Mission Conference A

The conference is available to all those involved in local leadership. This includes:

• Corps officers
• Territorial and divisional envoys
• Corps leaders
• Pioneer leaders
• Community mission facilitators
• Local officers
• Divisional officers

The theme of the Mission Conference is Oikos, which means 'household of faith', with a focus on discipleship. The key text we will explore during the weekend is Ephesians 3:14-19.

The conference offers insights into the missional opportunities that are available to local leaders through electives on different topics. Each day of the conference will start and end with a joint session with all delegates joining together for a talk and worship.

Taster sessions and electives

Please see the summaries of the different taster sessions and electives below. You will select your preferences on the booking form.

Joint session speakers

• Lieut-Colonel Drew McCombe, Secretary for Mission
• Rachel Jordan-Wolf
• Adam Johnson 
• Rich Robinson 
• Elizabeth Oldfield
• Bishop Mike Royal

Optional conversations

There will be the opportunity to register for one-to-one coaching sessions during the weekend.

Majors Mark and Andrea Sawyer will be available for conversations about calling, officership and territorial envoyship.

There are two conferences running back to back to enable as many people as possible to attend. 

• Conference A: 10am on Thursday 20 February to 9pm on Friday 21 February.
• Conference B: 6pm on Friday 21 February (arrival from 4pm) to 4pm on Sunday 23 February. 

Delegates can attend either conference A or B, or opt to attend both, selecting different electives for each.

Please book your place via the online booking form.

Tickets cost £50 per person, per conference, and include meals and accommodation.

In order to enable as many people to attend as possible, we encourage you to consider sharing a room with someone you know.

For booking enquiries, please contact events@salvationarmy.org.uk.

• Missional Journal 
• Natural Church Development
• APEST 
• Justice and Reconciliation 
• Intercultural Ministry 
• Family Ministries 
• Becoming a Whole-Life Disciple-Making Church 
• Core Recovery Church 
• Pioneering 
• Fundraising: Working with Divisions and Corps
• Resources 
• Care for Creation
• Calling, Candidates and Officership
• Local Officer Training

Explore our calling and gifting to release the latent potential of the body of Christ, as outlined in the fivefold ministry of Ephesians 4: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds, Teachers (APEST). 

This elective will include seminar-style teaching, Bible study, profiling and discussion.

Deepen your understanding of recovery and faith.

Core Recovery is a model of Salvation Army church that has grown out of our work supporting people with addiction. In this session, we will explore the Core Recovery Year of Pilgrimage and consider how to create inclusive community.

Through teaching, interactive activities, discussion and reflection, you will network with people connected with this evolving ministry and see how it could impact your community.

There will be something for everyone, wherever you are on your Core Recovery journey.

Explore the practice of intentionally reaching out to people from other cultures and integrating them into a community, while being equally willing to enter into their culture.

Through discussion and teaching, we will explore the benefits of diverse interactions, thinking about how intercultural ministry is a vision of the Kingdom (see Revelation 7:9).

Explore the challenge of creating a truly intergenerational church.

Join the Family Ministries team as we develop and envisage a different culture in a session titled Mind the Gap: Reclaiming the Church for All Generations.

There will be stimulating theological reflection, interactive group work, exciting conversation and practical application – we’ll even play a game!

Explore the theological and practical dimensions of seeking justice and reconciliation in its various forms.

With a variety of speakers and facilitators, we will explore political engagement, community organising, prophetic voice, and the ministry of reconciliation and peacemaking.

Deepen your skills and understanding in leading specific ministries.

We'll be exploring topics such as worship leading, navigating sensitive conversations, preaching, and the transformative journey of discipleship and spiritual formation.

This will be an opportunity both to grow in faith and serve your community more effectively.

Learn more about how you can document and learn from your local mission journey. 

Every corps and expression is on a journey of seeking to unpack and experience what we really mean by our intention to love God and love others. It is a journey with God, with one another and with those around us, as we try to impact the world for God through our five mission priorities.

What we record and learn from our journeys, and the accountability questions we ask en route, is important if we are going to be able to learn from the past, discern the times and be led forward by the Holy Spirit. 

In this elective we will seek to understand the heart of God’s own mission, map-read with the gospel and engage in good conversation using a wide range of tools and approaches that help us to consider our effectiveness and fruitfulness.

'Life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God' (1 Peter 1:18 The Message).

Explore how Natural Church Development (NCD) is built on God's growth principles that we see in Scripture, nature and ongoing global research into health and growth of individuals and congregations.

Through hands-on learning and group conversations, we will explore how the NCD church survey and 3 Colors discipleship series help individuals, groups, leadership teams, corps and divisions to apply these principles for increased health. 

Participants will be equipped with knowledge, tools and processes for removing the barriers to the growth potential God has planted in each of us – healthy organisms grow when the conditions are right (see Mark 4:26-29).

Explore the story and adventure within the liminal space – the challenge of being church in today’s world.

As we share stories from across the territory, we will dive into some of the key principles of pioneering, make connections with others on this journey, and create prayerful hubs and networks to sustain us in our ministries.

Discover how to create a whole-life disciple-making culture in your church.

Let's ask ourselves the question: Are we making disciples here?

As churches, we can be busy running programmes and worrying about the ABCs of church life (attendance, buildings and cash) and lose sight of our main purpose: making disciples. 

Unpack the potential of gathered worship to shape and equip Christians for their lives as the Church on a Monday morning.

This practical and engaging elective will explore the relationship between gathered and scattered worship, while equipping participants with usable ways of worshipping which can help the congregation to grow as disciples in their everyday contexts.

Explore how whole-life preaching can equip us to play our part in God’s purposes in the world, through our everyday lives.

Through a combination of teaching and discussion, we will consider how to better understand the message of the Bible and the lives of our congregations, as well as looking at approaches and tools that can help us to faithfully and effectively bring God’s word to God’s people.