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!
Registering for the Women’s Convention will give you access to the regional conference track, as well as the session offerings of the larger convention. And men are welcome!
We will offer pre-conference electives as well. While there is no cost, we do need you to indicate your attendance for room and meal preparation through the appropriate registration link below.
Thursday |
|
|---|---|
| 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM | Registration open |
| 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM | Pre-Conference Elective: CARE LUNCHEON (RSVP required)vvvvvvvv |
| 1:30 – 3:00 PM | Pre-Conference Elective: CHAPLAINS CONFERENCE (RSVP required) |
| 3:30 – 5:00 PM | Pre-Conference Elective: A STUCK CHURCH IN A CHANGED WORLD (RSVP required) |
| 7:00 – 9:00 PM | Women’s Convention Evening Worship – Opening Session |
| 9:00 – 11:00 PM | Exhibits/Vendors open |
Friday |
|
|---|---|
| 6:00 – 7:00 AM | Early Morning Prayer |
| 7:00 AM – 8:00 PM | Registration open |
| 8:30 – 10:00 AM | Women’s Convention Worship Service |
| 10:30 AM – Noon | IDENTITY: Non-Negotiable Foundations of Our Church of God Identity (Jim Lyon) vvvvvvvvvvv |
| Noon – 2:00 PM | Lunch on your own |
| Noon – 5:00 PM | Registration open |
| Noon – 7:00 PM | Exhibits/Vendors open |
| 2:00 – 3:30 PM | IDENTITY: View from a New Generation: Who Are We in the Church of God and Who Is Jesus Calling Us to Be? (Jason Varner, Richard Smith, Kyle Hayes, Abbie Craig) |
| 7:00 – 9:00 PM | Women’s Convention Evening Worship |
| 9:00 – 11:00 PM | Exhibits/Vendors open |
SATURDAY |
|
|---|---|
| 6:00 – 7:00 AM | Early Morning Prayer |
| 8:30 – 10:00 AM | Women’s Convention Worship Service |
| 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM | Exhibits/Vendors open |
| 10:30 AM – Noon | IDENTITY: 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? (Horace Sheppard Jr.) vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv |
| Noon – 2:00 PM | Lunch on your own |
| 2:00 – 3:30 PM | IDENTITY: View from Beyond the Movement: How Do Others See Us and How Should We Be Distinguished in this World? (Carla Sunberg) |
| 6:30 – 9:30 PM | Women’s Convention Banquet & Concert with Lynda Randell (included in registration) |
| 9:00 – 11:00 PM | Exhibits/Vendors open |
Sunday |
|
|---|---|
| 6:00 – 7:00 AM | Early Morning Prayer |
| 8:00 – 10:00 AM | Women’s Convention Communion Breakfast (included in registration) |
WOMEN’S CONVENTION REGISTRATION RATES
Women: $175 | Men: $125 | Youth 13-18: $125
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.
PRE-CONFERENCE ELECTIVES
CARE LUNCHEON
“Getting It Right: Pastor Compensation”
Leader: Joe Cookston
Thursday, Oct. 13, 11:30AM-1:00PM
Financial stress is increasing for so many, including many of our pastors. One way of encouraging our pastors is to make sure that their compensation is structured in a way that complies with IRS guidelines and protects every dollar to our pastors’ benefit. Join members of the CARE team to clarify current best practices in structuring pastor compensation.
CHAPLAINS CONFERENCE
Leader: Gary Carr
Thursday, Oct. 13, 1:30-3:00
Spark interest in your sermon among those who are not part of a church, but belong to an organization (military unit, hospital, federal agency). Issues involve the language you choose, content of your message, selection of a Biblical text, mannerisms during delivery, and connecting to invoke a response. Bonus feature: How to preach the two-minute sermon. Host facilitator: Gary Carr, Chaplain Endorser.
FLOURISHING IN MINISTRY
Leader: Chris Adams
Thursday, Oct. 13, 1:30-3:00
This conference will introduce you to biblical strategies that can prevent burnout, promote wellbeing, and sustain healthy ministry leadership. Learn about the four, research-based, interrelated dimensions of Flourishing in Ministry: Daily Wellbeing, Resilience, Thriving, and Authenticity. It will be led by Dr. Chris Adams, who currently serves as the executive director of the Azusa Pacific University Center for Vocational Ministry.
A STUCK CHURCH IN A CHANGED WORLD
Thursday, Oct. 13, 3:30-5:00
Exploring Revitalization, Restart & Release
Churches are facing unprecedented decisions after the upheaval of the last two years. We want you to know that you are not alone and to encourage you that where fear sees a crisis, faith sees an opportunity. This 90-minute workshop, moderated by Rev. Handel Smith will give you a better understanding of the options available for churches in decline. Rev. Ken Love will share about a ministry that will guide you through a revitalization process. Rev. Dr. Dan Turner will share about the restart work he is doing in coaching churches to embrace the uncertainty of death to make way for the hope of resurrection. Rev. Don Jackson will share about Transitional Interim Pastors Services (TIPS). You will also learn about legacy churches. You will leave this workshop with some free resources, new connections, and a better sense of your next steps.
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
