The Second Annual Presbyterian Global Fellowship (PGF) Conference Signifies Growing Movement of Congregations Within the PC(USA) and Beyond

Contact:  Kristina Robb Dover, Team Coordinator, Presbyterian Global Fellowship, 404-846-4386, kristinarobbdover@gmail.com

HOUSTON, Aug. 24 /Christian Newswire/ -- A tropical storm and ensuing flight cancellations could not stop approximately 900 people from descending on the George R. Brown Convention Center, August 16-18, to be challenged anew for the task of missional transformation of their congregations.

The "missional church" thinker and activist Michael Frost cast the tone for the event (themed "Inside-Out"), urging participants to move beyond the confines of church buildings and denominational power struggles into neighborhoods and the world as "little jesuses" reoriented around God's mission.  Frost commended what he termed the four "practices" of missional churches:  proximity, relational nearness to those who do not know Jesus; presence, or communing with Christ by "obsessively marinating your souls in the Gospels;" powerlessness, by demonstrating to the world that the church does not need its material and temporal possessions in order to be the church; and proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Author and teacher John Ortberg was the other keynote speaker.  Ortberg issued a stirring call to generous stewardship in a Western culture that worships wealth. 

In his opening address, Dave Peterson, pastor of Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church and member of the PGF Leadership Team, invited participants to join with PGF by "going out to meet God where God is already at work" and making four commitments that define affiliation with PGF.  These include: to engage in study of what it means to be "missional;" to undertake intentional activities each week that foster a God-shaped perspective of the world; to meet regularly with at least two other people to explore what it means to participate in God's mission; and to work to shape the missional identity of one's family and/or congregation.

Now in its second year of life, Presbyterian Global Fellowship is a global fellowship of churches whose mission is to transform mainline congregations into missional communities following Jesus Christ.  For more information on the conference and to learn more about PGF's other initiatives, go to www.presbyterianglobalfellowship.org.