Celebrating our Mission

Northeast, Midwest & Northwest Conferences, USA

by John Lanferman, St Louis, USA

It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. A statement from one first-time Celebration attendee demonstrates this truth: ‘I have heard about Newfrontiers as a family of churches engaged in mission together, but now I see it! I really see it!’

Together

Held in the Northeast, the Midwest and the Northwest, each year hundreds gather for three days at our Celebration conferences, together representing the Newfrontiers USA churches. We worship and experience the preaching of the Word within the dynamic context of the Holy Spirit. We eat together, pray into our mission, get to know each other and are envisioned for our future. Saturday evening is a real highlight – we hear reports, watch videos of our mission, engage in a raucous prayer meeting for kingdom advancement and give hilariously while engaged in celebratory worship. One cannot attend a Celebration event without witnessing a profound picture: churches together on a mission to see God glorified on earth.

On A Mission

We are gathering strength in our mission as a new generation has risen, giving themselves for training, church leadership, church planting and going to the nations. It was particularly moving at Celebration Northeast to participate in praying over two young couples moving from the United States to two different Islamic nations. One of those nations contains not a single church in it! In the Midwest, fervent prayer was offered up for church plants in Chicago, Illinois and Charlotte, North Carolina, representing two more cities in our vision to plant reproducing churches in the top 100 cities in the USA.

New Churches

Three new churches being added to Newfrontiers joined Celebration Northwest. Of particular note at all three Celebration events was a video featuring our international involvement in sending both finances and people to the nations. The video also expressed our ministry to the poor and our church planting efforts into the world. One highlight of the video was Sam Poe’s involvement in Zimbabwe with the introduction of Chronological Bible Storying, which has resulted in a new church plant growing to over 400 people in one year!

As a result of these summer Celebration events, the connection between the churches and our mission together has been greatly strengthened. At Celebration, the Newfrontiers USA family of churches demonstrate that we are a movement of people who have come to understand Jesus’ call to make disciples of all nations, and that we’ve answered that call with passion. It’s a picture worth more than a thousand words…it’s glorious!