By Multnomah University [5],
Global studies major and Marketing Assistant Meghan Krause shares her perspective on this year’s Global Missions Conference.
Dr. Karen Fancher speaks at MU’s 77th annual Global Missions Conference.
This past week, Multnomah hosted the 77th annual Global Ministries Conference, or GMC. The GMC’s slogan for this year was, “Cultivating Renewal: Back to the Beginning.” A team of five students, led by Dr. Greg Burch, brought this whole conference together. These five students were Jamilyn Cummings, Moriah Paterson, Kara Swanson, Annica Davis and Jared Stone. From the decorations, to the advertisements, to the selection of speakers and guests, these five students confronted all of us about creation care and the part we play in this topic.
From left to right: Moriah Paterson, Jared Stone, Jamilyn Cummings, Annica Davis, McKenzie Chapman and Kara Swanson.
One of the students from this team was senior Jared Stone, the GMC’s logistics coordinator, whom I caught up with as everything concluded. “The GMC went better than I even expected — from the coordination of decorations, to the responses the skits received, to the talk I have overheard from fellow students about the workshops,” he said. “It was great to bring the topic of creation care to the table for us as Christian students.” His statement appears to speak for itself from my observations.
As a student, I attended every plenary session that featured the keynote speakers, Dr. Miriam Adeney and Dr. A.J. Swoboda. With conviction, these two speakers connected Christianity and creation care on theological and practical bases. I attended a decent amount of the workshops as well. From these workshops, a few things definitively stuck with me. For example, La Montana exemplified how ministry and creation care can be quite interconnected. Dr. A.J Swoboda showed the significance and rejuvenation that keeping the Sabbath can have in all areas of life.
Another thing that I observed during these workshops was fellow students pursuing knowledge and connections that would guide them in their journey of creation care. Questions like, “What can I do as an individual?” were thrown around, and answers were given that ranged from education and advocacy to living a simpler life. I myself, and many others, also enjoyed networking and learning from the many missions organizations that came to this year’s GMC. Meeting with individuals representing different organizations gave the GMC a personal touch, as students could find specific ministries that called to them.
A final aspect of this conference that students seemed to enjoy was the worship, led by Caleb Schmidt from Youth With A Mission. Every day I saw different students having intent conversations with Schmidt. So, I decided to ask about his experience at the GMC. “The best part has been seeing students encounter God and the concept of living present-centered lives,” he said. “The hospitality here has been amazing, and I love the heart for missions I have seen.”
Whether it was the plenary sessions, the call to creation care, or individual connections, the 77th GMC had something to offer to each member of the Multnomah community.