



Florida Schedule
Regional Track at Church of God Women’s Convention
Join us for this first-ever partnership of a Church of God Ministries regional conference within the larger Women’s Convention schedule. The best of both worlds! Amazing location, top-notch speakers, and the opportunity to gather with old and new friends from around the country. Don’t miss it!
Friday, October 14, 2022
10:30–Noon: Jim Lyon
Non-Negotiable Foundations of our Church of God Identity

2:00–3:30 PM: Jason Varner/Richard Smith/Kyle Hayes/Abbie Craig
View from a New Generation: Who Are We in the Church of God and Who Is Jesus Calling Us to Be?




SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2022
10:30–Noon: Horace Sheppard Jr.
View from a Church of God Champion, a Seasoned Statesman, and Son of the Church: Who Are We in the Church of God and Who Is Jesus Calling Us to Be?

2:00–3:30 PM: Carla Sunberg
View from Beyond the Movement: How Do Others See Us and How Should We Be Distinguished in this World?
Banquet: Carla Sunberg

Women: $175
Men: $125
Youth 13-18: $125
Men: $125
Youth 13-18: $125
CHURCH INFO
Madison Park Church of God
6607 Providence Dr.
Anderson, IN US 46013
Hotels
FAIRFIELD INN AND SUITES
2400 East 64th Street
Anderson IN 46013
765.374.6300
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS
6720 S Scatterfield Road
Anderson IN 46013
765.779.0111
BEST WESTERN PLUS
2114 East 59t Street
Anderson IN 46013
765.649.2500
HAMPTON INN
2312 Hampton Drive
Anderson, IN 46013
765.622.0700
Additional lodging options are available at Exit 210 off I-69.
Indiana Schedule
Tuesday |
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11:45 AM – 1:00 PM | Pre-Conference Elective: WOMEN IN MINISTRY LUNCHEON Pre-Conference Elective: WORSHIP LEADERS LUNCHEON Pre-Conference Elective: YOUTH LEADERS LUNCHEON Pre-Conference Elective: CHAPLAINS LUNCHEON |
1:00–2:30 PM | Pre-Conference Elective: FLOURISHING IN MINISTRY Pre-Conference Elective: CHAPLAINS CONFERENCE |
3:00–4:30 PM | Pre-Conference Elective: A STUCK CHURCH IN A CHANGING WORLD Pre-Conference Elective: CREDENTIALS | LEADERSHIP FOCUS Pre-Conference Elective: ATLAS INTRODUCTION |
5:00 – 7:00 PM | Check-in and registration vvvvvvvvvvv |
7:00 – 9:00 PM | Opening Session |
9:15 PM | Advancement Reception (sponsored by Everence) |
Wednesday |
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8:00 – 9:00 AM | Check-in and registration |
9:00 AM – Noon | Panel/Discussion/Presentation/Q&A |
Noon – 2:00 PM | Lunch Break CARE Luncheon Christian Women Connection Luncheonxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx |
2:00 – 5:00 PM | Panel/Discussion/Presentation/Q&A |
5:00 – 7:00 PM | Dinner Break |
7:00 – 9:00 PM | Evening Worship, Speaker with Q&A |
Thursday |
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9:00 – 11:00 AM | Closing Session vvvvvxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxvvvvvvvvvvvv |
Speakers & Special Guests

LOCATIONS: Fremont, Anderson, Orlando
Abbie Craig
Abbie Craig is currently pursuing a master of theological studies at Anderson University School of Theology and Christian Ministry. Prior to seminary, she served for eight years as the
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youth pastor at Church at the Crossing in Indianapolis and director of the 365 Indiana State Youth Convention. She lives in Indianapolis with her husband Brock and four-year-old son Roman. They are looking forward to a new addition to their family this summer.

LOCATION: Orlando
JIM LYON
Jim originally dreamed of a career in politics and found himself representing northwest Seattle in the Washington State House of Representatives in the early 1980s. But ultimately, it was Christian ministry that became his passion.
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He served in pastoral ministry in both the Pacific Northwest and the Midwest. From 1991 through 2013, he served as senior pastor at Madison Park Church of God in Anderson, Indiana. In August 2013, he became the general director of Church of God Ministries. An articulate preacher, teacher, and motivational speaker, Jim has also anchored the ViewPoint broadcast since 1996. Helping people see Jesus at work in their world has become his life’s work; engaging the world for heaven’s sake has become his life’s calling.

LOCATIONS: Fremont, Anderson, Orlando
Carla Sunberg
Carla Sunberg was elected the 43rd general superintendent for the Church of the Nazarene in June 2017. She has been a missionary, an educator, and a minister in the Church.
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She began her ministry as a registered nurse, but was later ordained in the Russia North district, where she and her husband were serving as missionaries. After they returned to the United States, she and her husband pastored Grace Point Church of the Nazarene in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and went on to become the first couple to serve as co-district superintendents. In 2014 Carla took on the role of president of Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City. She has authored and edited numerous books, including Why Holiness?, Color: God’s Intention for Diversity, and the soon-to-be-released Faithful to the Call: Women in Ministry. She and her husband Chuck are the proud parents of two adult daughters, Christa and her husband Iain, along with their son Theodore, who live in Manchester, England; as well as Cara and her husband Justin, and their three children, Mackenzie, Alice, and Halston, who live in Kansas. Chuck Sunberg copastors Shawnee Church of the Nazarene with his daughter Cara.

