R2K12 Conference: Unity for the Sake of the Gospel
Pastors and ministry leaders of the Presbyterian Church in America will gather in Baltimore this weekend for the Revival 2012 biennial conference. The conference brings together pastors from the Mid-Atlantic to proclaim the gospel and encourage unity and diversity in the Church. The 2012 theme is “The Race Set Before Us: Pursuing Unity for the Sake of the Gospel.”
The conference will take place at Faith Christian Fellowship in Baltimore, MD, Friday, June 1- Sunday, June 2.
“We can have the church reflect something different for the next generation. We have a providential opportunity to reflect the gospel,” shared Pastor Lance Lewis, Coordinator of the conference and Co-Pastor or Christ Redemption Fellowship.
The saying goes, “Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week.” The goal of the R2K12 Conference is to discuss how to put that saying to rest. The conference is not geared solely towards Pastors. Anyone is invited to come and Lewis hopes to fill the audience with lay members.
“God has empowered through his Spirit all people to do ministry. We want people to come to participate in the workshops with the view that they can begin ministering to their congregations and communities to build bridges to declare the gospel right where they are,” he said.
Lance and his church not only preach about the benefits of diversity, they walk it out. He and his Co-Pastor, Dave Baggett, have worked to build a multi-ethnic church. Lance, black, and Baggett, white, pastor a small congregation in the suburb Havertown, PA.
“What people are forgetting is to make disciples of all nations. We wanted to at least attempt to reflect the communities that which we all live,” he shared.
His desire is to see this modeled throughout the United States.
“Our vision and goal is to see self-consciously multiethnic churches planted in suburban areas,” he said.
According to Lewis, there is a migration of blacks in suburban areas and suburbs are becoming more diverse. Lewis believes the potential display of unity and diversity in the church is also a demonstration of humility as we step out of our comfort-zones to embrace others.
“Starting a multi-ethnic church, I can’t command my own interests. It’s one way we can show humility, your willingness to look for ways to serve others,” he said.
But he stressed that their message isn’t for current churches to change, necessarily, rather it’s for church planters to consider unity as they plant.
“Our message isn’t that existing churches should change unless God really is moving in that way. But if you’re planting you might consider this model,” he said.
Lewis began the Rivival Conference eager to share the message of the gospel first and foremost and then the benefits of building diversity in the church to display the gospel. It all began after meeting with six other black PCA (a predominately white denomination) pastors in his region. They met in 2000 and have been meeting together in some form ever since.
Conference topics will include discussions on building diversity, as well as grief, integrating biblically based Hip-Hop into the ministry of the church and even recovering from sexual abuse.
The Conference will run Friday, June 1 from 7:30 a.m. – 9:00 p.m., Saturday, June 2 from 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. and will end after a meeting starting on Sunday at 8:30 a.m.
Walk-ins are welcome on Friday and Saturday. The registration fee is $60 at the door, located at Faith Christian Fellowship, 505 East 42nd Street, Baltimore, MD 21218.
Click here for the conference schedule. To learn more about the Faith Christian Fellowship visit the conference page at http://fcfchurch.org/r2k12.
More about Pastor Lance Lewis
Pastor Lewis was born and raised in Philadelphia and has been married to his wonderful wife Sharon for over twenty-seven years. They’ve been blessed with two children (Sarah and Charles). He received his education from Temple University and the Chesapeake Theological Training Center. Before serving as co-pastor of Christ Redemption Fellowship he served as the pastor of Christ Liberation Fellowship, a congregation started by his family and several others in 2001. He has contributed to two books, Glory Road: The Journeys of 10 African-Americans into Reformed Theology and Keep Your Head Up: America’s New Black Christian Leaders, Social Consciousness and the Cosby Conversation, both published by Crossway Books.
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