Most of us probably don’t use the word “diaspora” in our everyday conversations, but ALL of us are familiar with the concept. It’s any people who have moved from their original homeland. In a nation of immigrants and in Silicon Valley with its unusual diversity and people “…on the move…” we all have experienced “diaspora” in one way or another. Of all the things I love about Valley Church, one of the biggest is the way our church reflects God’s heart for all the nations with people worshipping together from all over the world with Jesus Christ at the center!
The vision for our 2022 Global Outreach Conference THIS weekend is “God is on the Move”. From the time God blessed Abraham to bless the nations until now, God has been at work among networks of people to fulfill His promise. Dr. Sam George says, “More people are on the move than any time in human history and are reshaping societies, economies, nations, and churches. If we continue to stay in our homogenous bubbles as the Body of Christ, we will miss out on what God wants to do in and through us today. Embracing diaspora communities is critical to a robust theology and practice of missions today.”
We’re thrilled to have Dr. George as our speaker for this weekend – born in India to Christian parents, he had a life-changing personal encounter with Jesus at the age of 15. He now teaches about global migration, diaspora missions, and world Christianity and has authored many articles and books. He also serves as the director of the Global Diaspora Institute at Wheaton College.
Here is our schedule for the weekend:
Saturday (4/30) morning breakfast at Valley Church campus: 8 am with visiting Global Partners (GPs) for fellowship and hearing how God is moving around the world. For those who can stay later, there will be round table discussions with GPs followed by lunch. For program details and to sign-up, click HERE.
Saturday (4/30) afternoon prayer walk: 2 pm to get our bodies moving and to ask God to move in our city. We’ll meet at Valley Church and then go to Serra Park for some worship and then disperse to pray.
Sunday (5/1) morning service in the Worship Center: 10:45am. We’ll celebrate what God is doing around the world through worship, the Word, and testimonies. We’ll get to hear from
Dr. George about how God moved in the early church using networks of people to spread the Gospel.
Sunday (5/1) evening dessert and seminars. Doors open at 6 pm, dessert starts at 6:30 in the Activities Center. No sign ups are needed. God has brought many of us here from all over the globe, so we’re asking everyone to bring a “taste” of their nation as a dessert or snack to share. Dr. George will return to share his unique perspective on what God is doing in the world and how we can join Him. In addition, our visiting Global Partners will be hosting individual seminars on various subjects after the main session. (Some of them will also be sharing in Life Groups and Sunday morning classes.)
Bldg./Room Speaker(s) Seminar
Bldg. 4 Campus Center Gary Claassen & Terry Yu Discipling the Nations Right Here
Bldg. 3 Room 3140 Brandon Young God is on the Move: From Death to Life
Bldg. 3 Room 3171 Brad & Wendy Chamberlain God, Language, and Human Flourishing
Bldg. 3 Room 3180 Eddy Ekmekji Helping Gen Z Grow in Faith
Bldg. 3 Room 3191 Ted Olsen How to Reach Billions?
Bldg. 4 Room 440 Daniel de Villiers Witchdoctors in the Pulpit
It’s been a long time since we’ve had a fully “in person” conference and been able to all be together, share delicious food, and be challenged in the area of missions. I hope you’ll join us.
Speaking of being “…on the move…”, two of our dear friends went to “another country” that they were longing for. Betty Newton and Paul Hellwig both went to be with the Lord recently. No memorial services are planned but we will remember them always and look forward to being reunited with them one day.
In Christ,
Kurt