Send off 2007
We just finished our international mission conference here in Vero Beach, Florida. Our week started out with two days of stimulating teaching by Dr. Phil and Dr. Judy Byler. Dr. Phil spoke about apostolic churches, transitional times in ministries, and funding ministries; he also gave a great teaching on intimacy in the Body of Christ and how vital trust and intimacy are within a mission team. The following days of the conference were filled with fantastic teachings by Seth Barnes, director of Adventures in Missions, on discipleship, forgiveness, fundraising, as well as several meetings and discussions by Mary Alice Isleib, director of COI, on a wide variety of practical issues concerning missions in general and our service with Christian Outreach International. We were also blessed to have times of worship led by guest minister Audrey King.
The conference was attended by nearly all of COI’s full-time staff and was a great time of fun and fellowship as we gathered together from our various places across the globe. The thought was expressed by many was that this past week felt much more like a family reunion than a conference. Mid-week we welcomed people interested in possibly joining COI as missionaries in the future to come join us and find out more about who we are, how we work, and what’s in our hearts.
The theme of this conference came out of a verse that God gave Mary Alice, Matt. 9:17. “Neither do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” After 23 years, COI is still boldly proclaiming the same message as the day it was founded. While the message NEVER changes with the times, the most effective ways of presenting it are ever-changing. Much of this past conference was spent reviewing our various ministries and methods, and how we can make them even more effective. God is doing a new work through COI, and we need to be prepared to handle what God is doing! Glory!
