International (MNN) — People of all ages gathered for the Story '10
conference in the last days of 2010 to consider what part they will play in
God's story in the New Year. The theme
of the conference was "His Story. His
World. His Glory. Your Move."
Matt Green of PIONEERS said this year's conference had a similar theme
and purpose to the Story '08 conference PIONEERS held two years ago.
"It's the story of God: God's mission to redeem people into His family
from every tribe, tongue, and language…understanding the Gospel and what it
means to us, how it impacts us personally, and then allowing the power of
that to go out from us and to be spread to those who've never heard," Green explained.
PIONEERS is praying for three things to result from the conference:
that God will call people to the mission field and help them persevere in that
calling, that God will call people to invest financially in PIONEERS' ministry
around the world, and that people will leave the conference with a greater
appreciation for and commitment to the power of prayer in advancing the
Gospel.
"In 2008, we had about twenty [people] that came later into the
Pioneers family as a result of the conference," Green said. "That was a significant thing for us to be
able to see people that God used to bring into the global church-planting
movement to the unreached."
The crowd at the conference included kids, young people, and older
people considering how they might use their retirement for the glory of
God. Story '10 was the perfect event for
learning about what life is like as a missionary with PIONEERS, because almost all of the speakers are missionaries currently serving overseas.
The missionaries were in the United States on leave from parts of the
world such as Southeast Asia, Central Asia, British Columbia, and northwest
Africa. The missionaries come home from
the field on the leave every few years, and that provides the perfect opportunity
for them to interact with those who are interested in joining their work.
"We've brought missionaries from around the
world to Orlando and given them an opportunity to connect with people who are
interested in investing their lives in the Great Commission," Green said. "The primary purpose of this event is to
connect people that are interested in missions with people that are actually
doing it."
The highlight of the conference came at the very end, on New Year's
Eve.
"The last three hours of 2010 we spend in prayer and worship," Green explained.
"Specifically, praying for different parts
of the world that are very needy–particularly the 10-40 Window, and the blocks
of Islam and Buddhism and Hinduism and secularism. We'll be dedicating the
last few hours of this New Year strategically praying for these needy
parts of the world."
