We are so excited as we look forward to the 2024 BILD Global Summit and once again hosting our international and North America partners! Preparations are underway for the Summit being held Feb. 21 through March 1, in Ames, Iowa. The Summit will be hosted by the Ames-Des Moines CityChurch network and will be a strategic time as we continue to develop our global partners and assist them in implementing the New Testament model for planting churches and developing leaders.
The first week will center around strategic coaching with our international partners. This in-person coaching time will be a rich time together for all of us since we have been doing this coaching via Zoom meetings for some time now. Bill Burns, BILD’s training systems director, said the intent for that week is to help our partners implement the training of their leadership teams in the core principles of the Way of Christ and His Apostles and use of The First Principles Series in their church networks with the broadest base of believers possible. In order to accomplish this during the Summit, Bill said each of our partners will be encouraged to work through their assigned program in our Equip Learning Management System in peer groups under the guidance of a BILD coach. A lot of fruitful conversations happen in these meetings and in the informal times as international leaders interact with each other and with BILD staff around these endeavors.
The second week of the Summit will continue the coaching of international partners, but will also include workshops for church-planting initiatives for North America CityChurch partners, Antioch School students, local mentors, and long-time friends of our ministry. Leaders will have a firsthand look at our regional church planting effort in central Iowa and interact with our local church network. Workshops will focus on coaching and equipping for church planting and training avenues for maturing as a church planter.
During the second week, new partners will be able to learn more about BILD and our global vision. The week will also provide opportunities for leaders to take an indepth look at how they can implement BILD pathways in their own church context to establish individual believers.
Toward the end of the Summit, we will hear updates on our global network and new insights from Michael Vos and Jeff Reed. We will conclude our time at the Summit with a banquet to celebrate our time together and our shared passion for mission as we all return to our local ministries.
Randy Beckett, who leads BILD’s training programs with North America partners, said he is excited to invite partners who know us well to join us in multiplying churches across North America, helping create a network of churches that looks like Acts. “For North Americans who are newer to BILD, I'm excited to expose them to our team and our national and global vision,” he said.
One important aspect of the Summit is the opportunity for visiting leaders to engage with our local Ames-Des Moines CityChurch network. The ADMCC is a network of 19 house churches, with families from these churches involved in the planning, hosting and implementation of the Summit. Families from our network will not only host Summit guests, but will also serve in the many needs of the Summit: preparing food, shuttling guests from the airport, nightly cleaning of our building, and helping. This is a time to both renew friendships and build new relationships as we share our homes with our international guests.
Visiting leaders will also have the opportunity to engage with church families at our weekly Sunday night gatherings around the meal, bread and cup, time of teaching and discussion. This is a time when our guests get to know us better, be part of and observe our church gatherings in action, and when we also get to know more about them and their ministries
Randy is looking forward to the interaction between the North America partners, our international leaders, and the churches, hosts, and families who make up our regional church network. “The impact is mutual and makes lasting memories as leaders attend the conference and experience the churches of Ames-Des Moines CityChurch over these ten days,” he said.