The 2014 round of GCI regional conferences in the U.S. was completed recently in Orlando, Florida. Attendance was up overall from previous years. In addition to the Orlando site, conferences were held in Ontario, California; Vancouver, Washington; Chicago, Illinois; Somerset, New Jersey; Lexington, Kentucky; and Dallas, Texas.
The 2014 conference theme, GCnext: Sharing Jesus’ faith, love and hope, refers to our progress toward GCI’s future (GCnext), which means a Spirit-led journey forward sharing in Jesus’ own faith, love and hope. The theme scripture for the conference makes reference to this vital “faith triad”:
We continue to remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:3).
Plenary conference presentations were given by Dan Rogers on faith, Joseph Tkach on love, Greg Williams on hope, and Gary Deddo on how all three interrelate in the person and work of Jesus. A fourth plenary session featured GCI members sharing stories about what they see the Holy Spirit doing in and through their churches and ministries. It was a highlight of the conference to hear the variety of ways the Spirit is helping us participate in what Jesus is doing to fulfill the Father’s mission to the world. These stories showed the great resourcefulness and creativity being displayed by GCI members as, together, we journey, on mission, with Jesus.
We’ll let you know when videos of the plenary sessions are posted online. In the meantime, here are some pictures from the Dallas and Orlando conferences:
