One Body, One Spirit - 2025 Regional Conference
Summer is rapidly approaching, and with it our Regional Conference in July. Anyone who has been able to attend regional events in the past—such as youth retreats or leadership conferences—knows what a blessing it can be to connect with those outside our own communities who are following the same call and way of life God has called us to. Unlike those events, this conference is intended for any adult member of our communities. It is a unique and exciting opportunity to build relationships across communities, call each other on, and learn more about what God is doing in our region.
The theme of this conference is One Body, One Spirit, emphasizing the unity we have in Christ and the common vision given to us by the Holy Spirit. Strengthening our sense of regional connection and shared call is one of the primary goals of this conference. We want to grow closer to each other and to God, together as a people, and to allow God to speak to us as an entire region.
In keeping with these goals, we will be emphasizing worship and fellowship. Our discussion groups will be composed of a mix of communities and ages, helping all of us get to know people we might not have interacted with before. There will also be plenty of time for informal interaction. And, as always when we come together in a spirit of openness to God, we expect Him to show up powerfully in our worship and word gifts.
We have some very exciting talks planned, pointing us toward unity and laying out the vision for our region going forward. In addition to the talks, discussion groups, and times of worship we will be celebrating the Lord’s Day on Saturday evening. Many of us make a point to dress nicely for Lord’s Day celebrations, but traveling can make that difficult. Nice summer casual clothing is perfectly fine!
On Sunday, after time for local church services, we will be wrapping up. We do plan to allow time for people to share how God has worked over the weekend, but time is limited, so some of us may have to save our stories for our next community gathering.
In addition to our primary program, there will be a leadership training session for Young Professional leaders on Friday afternoon before the official beginning of the conference, and a special session for young professionals on Friday evening.
Of course, not everyone who would like to attend will be able to make it to Lansing for the conference, nor would we be able to fit everyone in the region into our available space! But if you are struggling with budgetary, transportation, or lodging issues please let us know so we can offer you whatever assistance we are able to. Unfortunately we will not be able to help with child care.
For those who cannot make it, though, we still want you to be involved. We will be livestreaming the Saturday night session on the Work of Christ YouTube account, and hope you will participate with us as much as possible.
We are very excited about this conference. Please join with us as a region in praying for safe travel, good fellowship, and a powerful moving of the Holy Spirit.
