Prairie States Conference Welcomes New Church

The Prairie States Conference welcomed a new church into the conference at its triennial meeting at Living Water Community Church in Memphis, Tennessee, March 14-15. The New Hope Advent Christian Church of Aurora, Illinois, was accepted as a member church at the business meeting on Friday night. Pastored by Rev. James Missick, the new church was launched by a core group of members who were formerly a part of the Aurora Advent Christian Church, which ceased operations last year when it merged with another church. Dr. Mark Woolfington and the Church of the Highlands in LaGrange, Illinois, were instrumental in helping the new church get started. Dr. Bill Norwood and the Central region were also a big support for New Hope. Eight members of New Hope were in attendance, making the long trip from Aurora to Memphis. Welcoming the church was a one of the highlights of the conference.

Another highlight of the conference was the workshop presented by Rev. Steve Epting of Hope Community Church in Chicago. The workshop, “Reaching Out to Your Community,” provided important principles for ministering well to a church’s community. Hope Church is a great servant to the Austin community in inner city Chicago, providing a community food pantry, including major food giveaways at Thanksgiving, a community justice center that provides legal aid, an employment and training program and mental health wellness ministries. Hope also works closely with local law enforcement to help reduce and prevent violence in their neighborhood. Pastor Epting’s presentation was informative and motivating to those in attendance. If you’d like to know more about all the great work Hope Community Church does, please visit their website at onehopenation.org.

I am very thankful to Pastor Marcus Taylor and the members of Living Water for their exceptional hospitality and to conference president George Griswold for the invitation to be a part of the meetings. It was an especially great privilege to share the message at the Friday night service, expositing the conference’s theme verse for the event, Proverbs 29:18. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make the meeting happen. It was a great encouragement and blessing to be there.