JEFFERSON CITY – Some of the biggest names in Christian living are coming to Missouri for the CORE Conference March 19-20: J.D. Payne, Mark Snowden, David Kinnaman, Keith Strasburger, and Reggie McNeal.
The two-day meeting revolves around three core values as the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) seeks to better equip believers to live out the Great Commission. Those three core values are becoming disciples, missional living and developing leaders. The conference is here at Concord Baptist Church, and it begins that Monday at 1 p.m. and goes through Tuesday at noon. The schedule is designed so that anyone in Missouri can attend by taking only two days off, with a one-night stay.
The conference is free, but attendees can pre-register at www.mobaptist.org/CORE or by calling the MBC at 1-800-736-6227.
Each of the speakers is recognized as a leader in disciple-making, leadership development and missional living. Attendees will be able to text or write-in their questions on cards for extended question and answer sessions after each speaker. There will be no breakout sessions.
J.D. Payne and Mark Snowden will speak during the Missional Living segment.
Payne is director of the Center for North American Missions and Church Planting at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky. He has written numerous articles and reviews for various periodicals in the areas of missions, church planting, and evangelism. His books include Discovering Church Planting, Evangelism: A Biblical Response to Today’s Questions and The Barnabas Factors. He also blogs at www.jdpayne.org.
Snowden is the author of the book, Truth That Sticks. The book advocates using Bible “storying” to effectively make disciples at all levels, regardless of location or educational background. Along those same lines, he is the lead storying trainer for the North American Mission Board (NAMB).
Aaron Couch, from Real Life Discipleship Ministries, a rapidly growing church in Post Falls, Idaho, will focus on becoming disciples. Couch will be the only speaker. He has been in ministry for more than 17 years and has planted two churches. He has a master’s degree from Hope International University and a bachelor’s from Boise Bible College.
David Kinnaman is president of Barna Group and will speak about developing leaders. He is the author of the best-selling book, unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity, and the Barna report, “Teens and the Supernatural.” His latest book is You Lost Me: Why Young Christians Are Leaving Church…and Rethinking Faith.
Reggie McNeal will wrap up the conference on the second day by focusing on developing leaders. He is the missional leadership specialist for Leadership Network based in Dallas and has written several books on leadership including Revolution in Leadership, as well as A Work of Heart: Understanding How God Shapes Spiritual Leaders, The Present Future, Practicing Greatness, Missional Communities, Get A Life! and Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church.