Come join us for our 6th Future of Christendom Conference! The event will take place at Spooky Nook Sports in Manheim, PA and will run from Friday evening through all day Saturday, with an invitation to the Sunday morning worship service of the Independence Reformed Bible Church. Registration is required, and lunch will be provided on Saturday. This will be a weekend packed with practical teaching, with the theme of the Gospel at War in many areas of our culture including government schools, media, missions, feminism, and even the church pulpits.
There will be TWELVE topic presentations by speakers including Matt Trewhella, Joel Saint, Paul Michael Raymond, Ron Kronz, Chris Hume, Charl van Wyk, Hal Shurtleff and others including members of the MARS board of directors.
We are excited to be including a FORMAL DEBATE in this year’s conference! Dr. James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries will be debating Dr. Gregory Coles, author of “Single, Gay, Christian: A Personal Journey of Faith and Sexual Identity”. The debate topic: “Is ‘Gay Christian’ a Biblically Acceptable Identity for a Member of Christ’s Church?”
You won’t want to miss this exciting event!
SCHEDULE
Friday 9/15
7pm Dr. James White
Saturday 9/16
8-9:30am 1st Xposition* Session
- The Gospel at War with the Military – Allen Cohen
- The Gospel at War with Missiology – Charl van Wyk
- The Gospel at War with Heresy – Matthew Wear
- The Gospel at War with Art – Paul Michael Raymond
9:30-9:45am Break
9:45-11:15am 2nd Xposition Session
- The Gospel at War with Feminism – Beth Bingaman
- The Gospel at War with the Pulpit – Matt Kenitzer
- The Gospel at War with Pietism – Joel Saint
- The Gospel at War with Big Eva – Matt Trewhella
11:15-1pm Lunch (included in registration)
1-2:30pm 3rd Xposition Session
- The Gospel at War with the City of Boston – Hal Shurtleff
- The Gospel at War with the Culture of Death – David Coyle
- The Gospel at War with the Yellow Bus – Chris Hume
- The Gospel at War with Principalities – Ron Kronz
2:30-3:30pm Break
3:30-6:30pm DEBATE: Is “Gay Christian” a Biblically Acceptable Identity for a Member of Christ’s Church?
Dr. James White vs. Dr. Gregory Coles
Sunday 9/17
10am Independence Reformed Bible Church Service (with Dr. James White)
*A MARS Xposition is a concise 18-minute presentation focused on a single subject. There are four Xpositions per session.
MARS Worldview Meetings
Past Conferences
Why attend a Future of Christendom conference?
In an age of instant communication, web conferencing, internet blogging, and social media is there a place for a brick-and-mortar, face-to-face conference? We believe so, emphatically.
Without a doubt, most of our readers have noticed the shortfalls of social media. While teleconferencing can handily enable us to assemble the nuts and bolts of our short-term projects, we have all noticed the differences between electronic communication and meeting face to face. The teleconference or social media platform may get us 80% of what we need, nearly for free. A conference puts us in touch to grab that last 20%.
If we are truly working to build God’s Kingdom, we cannot afford to squander all the work in a failure of communication. So yes, the last 20% is the costliest, yet it is so very valuable.
A focused conference puts us together with like-minded people…people who “get it”…with enough time to share ideas, and to generate better ones. Have you ever noticed how this happens almost spontaneously when Christians gather together with time for a lively discussion? We have!
A conference breaks through the insulation that can surround us in a way that only happens in person. It is exciting to realize that the people who spend the time and money to attend are usually people with ideas and who are looking for better ways to do things!
Several good things are intentionally built into the Future of Christendom Events. We start with a knowledgeable speaker lineup to stimulate thinking on the subject matter. Then in order to leverage that, the schedule allows a generous amount of time for personal interaction and fellowship with speakers and other attendees. This takes place throughout the day, in the evenings, and during on-site meal times.
The very intentional purpose of our conference format is that attendees go home with several key things. First are new ideas to help them fulfill their callings within their families, businesses, professions, ministries, or vocations more effectively. Second are new or enhanced associations with others involved with similar work, forming a synergy that sparks productivity. Third, are new associations to promote and advance God’s Kingdom in better and more effective ways. MARS is continually attempting to spark new associations and we are thrilled to see them develop.
We encourage you to attend a Future of Christendom conference for a weekend that will sharpen and enhance your work in your corner of God’s Kingdom.
