Global Mission and Congregational Life programs combine dinner events at 2007 Annual Conference.

A dinner on the theme, “Growing the Church--The Anabaptist Way,” combines annual dinner events of Global Mission Partnerships and Congregational Life Ministries at the Church of the Brethren’s 2007 Annual Conference. Both are ministries of the Church of the Brethren General Board. Craig Sider, bishop of the Atlantic and Southeast Conferences of the Brethren in Christ Church, is the keynote speaker.

The dinner will be held during the week of the Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, June 30-July 4. The dinner is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. on July 3 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Sider has oversight over 86 congregations and is considered his denomination’s most successful church planter. “Both Global Mission Partnerships and Congregational Life Ministries have a shared interest in evangelism and church planting, so a speaker such as Bishop Sider brings new insights and challenges from his years of experience in growing the church in Canada and the US,” said Merv Keeney, executive director of Global Mission Partnerships.

Carol Yeazell, interim director of the Congregational Life Teams, added, “His gifting and experience are applicable to both local church development and international mission. He is considered an apostle in his denomination, one who is a missionary. Church planting has international ramifications, of course, but our country is becoming a new mission field. Missional church development is reaching out to the unchurched communities. With immigration, many nations have been coming to us.”

The acclaimed Three Rivers Jenbe Ensemble of Fort Wayne, Ind., will also perform at the dinner. This drum and dance group consists of 8- to 17-year-old African American children and youth who preserve authentic African traditions through study, performance, and community involvement.

For more information, contact Janis Pyle, coordinator for mission connections, at 800-323-8039, ext. 227, or jpyle_gb@brethren.org.

Source: 06/06/2007 Newsline Extra