Quo Funding: The current approach to funding international needs: No global or regional funds or reserves will be kept. Churches and mission societies can consider building reserves.

Communications Task Force Icon Proposal

The ICOC Icon Contest resulted in 108 unique submissions from 55 people in 20 countries. These five were selected by the Communications Task Force, Communications Service Team, Campus Service Team and the Regional Communications Directors.

Please vote for one design that would be represented in all ICOC logos of any language.

Selection Principles: 

• Uniqueness
• Globally applicable
• Reflect our beliefs and not look corporate: Disciples of Jesus. Unified. Diversified. Global family. Mission.
• Represent the future of our movement

On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. – 2 Corinthians 1:11 NIV

In the Northern Hemisphere,  this weekend marks the end of the summer season. Most kids are back at school on Monday, many colleges and universities are starting back up, and most all of those who were lucky enough to to surf, loaf, bake on a beach, and maybe chill at a cottage somewhere are getting ready for September and autumn. What have the ICOC teachers been up to this summer? Here’s a smattering of a few of our ICOC teachers’ recent endeavors:

After 34 years teaching chemistry and physics, Dr. John Oakes (San Diego, California, USA) officially retired in June 2018. So what does retirement look like for a disciple of Jesus Christ who is also a recognized Biblical author and teacher? John kicked off his retirement with a self-funded three- week missionary teaching trip to Russia, Japan, Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan. Read about what he learned and what he taught on this trip here, at www.evidenceforchristianity.org.

John Oakes (third from left) about to depart from Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan, after several days of teaching and fellowship with Central Asian disciples. L-R: Sasha Tsoi of Tashkent, Uzbekistan; Lina Morozova, women’s minister from Moscow, Russia, with her daughter (fourth from left) and husband, Evangelist Nikolai Morozov of Moscow on the far right; John Oakes; Dima Mungalov of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan; Vladimir Abdullayev of Almaty, Kazakhstan; Andy Fleming of Kiev, Ukraine.

John taught a series of lessons on the Book of Luke at the INSPIRE International Singles Conference in Phoenix from Aug 31-Sept 1.  Notes, power point and audio will be posted at evidenceforchristianity.org  In addition, he will be teaching a four-part series on Daniel in September and October, as well as a six-part series on the Book of Acts. Be looking for all materials at the website, or if you live in the San Diego area contact him for information so you can attend (john.oakes@gcccd.edu).  Also, John is teaching a class on the Book of Hebrews with Robert Carrillo for the Los Angeles School of Ministry and Missions September 13-14. Click here if you are interested in attending. Lastly, John and Jan will be traveling to Israel, Amman Jordan (10/30-11/3), Beirut Lebanon (11/3-11/6) and Cairo, Egypt (11/6-11/12) for a missionary teaching trip October 22-Nov 12. If you can attend any of these meetings or want more information, contact John about these meetings.

Douglas Jacoby also taught in Lagos in August. He led a series of MTA / AIM lessons on Biblical Interpretation to 60 West African leaders, “powerful Christian men and women who want to make a difference in the world,” said Jacoby. He then traveled to several locations in Congo, and taught on Acts Chapter 2, Biblical Interpretation, and Prosperity Theology (or the “health and wealth” gospel). After a few weeks at home,  he plans to return for another teaching tour in  South Africa, Botswana, and Malawi in September.

Disciples of Christ say hello in Victoria Island, Nigeria.

See his notes from the month of August, below:

• Co-teaching with Gilbert Kimeng.
• Learning that Gilbert, along with Nigerians Emmanuel Emeh (my former AIM student), and Fred George (one of my M.A. students at Lincoln Christian. University), were officially recognized as teachers
• This parallels the good news in Latin America a few months back, when colleague Arturo Elizarrarás appointed three teachers in Mexico.
• Spending time with Geoffroy Gankoue-Dzon, church leader in Congo (Brazzaville) and presidential advisor (his full-time job).
• Not having to worry about ebola, as the previous outbreak had officially died out, and the latest outbreak is still in the far east of the country.
• Talking theology with Moses Gad.
• Spending fellowship time with cheerful and grateful Congolese – after all they have been through (civil war, pillaging, rape, murder, malnutrition, corruption, and grinding poverty).

To read more from Douglas Jacoby, you can subscribe to his newsletter at www.douglasjacoby.com.

Gordon Ferguson (Dallas, Texas, USA), beloved author of 15 books, continues a prolific writing ministry at the wizened age of 75. Keep up with his new blog on racial issues at www.blacktaxandwhitebenefits.com

Dr. Glenn Giles at the Rocky Mountain School of Ministry and Theology (Denver, Colorado, USA)  reported that, “perhaps the highlight of this summer is the extent and quality of growth God has given us at RMSMT. We now have 74 RMSMT students worldwide. We have ICOC students from more and more nations applying to take courses. These students reside in the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Kenya, Burundi, India, Sri Lanka, Russia, Mongolia, South Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Haiti, Bangladesh, Trinidad, UK, Northern Ireland, Canada, Columbia, Mexico, and the United States. We now offer 4 Master of Arts Degrees: MA in Biblical Studies, MA in Biblical Studies with Languages (we are beginning a year of Biblical Hebrew this semester, Greek next year), MA in Christian Ministry, and MA in Christian Counseling (this degree just officially began this fall). It was so heartening to hear of three of our students just being appointed Teachers in Lagos this last week. In addition, we are planning to have our first graduation ceremonies this coming May, 2019!”

Andy and Tammy Fleming (Kiev, Ukraine),  have been in Kyrgyzstan this summer, for a serendipitous overlap with John Oakes, teaching at the largest gathering of disciples from the five churches in Central Asia in fifteen years – 65 adults plus 43 teens and preteens came together for the first ever Central Asian Youth Corps. Some of these churches – all in mostly Muslim nations – are very small and isolated; only one of the five has a legal right to assemble.

Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan: Andy and Tammy Fleming with a group of parents from the five Central Asian churches.

Andy has recently published two significant papers, “Let Each One Be Careful How He Builds,” an investigation into the circumstances that led up to the crisis of 2003 in the ICOC, focusing mostly on church-building strategies and leadership organization; and “Giving Thought to One’s Ways,” an introduction to practical theology and a survey of sociological literature regarding new religious movements and the effect of charismatic leadership.

Dave Pocta (San Antonio, Texas, USA)  has just finished a teaching tour, speaking at the Northwest Churches’ Conference and teaching nine days for the church in South Korea.

Michael Burns (Roseville, Minnesota, USA),  following on the heels of his timely and much-appreciated work, Crossing the Line: Culture, Race and Kingdom, has published an introductory article for a new book soon to be published, The Power of Story to Divide or Unite Us.

Michael and MyCresha Burns.