LOCATIONS: Fremont, Anderson, Orlando
Jason Varner
Dr. Jason Varner serves as an assistant professor of the history of Christianity at the Anderson University School of Theology and Christian Ministries. After earning bachelor’s and master’s
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degrees from Anderson University, Dr. Varner moved to Scotland where he studied early modern history at the University of St Andrews. Upon completion of his MLitt and PhD at St. Andrews, Jason returned ‘home’ to Anderson University, where he enjoys teaching courses in the history of Christianity, intellectual and American history, philosophy, worship, and biblical studies.
Dr. Varner’s research interests include European encounters with ‘the Other’ in seventeenth-century America, the changing notion of the ‘self’ in modernity, and the early years of the Church of God movement. Most recently, Dr. Varner presented a paper titled “The Transformation of Trauma: on Liminality and Identity in Seventeenth-Century New England” at the European Association for Early American Studies’ annual conference at the University of Poitiers (France) in December 2021. The 2021 conference theme was “Colonisations, Revolutions, and Reinventions in early America and the Atlantic World, 1492–1848.”
Dr. Varner is actively engaged at Catalyst (Church of God) in Pendleton, Indiana, where he leads worship and serves on the teaching team.

LOCATIONS: Fremont, Orlando
KYLE HAYES
Kyle Hayes loves telling stories. As director of development for Children of Promise, Kyle travels the world, documenting and sharing stories about how God is at work in the global church.
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LOCATIONS: Orlando
HORACE W. SHEPPARD JR.
Rev. Dr. Horace W. Sheppard Jr. is the senior pastor of Bethesda Christian Fellowship Church of God in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has been in pastoral ministry for forty years.
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Sheppard is a graduate of MidAmerica Nazarene University and is the recipient of an honorary doctorate of divinity from the Southern California School of Ministry.
Dr. Sheppard is the founder of Shepherd’s Voice Ministries, a 501(c)(3) committed to supporting pastors, serving churches, and developing ministers and leaders.
He and his wife Linda have been married for forty-five years and are the proud parents of three sons and one daughter, and the delighted grandparents of twelve grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Horace W. Sheppard Jr.
Rev. Dr. Horace W. Sheppard Jr. is the senior pastor of Bethesda Christian Fellowship Church of God in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has been in pastoral ministry for forty years. Sheppard is a graduate of MidAmerica Nazarene University and is the recipient of an honorary doctorate of divinity from the Southern California School of Ministry.
Dr. Sheppard is the founder of Shepherd’s Voice Ministries, a 501(c)(3) committed to supporting pastors, serving churches, and developing ministers and leaders.
He and his wife Linda have been married for forty-five years and are the proud parents of three sons and one daughter, and the delighted grandparents of twelve grandchildren and one great grandchild.

LOCATIONS: Fremont, Anderson, Orlando
RICHARD SMITH
Richard Smith grew up in Baltimore and still calls the city home. He earned a bachelor of arts in sociology at McDaniel College, and both a master’s degree and a PhD from Temple University.
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He now teaches at McDaniel College and holds the position of associate provost for equity and belonging.
His academic expertise includes African American culture, race and justice, and ethics. Richard is also the lead pastor at a Church of God near Baltimore called The Movement Church, a Leadership Focus graduate, and a Chapter 4 Institute fellow. Widely published and respected, Richard has been recognized for excellence with multiple awards, including the Multicultural Leaders’ Most Valuable Faculty Award in 2015.

LOCATIONS: Orlando
JASON VARNER
Dr. Jason Varner serves as an assistant professor of the history of Christianity at the Anderson University School of Theology and Christian Ministries. After earning bachelor’s and master’s
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degrees from Anderson University, Dr. Varner moved to Scotland where he studied early modern history at the University of St Andrews. Upon completion of his MLitt and PhD at St. Andrews, Jason returned ‘home’ to Anderson University, where he enjoys teaching courses in the history of Christianity, intellectual and American history, philosophy, worship, and biblical studies.
Dr. Varner’s research interests include European encounters with ‘the Other’ in seventeenth-century America, the changing notion of the ‘self’ in modernity, and the early years of the Church of God movement. Most recently, Dr. Varner presented a paper titled “The Transformation of Trauma: on Liminality and Identity in Seventeenth-Century New England” at the European Association for Early American Studies’ annual conference at the University of Poitiers (France) in December 2021. The 2021 conference theme was “Colonisations, Revolutions, and Reinventions in early America and the Atlantic World, 1492–1848.”
Dr. Varner is actively engaged at Catalyst (Church of God) in Pendleton, Indiana, where he leads worship and serves on the teaching team.