What is the purpose of the DWELL Conference?
We believe God has called us to invest in our city. Historically, one of Lighthouse’s strengths has been global missions. Despite this vision for reaching the nations with the gospel, we haven’t focused much on reaching our own city with the gospel. We want to spread the vision for local outreach, for thinking of ourselves as missionaries here. We want to think about our city the way Jesus thinks about it. We intend to maintain our focus on reaching the nations—in no way do we want to take away from that! But we want to expand our focus to our own city as well. This new annual To the City Conference (this year, called “Dwell”) will help cast that vision and provide some practical ways to effectively spread the gospel in our city.
‘Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’
Jeremiah 29:7
Evangelism is not an individual effort. While each individual must play his or her part in it, evangelism was not meant to be done alone. Thus, we believe life groups play a critical role in reaching our city. While the conference will teach concepts that apply to any believer, it will be primarily designed to teach and equip life groups.
What will I learn at the conference?
The conference will equip individuals and life groups to effectively reach out to their surrounding communities. We will primarily be casting the vision for local outreach, but we will also be providing practical ways for life groups to partner with organizations already active in the community as well as ways to generally reach out and spread the gospel to their neighbors. Breakout sessions will cover various topics, including our three key partner organizations, hospitality, Kingdom prayer, three-strand evangelism, and more.
Who is speaking? Why did we choose him?
We have asked Craig Brown, senior pastor of City Church of East Nashville, to speak at our first annual conference. We chose to ask Craig to speak because he has been trained in urban cross-cultural ministry, he has several years of experience in reaching his local community, and he has successfully developed partnerships within his community. Below is a short biography on Craig:
Craig Brown is the founding and senior pastor of City Church of East Nashville, an urban church committed to uniting the diversity of East Nashville in Christ. Before launching City Church in the fall of 2003, he served as the pastor of Christian education and discipleship at Christ Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee. He is an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. Presently, he sits on the board of directors for ReDiscover East and Spectrum Ministries, as well as the committee for Strategic Planning of Church Planting of the Nashville Presbytery.
Craig also participates in various conferences and retreats as a speaker each year. Born and raised a Cowboy fan in Dallas, Texas, Craig received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University in 1990 and his M.Div. from Covenant Theological Seminary in 1999. He enjoys songwriting, golf, good food and drink, and running (which he says is needed if you enjoy good food and drink!). Craig and his wife, Jana, live in East Nashville and have four children, Travis, Clark, Annalise, and Simon.
What is the format?
The conference will take place on Friday, March 5 through Sunday, March 7, 2010. The format will be similar, but not exactly the same, as our annual fall Missions Conference.
Friday, March 5
6:30 – 7:00pm Coffee and dessert
7:00 – 9:00pm General session
Saturday, March 6
9:00 – 9:45am Breakout sessions
10:00 – 10:15am General session
11:15 – 12:00pm Breakout sessions
12:00 – 1:00pm Lunch (Off Property)
1:00 – 3:00pm Service projects
Sunday, March 7
9:00 – 10:00am Breakout sessions
10:00 – 11:30am General session
Please note that the schedule is subject to change. Childcare will be provided during the general and breakout sessions. Life groups will be going out to lunch together to various Antioch restaurants on Saturday. Afterwards, they will be practicing what they’ve learned by serving one of our key partners in the community.
What do we need to do to prepare for the conference?
As the leader of your life group, please begin regularly discussing the DWELL Conference with your group members. Be sure to answer any questions they have and strongly encourage each of them to come. Please also explain the key partners and discuss which partner you would all like to work with. Click here for basic information on each partner, as well as a few practical ideas for how to work with them.
